Recent EDI Activity at School of Medicine
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This page will be continuously updated to list upcoming EDI events in the School of Medicine. For information on college-wide EDI activities, please see here.
For information on college-wide EDI activities, please see here.
June 2026
LGBTQ+ Pride Soft Drinks Mornings at St James Hospital (11th June) and Tallaght University Hospital (18th June)
The School of Medicine and Faculty of Health Sciences were delighted to host two morning events in celebration of Pride month 2026, where staff and students came together over soft drinks, coffee/tea and cupcakes to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride!
Beyond Good Intentions: Designing Inclusion and Belonging in Healthcare – 15th June
In celebration of Pride Month 2026, the Faculty of Health Sciences in Trinity College Dublin hosted a webinar by Prof. Duncan Shrewsbury, Professor of Medical Education and Primary Care in Brighton and Sussex Medical Schools, on integrating equity and inclusivity, including LGBTQ+ specific considerations, in healthcare education and practice.
March 2026
Gender-based Conflict Resolution Workshop – 9th March
In celebration of International Women’s Day 2026, the Faculty of Health Sciences in Trinity College Dublin hosted a webinar by solicitors Rosa Eiver and Clare McQuillan of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission on legal protections against gender-based harassment and bullying in academia and research.
February 2026:
Hospitality: A Critical Appraisal of EDI – 25th February
The Discipline of Occupational Therapy in Trinity College Dublin hosted a lecture by visiting Professor Frank Kronenberg on "Hostipitality: A Critical Appraisal of EDI". "Hostipitality" coined by Jacques Derrida, combining the concepts of hospitality and hostility, acknowledging that both are rooted in the Latin term 'hostis'.
Dr Frank Kronenberg, co-founder of the movement Occupational Therapists without Borders, is an honorary researcher at the Department of Medicine at the University of Cape Town and guest-lecturer at universities internationally. His education-research-practice intends to generatively disrupt apolitical and ahistorical occupational therapy and theorize a political historized humanizing praxis.
Active Bystander Training - Open to staff and UG/PG students – 26th February
Dr Sean Roe of the School of Medicine, Queen’s University Belfast, delivered Active Bystander Training (ABT) on 26th February to the Faculty of Health Sciences. With a background in medical education, he specialises in applying ABT within health-science and healthcare settings.
The training applies authentic scenarios developed by staff and students at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) to model situations in which problematic behaviours—sexism, racism, homophobia, and transphobia—require challenge. ABT equips participants with strategies for safe intervention and promotes a culture where such behaviours are less normalised. This aligns with actions identified across Athena Swan applications in the Faculty, including the School of Medicine, where improved responses to inappropriate behaviour have been highlighted as priorities. Implementing ABT is therefore a key step toward strengthening a respectful, inclusive culture.
Physiology as Activism—A Transformative Approach to Sustainable Development and Authentic Assessment - 26th February
Dr Mary McGahon and Dr Sean Roe, School of Medicine, Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), presented an assessment model that integrates the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals into physiology teaching. Over two years at QUB, this model has provided a meaningful, context-rich approach to assessment while cultivating “physiology activists.” Students have engaged with issues such as wartime trauma, intimate partner violence, gender inequalities—especially within healthcare—and climate action. Many reported the assessment as deeply meaningful and often transformational.
This approach responds to global challenges and aligns with TCD’s Sustainability Strategy 2023–2030, which prioritises climate action, biodiversity protection, and healthier futures. The presenters argue that students are vital partners in addressing such challenges and that educators must equip them with the skills and values needed to help build a sustainable, equitable world.
Beyond “Fixing” Study Skills—A Team-Based Ecosystem for Inclusive Writing Support - 26th February
This workshop, delivered by Dr De Almeida McLoughlin, School of Medicine, Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), outlined learning-development practices in QUB’s Centre for Biomedical Sciences Education, focusing on embedded academic writing instruction and coordinated one-to-one support involving advisors of studies and academic staff. Guided by QUB’s Accessible Learning, EDI, and Sustainability principles, it demonstrated how staged writing development—from first-year transition support to final-year project workshops—can demystify scientific writing for diverse cohorts, including those entering through non-traditional routes.
Highlighting referral pathways, student-support processes, and collaborative feedback loops, the workshop positioned one-to-one guidance not as remedial but as an essential mechanism for transparency, accessibility, and inclusion, enabling all students to develop the literacies and confidence needed to succeed as future scientists and health professionals.
November 2025:
International Men’s Day
On the 19th of November we celebrated International Men’s Day with a a thought-provoking and inspiring International Men’s Day webinar, hosted by the Faculty of Health Sciences. This special event shone a light on men’s mental and physical health — exploring how we can better understand, support, and improve men’s wellbeing. We were thrilled to welcome two leading researchers of men's health:
Prof. Brendan Kelly, Professor of Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin, who shared the latest evidence on men’s mental health, the challenges and the practical steps we can take to make a difference. Tadhg O’Ferrall, Senior Dietitian in Surgery at South Tipperary General Hospital, then discussed why diet matters for men’s bowel and overall health, and how small changes can have a big impact. A Q and A session opened up the floor for the chance to ask the experts about their work and discuss different perspectives on men's health.
November 2025:
Pride in School of Medicine – Tallaght University Hospital Campus Event
On 5th November at The Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, Tallaght University Hospital, we held another Pride in the School of Medicine Event, disseminating free rainbow lanyards and stickers as well as providing information on resources, supports and events for the LGBTQ+ community in TCD. Thanks to all who came by to show their support!
October 2025:
Black History Month
October is Black History Month – A time to celebrate the essential contributions of Black scientists and healthcare workers to improving health, research and society historically and today. To celebrate these contributions, a series of e-posters advertising this work was displayed across our campus screens.
August 2025:
Beyond Bias - Advancing Excellence in Health Sciences
The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University Belfast hosted the 2025 All-Ireland Gender Equality Conference on Monday 29 September 2025, held online. The Conference will included talks and perspectives from EDI champions across Irish university medical schools, including the TCD School of Medicine Director of EDI, Dr Roisin McMackin, who spoke about the development of an all island working group for dignity and respect in healthcare academia.
July 2025:
“Women in Academia: Sharing Reflections on the Importance of Horizontal and Vertical Networks” - Prof. Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin
In collaboration with Women in Research Ireland, the School of Medicine was delighted to host Prof. Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin on the 25th July 2025 at 10am in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute. In her talk, entitled “Women in Academia: Sharing Reflections on the Importance of Horizontal and Vertical Networks”, Prof. Ní Shúilleabháin reflected on the value of building supportive professional networks across all levels of academia, the importance of being part of a union, considering GenAI in the future of academia and more. The event was attended by over 50 students and academics. After the talk, a networking session with tea/coffee/sandwiches was hosted in the Knowledge Exchange of Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute at 11am, allowing attendees to make new connections and exchange perspectives.
July 2025:
“Increasing Visibility of Pride in the School of Medicine”
As we round up an inspiring month of Pride events in June, it is clear that there is widespread support for the LGBTQ+ community in Medicine. However, we feel that beyond the month of June it would be fantastic to increase the visibility of Pride in the School of Medicine. As a starting point, we aim to offer all members of the School a rainbow lanyard (for your keys, ID badge etc.) as well as small "Pride in the School of Medicine" stickers which can be placed on your office door sign, laptop, phone or elsewhere. We hope that this small initiative will help to increase awareness across staff and students of the level of Pride and support amongst colleagues, friends, mentors, supervisors, tutors and more. Director of EDI for the School of Medicine, Dr Roisin McMackin, Claire Murphy, Athena Swan Co-Champion for the School of Medicine, and Danielle Fernandes, Executive Officer of Anatomy and Physiology, launched this initiative with an event to disseminate Pride lanyards and stickers, and provide information on LGBTQ+ resources and support, in Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute on 4th July 2025. Future events are planned at our Tallaght and St. James Hospital campuses in September 2025. Lanyards and stickers are also available year-round in the School of Medicine Education Office on the first floor of TBSI, and will soon be available at local pick-up points at our hospital campuses.