Celebrating Trinity’s first cohort of Laidlaw Scholars

Posted on: 22 May 2018

Trinity celebrated the selection of 18 Laidlaw Scholars, the first cohort of Trinity students to join the Laidlaw network this week.

The Laidlaw Scholarship was established in 2014, thanks to Lord Laidlaw of Rothiemay’s commitment to the development of young people. The scholarship is designed to assist undergraduates become leaders in academia or other sectors; it supports self-motivated and ambitious undergraduate students to gain the knowledge and skills to become future leaders.

The programme has already been introduced in universities across the United Kingdom – Oxford, Durham, Leeds, York, St Andrews and UCL – and Trinity is joining Columbia University, Tufts, the University of Capetown and the University of Hong Kong in introducing the Laidlaw Scholarship in 2018.

Trinity has been awarded funding for three years of intake of Scholars and will be supporting 18 Scholars in its 2018 intake.

The application process for the Scholarship was highly competitive with 50 applications received from across all disciplines. The Review Panel shortlisted 26 applicants for interview from which the final 18 Scholars were selected with projects from across a broad range of topics.

The long-term vision for the scholarship programme is to create a wide-reaching and diverse network of scholars who will reinvest their knowledge, skills and experiences amongst their peers, colleagues and networks. The scholarship comprises a research project and a leadership development programme. The research will be carried out across two consecutive summers, with leadership activities taking place throughout the year. The leadership programme will support the scholars’ personal development with modules on leadership styles, group dynamics and communication skills. Scholars will gain valuable skills in research, communication and leadership and improve their employability by participating in workshops designed to develop self-awareness, initiative, motivation and creativity.

Further information about the Scholarship may be found here: https://www.tcd.ie/Careers/staff/laidlaw.php.