Clubs & Societies Reception
Saloon, Provost's House, Trinity College
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
Good evening and welcome,
What a pleasure to be here, and to have this opportunity to speak to you all. By my calculation there could be more than 160 people present – the captains and heads of Trinity’s clubs and societies, of which there are now 49 sports clubs and 112 societies. That’s more than last year as the number of clubs and societies just keeps growing; collectively represents a vast range of sports and interests - from Debating to Knitting to Sci-Fi to Digital Arts, and from Aikido to Gaelic Football to Rugby to Ultimate Frisbee. And many, many more.
If I had time it would be a marvellous experiment to talk to each of you for a few minutes and then try and guess who belongs to which club or society.
But I haven’t brought you here to see if I can sort the Neuroscientists from the Boxers, or the Pirates from the Cricketers. I’ve brought you here because frankly, the College owes you, and I want to thank you personally. I’ve been Provost now for a year and from my very first speeches - from my inaugural speech last September through to my speech last Friday to the Graduates Association of Northern Ireland in Belfast - I’ve been lauding the quality and diversity of Trinity’s clubs and societies.
When I talk about Trinity and what a great university it is, I invariably mention three things:
- I talk about our research-based education – the fact that, at some stage in their studies, students engage in an original piece of scholarship or research. Because we want critical and independent-minded students with the initiative to go beyond the curriculum.
- I talk about interdisciplinarity – the fact that we’re a broad-based university of 24 Schools and that we encourage research collaborations and exchanges of ideas between Schools and Departments. Because we want students who are willing to think outside their disciplines and learn others ways of doing things.
- And then I talk about our emphasis on learning outside the classroom, on extracurricular activities – the fact that we have all these clubs and societies which we encourage students to get involved with. Of course clubs and societies are for enjoyment first and foremost, but a lot of learning goes on as well; we recognise and value this. Because we want students who develop their interests outside the lecture room and laboratory and who can handle the responsibility that comes with holding positions of authority and leadership; the responsibility that comes with competing, with fund-raising, with event-organising, and all the other activities that go into running clubs and societies.
When I talk about these three facets of the Trinity education – research, interdisciplinarity and the extracurricular – I don’t prioritise one over the other because collectively they characterise the Trinity education. So many speeches this year have focussed on the extracurricular – I’m thinking of the speech for Trinity Olympians, for the 250th anniversary of the Chapel Choir, for social entrepreneurship, for the Science Gallery, for sports scholarships, and many more.
When I go abroad on missions to seek peer institutes for research collaborations and to spread the message about what a great education we deliver, I always emphasize our clubs and societies and the extracurricular activities which form such an essential part of what a Trinity education is about.
So since our clubs and societies are a cornerstone of our education policy, and since it’s your talent, energy, and ingenuity which keeps these clubs and societies so successful, dynamic and popular – well, as I said, I really need to thank you, and to open up a continuing dialogue about how the College can facilitate and enhance your activities. The Dean of Students, Dr Amanda Piesse, needs special thanking for her role in opening up this dialogue – it’s a pleasure to see her here this evening.
Clubs and societies are not an optional add-on. They are not merely leisure and downtime. They are intrinsic to the education we offer. According to a recent survey of employer expectations, employers of our graduates value:
- critical and independent thinking;
- excellent communication skills;
- and students who have developed a capacity for responsibility and initiative through extra-curricular activities.
So, your needs and requirements as captains and heads of clubs and societies, are a priority for us, and we want to do all we can to help you to deliver for your fellow students.
University life – like life in general – is a matter of balancing all the different demands on our time, and making room for all our interests. In Trinity we aim at constructing a rigorous yet flexible curriculum, that allows the student space to develop in the lecture room, in the laboratory, on the playing fields, on court, in the debating hall, in fund-raising, online and offline…
We don’t always get the balance right. In my inaugural speech last year I referred to a letter from a student who had written to me complaining that his class scheduling conflicted with his sports training. That situation is one we want absolutely to avoid, but of course with so many needs and demands, it’s not always straightforward.
What we do want to ensure is that the line of dialogue is always open. That you know how intrinsic you are to the College. That you feel confident that when you speak, you’ll be heard, and that we will do our best to solve any problems.
I also think it’s important for you to get to know each other. This event isn’t just about me getting to know you, but about you engaging with each other, and exchanging ideas and best practise. The college emphasis on interdisciplinarity isn’t only about the Schools and Departments. Ideally it extends to all campus exchanges. We seek to generate a dynamic flow of energy, enthusiasm and inspiration. We don’t want any group locked in its silo, failing to communicate.
This is the first such event but we intend to make it annual. It’s vital for me, as Provost, and for my successors, to have this contact with you, the captains and heads of our clubs and societies. And it’s vital for you to have this forum to meet each other. Trinity College is a community of scholars, and also a community of clubs and societies.
This event gives us the chance to meet and take stock of how the ‘extracurricular branch’. Allow me to mention a few anniversaries and inaugurals. In the 2011/2012 past academic year:
- The Pavilion Bar, social centre of so many clubs, celebrated its Golden Jubilee, as did the Rifle Club;
- The Chapel Choir celebrated its 250th anniversary, and the Choral society its 175th anniversary;
- The French Society celebrated its second birthday
- The Horse Racing Society celebrated its first birthday
- And last month I opened Seomra na Gaeilge, a social room for Irish language speakers to chat informally.
We could say that 2012 wasn’t half soon enough for a Seomra na Gaeilge in college. At the same time, 250 years of the Chapel Choir gives a wonderful sense of tradition and continuity.
In our clubs and societies, as in all aspects of college life, we celebrate tradition and innovation, continuity and commencements. I look forward, in the next nine years of my provostship, to meeting you regularly, to celebrating anniversaries, and to launching new clubs and societies representing new sports and interests.
To rephrase Patrick Kavanagh on Irish poets: “May the standing army of Trinity clubs and societies never fall below a thousand”.
Thank you very much.
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