On 25th November 2025 the Office for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and the School of Social Work and Social Policy came together to host an open conversation about how universities in 2025 see and engage with class and socioeconomic status.

At Trinity—an elite institution historically attended by those from more privileged and affluent backgrounds—questions of class and inclusion take on particular significance. The event invited reflection on how class is understood, experienced, and enacted within university life today.

Moving beyond class as a purely economic category, this inspiring discussion explored its cultural, social, and embodied dimensions, and what these mean for the experiences of working-class students, academics, professional and support staff, and those aspiring to attend Trinity. Speakers were Daire Hennessy, CEO of CityWise Education Tallaght, and Ronan Smith, Trinity Access Programme (TAP), with a panel discussion including students, academics and staff: Jo-Hanna Ivers, Rachel Clinton, Liam O Ceallaigh and Aimee Cloake.