Corporate Services Division - the 2016 Journey and into the Future

Full Text of Speech by COO, Geraldine Ruane

Good afternoon and a very warm welcome to each one of you. Thank you for coming, it is great to see you here and we really appreciate your interest in what we are doing.

To those of you here who filled in the survey, thank you. It is important for us to know what you think and it is important that you know we are listening.

From the survey you helped to identify what we do well, and some areas where we need to improve. We are working on them and as communication is one of them, this is another good reason for us being here together.

My name is Geraldine Ruane and I am the Chief Operating Officer.

I want to first of all acknowledge the contribution of Corporate Services Division staff, for their hard work and dedication.

We are all, everybody here, part of a great historic university.

We all need to work together as a Team to improve Trinity’s standing and output.

We all need to recognise each other’s Needs, Strengths and Capabilities.

Together we must go the extra mile as a university community, to deliver for each other and for Trinity.

I am very proud of my Leadership team who will you meet shortly. There are some new members to the team. We work together as a Team to ensure that we give you a seamless service.

[Each Director proceeded to introduce themselves and outline key achievements that has benefited the Trinity community and the key projects they are working on in 2017. COO then proceeded with her speech].

That just gives you a flavour of some of the achievements of CSD that I believe benefits the Trinity community. If I was to pick out 2 key achievements that I feel are helpful to you they are the Service Centres we have set up. I believe everyone is aware of the IT Services Service Desk. Well, we now have in place a Service Centre in HR, Academic Registry and Estates & Facilities. These Service Centres are a single point of contact for each of these areas, where you can walk in, phone, web and email.

By using the Service Centres we can channel your request quickly and directly to the person who will deal with it. We have heard your frustration of the need to know the right person to get the service, well we have worked hard so instead of having to know Mary, Joe or Pat there is now a dedicated centred manned to give each one of you a speedy service.

Please use it.

We have revamped our Websites for all functions within Corporate Services Division. That will show you- Who we are, What we do and how to find us. Again please use them.

We are asking you to Talk to us, Engage with us, Work with us.

Tell us what you want. Talk directly to the Directors if you have an issue.

Know that we are a Professional Team –Passionate, Driven and Committed to advancing Trinity.

We also ask for your patience as we embed our new systems. This is a competitive environment we are working in. Nothing stands still. We and Trinity need to be at the cutting edge in order to succeed.

Finally, let me introduce you to our new Vision - “We are a Professional Team creating the Environment for Trinity to achieve its objectives”.

That is not just words, we want you to keep telling us what we are delivering on and what we should be delivering on in that context.

Talking about Trinity Objectives I am delighted to see the Provost has joined us here today. So let’s extend a warm welcome to our Provost as I believe he is going to share a few words with us.

Geraldine Ruane

Chief Operating Officer

Full Text of Speech by Provost, Patrick Prendergast

Thank you, Geraldine,

And it’s great to be here. The corporate services division, or CSD, is the backbone of the university – or, a better medical analogy perhaps, it’s the central nervous system. It integrates and coordinates the activity of the whole university. As staff and students, we are all reliant on a high-functioning CSD. We could not operate without it, and we have got a very strong sense of that today the contribution of the team leaders.

Adrian, Tony, David, Paul, Alison, Kate and John have taken us through achievements and initiatives in: commercial revenue, diversity and inclusion, capital projects, estates and facilities, student services, human resources, and IT services.

Collectively they have given us a sense of the essential supports sustaining Trinity, enabling its smooth running, and constantly seeking to enhance and improve – aiming for instance, at:

• a better gender balance,
• more student mentors,
• a reduction in energy consumption,
• a tobacco-free campus,
• better disability access,
• more commercial revenue,
• digital transformation

All this is drawing on best international practice.

We can be extremely proud of the many achievements of the CSD, and of the awards which recognise these achievements – such as Athena SWAN, An Taisce’s Green Flag, the Workplace Equality Index Award – as mentioned by the Team Leaders.

Such national and international awards are hugely important. They send out a clear message of our priorities and our willingness to take action to deliver on these priorities. For excellent students and staff looking to take the decision of where to bring their talents, such awards may well be decisive.

Of course, the work of the CSD goes well beyond specific awards, and some of the most important work is not such as attracts awarding bodies.

But at every stage of the college day, from logging on, to using the pool, to admiring the trees, to picking up a child from the nursery, to liaising with colleagues – at all stages, we’re reminded of the essential work that enables this college to run so well.

And in my mid-term address last month, I made special mention of the CRU, the commercial revenue unit, because the huge increase in profits is funding our academic mission. In the current funding climate, this has been life-saving – and that’s not putting it too strongly.

So, on behalf of everyone, I would like to thank and congratulate the whole team, and all involved. Your achievements are necessary, significant and inspiring.

I thank Geraldine, our Chief Operating Officer, who is showing wonderful leadership. I have been very impressed by the Statement of Strategy, which is directly aligned with Trinity’s strategic goals, and which has been clear and concrete about expected outcomes.

The approach, so evident today, of involving the whole Trinity community – staff and students – in improving all the domains of CSD is the right one. This sense of collegiality goes back to the university’s earliest and best traditions. We are indeed all a team, and all in this together. As a beneficiary of our excellent CSD strategy, I’m grateful. As a participant and user of these services, I look forward to working towards continued enhancement and betterment.

Thank you.

Patrick Prendergast

Provost

Speech from 30% Club scholarship launch

This speech was by Geraldine Ruane at the launch of 30% Club scholarship programme for 2017, April 12, 2017

"I’m delighted to welcome you all here this evening to the Innovation Academy to celebrate the launch of this year’s 30% Club scholarships, a programme in which we are making our debut this year.

"The Innovation Academy is a place where we, at Trinity, aim to nurture creativity and innovative thinking.

"So the setting is very apt, I suppose, as these MBA leadership scholarships being launched here tonight are an innovative way to ensure that we are continually developing the female talent pipeline.

"Research shows us that women are less likely to have the valuable connections needed to accelerate their careers. This is where these MBAs come in, as they provide a gateway to such connections.

"We also know that confidence can be a major impediment to women in the workforce, preventing them from putting themselves forward for senior roles.

"An MBA can bridge that gap, by providing women with the skills and confidence to reignite their careers.

"The 30% Club’s motto is ‘growth through diverstiy’. One of the strengths of a good MBA is diversity and I’m proud to say this is something that we’ve succeeded in achieving with our Trinity Business School MBA, in terms of experience and nationalities of participants as well as the gender spilt.

"It gives me a great sense of personal achievement to have brought Trinity into this 30% Club scheme, along with the other colleges here tonight, because leadership and female empowerment are causes that are close to my heart.

"I know that initiatives like this scholarship programme can make a real difference to both the people involved in doing them and their organisations. After all, gender balance is not just a women’s issue, it’s a business issue."

Ussher II Programme

The first cohort of Trinity’s 40 new Ussher Assistant professors joined the University at the beginning of Michaelmas Term 2016. This addition to Trinity’s already illustrious group of academics, is part of Trinity’s strategy to recruit excellent academics in areas where the University has proven strengths right across its field of expertise, from science to engineering and from medicine to arts and humanities.

On 12 September 2016, 27 of the new Ussher Assistant Professors were welcomed to a week-long induction – the first of its kind to be run in Trinity. The induction week provided the group with a solid introduction to the University and its structures, as well as a more detailed introduction to the three pillars of the Ussher contract – Teaching & Learning, Research and Service & Engagement. The week was opened with an address from the Provost, who welcomed the new recruits and introduced them to Trinity’s strategic priorities. Over the course of the week, the new Assistant Professors were given the opportunity to meet with a range of key personnel, including the Vice Provost/CAO, the three Faculty Deans and academic leaders in the fields of Teaching & Learning and Research along with an introduction to the variety of services available within the Corporate Services Division.

The programme comprised a mix of formal presentations and discussion panels to give the group the opportunity to learn from one other, as well as from those who are further along in their careers in the University and who could share their insights into Trinity. This induction programme is part of a new Leadership & Development plan spearheaded by HR to provide mentoring and career development to new employees. A full schedule of the programme and presentations can be viewed here

HR will support the Ussher Assistant Professors throughout their journey to full tenure and look forward to working with them as their careers develop. For more information or advice, please contact Lynnea Connolly, Ussher II Programme Co-ordinator at lynnea.connolly@tcd.ie

Trinity announces Women in Leadership Scholarship with 30% Club

Build your Career: Tools of the Trade was the inaugural event in the COO’s Professional Development Seminar Series for 2016/17 in Trinity College . It was hosted in conjunction with the 30% Club and took place on Wednesday, 21 September 2016 in the Stanley Quek theatre, TBSI. It was attended by managers from across Trinity and Industry and was aimed at those who are progressing in their career, seeking to develop further and who had an interest in hearing from other leading professionals in their field on the opportunities and challenges they experience.

Siobhan McAleer (Commercial Director, IMI) moderated the discussion while panellists Geraldine Ruane (COO, TCD), Peter Cosgrove (Director, CPL Resources), Andrew Burke (Dean, Trinity Business School), Orla Nugent (MBA Programme Director, UCD), Janine Bosak (Director of Research - Leadership & Talent Institute, DCU) and Cathriona Hallahan (Managing Director, Microsoft Ireland) shared their insights to ‘Build your Career: Tools of the Trade’. They spoke on the importance of the tools required to succeed in your career and shared their personal insights with the audience. Key messages focused on the importance of Networking, Executive Education, Mentoring, Coaching and Effective Leadership.

Speaking at the seminar Professor Andrew Burke, Dean of Trinity Business School confirmed that ‘Trinity in partnership with the 30% Club are delighted to announce the Women in Leadership Scholarships which will comprise one full MBA scholarship and a series of bursaries. This is a welcome initiative which will encourage more women into senior leadership positions’. He confirmed that applications would be sought during 2017 with the scholarships commencing in the 2017/18 academic year.

"Through this scholarship and bursaries, it is intended to harness the wide-ranging resources, skills and innovative ideas of talented women and provide them with an opportunity to develop their careers through the Trinity MBA. This Trinity scholarship initiative will, I believe, provide a pipeline of creativity and entrepreneurial activity for Ireland's future," added COO, Geraldine Ruane.

Marie O’Connor, Partner in PWC and country lead of the 30% Club in Ireland thanked the COO and Trinity for their generosity. She remarked that "We believe that the scholarships offered by the IMI, UCD, DCU and now Trinity College will encourage women to consider executive education as part of their career development and thus support the emergence of women as business leaders. The 30% Club supports a gender balance across boards and organisations to drive talent development, leadership and performance. The 30% Club is grateful to Trinity College for offering these scholarships which will support the work being done to bring that to fruition”.

The Professional Development Seminar Series will continue throughout 2016-17 with further events on Leadership & Change Management; Effective Communication for Leaders and Ethics, Values & Corporate Responsibility.

Powerpoint slides from the event can be accessed here

A podcast of the event can be accessed here

Further information on the 30% Club is available at: http://30percentclub.org/about/chapters/ireland

Further information on Corporate Services is available at: https://www.tcd.ie/corporate-services/

COO launches Mentoring & Career Development Programme

08 September 2016

Good morning everyone and thank you for joining me here this morning.

It’s my pleasure to welcome you in my capacity as COO to launch Trinity’s mentoring and career development programme for professional and support staff within Trinity College.

For me, the greatest asset of any organisation is its people. I am a strong advocate of employee development. For the last two-three years we have been on a change management programme It is not an easy journey as it entails making changes like restructuring, looking at what we are doing and how we do it. We have been implementing systems such as FIS, enhancing other systems such as Academic Registry.

We are also working in a climate of financial crisis within the University Sector due to reduced funding from Government. A lot of excellent work has been done and now I would like to focus on enhancing the capability and career development of our employees.

HR, under the leadership of Kate Malone, have been working hard to identify and deliver a series of cost effective programmes for the career development of our employees. These have included,

• a new Induction Programme,
• a Feedback & Recognition pilot in FSD,
• HR Open Day,
• the Provost’s Professional Staff Awards and the
• Mentoring and Career Development Programme for Professional & Support Staff piloted in the Academic Services Division last year.

I would like to thank the staff who undertook this pilot programme and who I believe are with us here this morning. It is wonderful to have you here to encourage others starting out on this year’s programme.

I am certain that the mentoring and career development programme can play a key role in your success and contribute to a deep, personalised learning. The primary aim of the programme is to deliver a cross-company, cross-departmental mentor network that will complement your career development.

The programme will bring together experienced professionals and high potential staff with a focus on professional and personal development. It also gives mentees the opportunity to take ownership of their own development and drive it through the completion of their Career Development Plan which will be the focus of the discussion with their mentor.

This mentoring and career development programme gives an occasion for you to,

• Tap into a vast range of experience and knowledge
• confidentially share experiences,
• discuss challenges and opportunities,
• network,
• hear from experts, and
• take away personal learning.

It’s an invaluable initiative and the organising team are to be congratulated, in particular Joanne O’Hanlon, Philip Coffey and Claire O’Reilly for driving the pilot and also working tirelessly with this rollout.

I hope that this programme will provide you with a rewarding experience for your own careers and in your personal development. This mentoring and career development programme allows for you to mentor or be mentored by someone from any walk of life across the university – it should broaden your own vision and give you the opportunity to share your experiences.

This programme is unique to Trinity as it combines both mentoring and career development into one programme. Trinity are delivering a best-in-class programme which has the ability to impact all employees. I am pleased to say that this initiative also links directly into one of Trinity’s strategic goals: B4.1 –Talent Acquisition and Development

I am delighted to have a few of our contributors to this programme with us here this morning. Alan Lyons who will be addressing us shortly is passionate about helping people to perform at their optimal level and will give us the benefit of his broad experience.

I am reminded of a quote from Clutterbuck Associates which states “mentoring can help anybody, who has a major transition to make in his or her life, whoever or wherever they are. Mentoring taps a basic instinct most people share – the desire to pass on their learning, to help other people develop and fulfil their potential”.

I encourage you all to make the most of this programme and share your experiences. It is a fantastic opportunity and I hope you will fully engage with the programme. The combination of meetings and training will provide a real balance to your development.

Finally, I wish you all the very best and I look forward to hearing your feedback in due course.

Thank you.

Geraldine Ruane

Chief Operating Officer

Thursday, 8th September 2016

Chambers Ireland CSR Award for Excellence in Community - Volunteering goes to Trinity

01 September 2016

On Thursday, 01 September 2016, Trinity were announced as the winners of the Chambers Ireland CSR Award for Excellence in Community – Volunteering for a Large Indigenous Company.

Working to align Corporate Social Responsibility to the university’s strategic plan 2014-19, the Chief Operating Officer, Geraldine Ruane nominated Trinity Access 21 for the award.  Speaking at the awards, Ms Ruane welcomed the award noting that ‘Trinity is at the beginning of our CSR journey.  Projects such as Trinity Access 21 highlight the good work being done by our staff and students and we want to build on this into the future’.

Reading, writing and arithmetic are generally considered the mainstays of education.  But as technological advancements change how we function in the world, it is clear that we must add new core topics to the national curriculum.  These include science, technology, engineering, maths and computer science.  It was against this backdrop that TA21 was launched in 2014.  A collaboration between the Trinity Access Progamme, Bridge 21, the School of Computer Science & Statistics and the School of Education, with support from Google Ireland, Trinity Access 21's vision is to be a catalyst for social transformation, supporting people to reach their full educational potential through innovation, research and advocacy.  It is an innovative mentoring programme launched in 2014 that involves more than 1,200 second level students from 11 Dublin schools. It aims to support the development of a ‘college-going culture’ in schools with lower than average higher education progression rates.

TA21 is supported by 320 volunteer mentors drawn from Trinity’s alumni, staff and students. The programme is adapted from a model developed by a US educational non-profit, College For Every Student, which partnered with the Trinity Access Programmes since 2011. The CFES model was successfully piloted in St Joseph’s Secondary School in Rush, Co Dublin in 2013. The model is grounded in the belief that cultural change is achieved through three core practices: ‘Mentoring’, ‘Pathways to College’ and ‘Leadership Through Service’.

Trinity had strong competition with Arthur Cox being nominated for the Arthur Cox Zambia Project and the PM Group being nominated for their Building Partnerships initiative.

Now in its 13th year, the Chambers Ireland CSR Awards showcase the best practice in CSR being undertaken by Irish business.

Student Learning Development hosts 10th Postgraduate Summer School in collaboration with TCD Community

14 & 15 June 2016

The SLD 10th annual PG Summer School was held in Trinity on the 14th and 15th June 2016 and was attended by over 60 students. The event was opened by Professor Aideen Long, Dean of Graduate Studies with a panel of academic staff, students and support services on hand to answer questions on successfully managing the PG and PhD process.

12 workshops were delivered over the two days by Student Learning Development, TCD Library, Postgraduate Advisory Service, Graduate Students’ Union and IT Services. The workshops dealt with the development of academic and transferrable graduate skills as well as practical aspects of managing PG studies and covered the following topics: - managing the student-supervisor relationship - literature review - thesis writing strategies - time management - viva and oral defence preparation - presentation skills - using Endnote - producing a thesis in Microsoft Word - funding your studies - getting published and, - maximising the impact of research projects.

Key suggestions for students from the summer school included the importance of building a network of academic and personal supports, developing good habits around writing regularly, managing time and planning a strategy for publishing and disseminating research early on in the research process.

The atmosphere was very positive with plenty of interaction and engagement from participants. Sample feedback on the PG Summer School includes the following quote: “It helped to provide perspective and validate one’s own experience of being a PhD student in terms of approach, requirements and pitfalls and provided useful suggestions for organising and improving performance”. A full report on the Summer School is available at https://www.tcd.ie/Student_Counselling/student-learning/assets/docs/PhD.Skills.Event/SLD-PGSchoolReport-2015-16.docx

Ready Steady Go! Trinity Kicks Off Pioneering Summer Camp for Secondary Students with Autism

13-17 June 2016

For many post-primary students with autism and their families, the transition from school to college can be stressful and uncertain. A new summer camp offered by Trinity College Dublin seeks to help students build skills in self-awareness, self-determination and self-advocacy, and to make good choices for their future college careeer.

The pilot programme begins on Monday, 13th June 2016 with the Taste of College Experience, a week-long camp designed to introduce prospective students to college life in a fun and supportive environment.

The camp, an initiative of the Trinity College Disability Service offers an immersive experience in which students engage and work with Trinity College Disability Service student ambassadors, attend sample lectures, seminars, tutorials, and labs and explore social and practical skills necessary for academic success.

"This unique camp has been carefully designed to ensure that it captures the real college experiences and has been informed by the feedback received from students with autism who have already tackled the transition to college life", according to Claire Gleeson, Senior Occupational Therapist in the Disability Service, who is leading the project.

Students and families can book student accommodation on campus, and have the opportunity to take part in social and recreational activities. The structured curriculum incorporates academic skills such as reading and note-taking, assistive technology, team-building activities to boost confidence and peer connections, and mentoring in social skills.

Trinity attracts the highest number of students with Autism to any third level institution in Ireland (Ahead National Participation Survey 2014, www.ahead.ie). Declan Treanor, the Director of the Disability Service says "we want students with Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome to come to study at Trinity and this programme is aimed at making the transition to College manageable and it will allow people to connect in earlier".

There is no formal national figure for the incidence of autism in Ireland, although it is generally estimated to be approximately 1 in 100 persons, with small numbers of young people progressing to college, and an unemployment rate of approximately eighty percent.

A Taste of College is the only camp of its kind in Ireland, however, support for students and families doesn’t end there. Disability Service staff will continue to support prospective college students and families throughout the year, providing access to mentors, social groups and courses.

Dr Alison Doyle is leading the summer camp and says "that it is a much-needed initiative that provides win-win opportunities to secondary students. Whilst there are robust international models and programmes for planning the transition to college for students with disabilities, the concept is in its infancy in Ireland", states Doyle, "with few opportunities to address the particular needs of students on the autistic spectrum".

"Experiencing a taste of college means that students are prepared for what to expect, and also have the chance to meet other young people who deal with the same or similar challenges", she said.

10th Postgraduate Skills Development Summer School - 14 & 15 June 2016

Student Learning Development in cooperation with the GSU, Library and IT Services is organising the 10th Postgraduate Skills Development Summer School on Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th June 2016.

This is a great opportunity for Postgraduates to work on developing essential skills such as literature reviewing, thesis writing, time management, viva preparation and much more. There will also be workshops on getting published, the supervisor relationship and Endnote plus the opportunity to network with other postgraduate students. A reception will be hosted by the GSU on Tuesday afternoon.

Students who attended previous schools have said:

Details of the programme schedule and how to register can be found at https://www.tcd.ie/Student_Counselling/student-learning/postgraduate/events/postgrad_school/.

We look forward to seeing you there.