School of Computer Science and Statistics Away Day

Marine Hotel, Sutton

11th October

Thank you Carol, and good morning,

Thank you for inviting me to join you on your away-day. It’s a real pleasure to have this opportunity to be here. Great to see such a fine turn-out.

This School is one of Trinity’s largest and fastest-growing. The research and teaching coming out of this School and the ADAPT and CONNECT centres are internationally acclaimed.

Trinity’s very first spin-out was the immensely successful Iona Technologies and this has set the pattern. Researchers from this School are involved with some of our most dynamic spin-outs, and their entrepreneurial and innovative mindset is transmitted to students. Of the seven ‘success stories’ currently profiled on the LaunchBox website, five of them are co-founded by computer science students. No other School is so well-represented.

What’s particularly striking, and true of both staff and student innovation within this School, is how cross-disciplinary it is. Computer scientists team up successfully with engineers, artists, physicists, business and health sciences. This is also reflected in the university’s research themes, like Digital Humanities and Creative Technologies.

We believe in Trinity that the most exciting research happens at the edge of disciplines. But interdisciplinarity can be hard to achieve. That Trinity has such a strong reputation for it is greatly thanks to Computer Science and Statistics.

On a personal note, as an engineer I’ve always enjoyed excellent contacts with this School. The strong link between engineering and computer science, which has been so successful in Trinity, was greatly due to Professor John Byrne who, when he died last year, was called by The Irish Times ‘the father of computing in Ireland’ (1). And I’m pleased to announce here that Jane Grimson will give the Trinity Monday discourse next year on Prof Byrne, and I hope many of you here will be able to attend. He was a true visionary and we can see what an exceptional legacy he has in this School.

To continue to grow this School’s excellence, the School leadership team is now developing a strategy and establishing core values as well as a shared vision for the next ten years and beyond. I understand that today’s event is about getting staff input into the design of new structures. I congratulate all involved in this initiative, which of course I support wholeheartedly. I know that given the existing excellence of the School, you have the strongest possible foundation on which to build for future success. I pledge my support and that of the College Board.

Being here this morning is my chance to meet the newest recruits. I’d also, in our brief time together, like to fill you in on college initiatives which are pertinent to you.

Of course, there are a great many such initiatives, too many to mention! For instance yesterday I had the chance to drink a toast to the new Alumni Room in the East Chapel. This is a really beautiful room – one of the handsomest and most comfortable on campus. It’s for the use of all alumni, so you might like to take a look and recommend it to graduates you think will appreciate the use of it.

I’d love to go through all such exciting new happenings but in the short time we have today I thought it might be useful to say a few words about two initiatives which are ongoing: E3 and the Trinity Education Project, both vital concerns of this School.

The Engineering, Energy, and Environment Institute, or as we are currently calling it “E3” is, as you know, a coordinated growth strategy for the School of Engineering, the School of Computer Science and Statistics, and the School of Natural Sciences. It’s right that we grow these Schools in a coordinated way, leveraging the close disciplinary associations that exist in terms of addressing global challenges.

Sometimes I think if it as reconciling on the one hand that engineers and computer scientists will continue to do what we do in creating new technologies – in a way we human beings, as a species, can’t help that – such inventiveness is our defining characteristic in many ways. But yet we know we live on a resource-constrained planet, and a planet that we can see now is not impervious to human activity, a planet that is, in truth, a delicate biosphere. Rendering these two aspects compatible with each other, human inventiveness and our use of resources, is important, and we are right to think about it as we grow these three Schools.

The Trinity Education Project is already well advanced. As you probably know the four graduate attributes were agreed a few years ago, and last year the Fellows agreed to a new academic year structure, which will come into force next September. As well as allowing for end of semester examinations, it will facilitate internships and student exchanges abroad.

And we’ve now agreed to develop Trinity Electives in areas of research strength in the university. As of 2019, all undergraduate students will take an Elective, preferably in an area quite different to their core course. Five research themes have been selected for the first wave. They are:

• Digital Engagement
• Identities in Transformation
• International Development
• Making Ireland
• Smart and Sustainable Planet

And one elective in languages:

• Mandarin Chinese

Obviously, ‘Digital engagement’ is of particular interest to this School. We want to give our students in arts, humanities, business, law, and health sciences the opportunity to enhance their digital knowledge and awareness. Similarly, your students will get the chance to engage with political, historical and cultural engaged themes ‘Identities in Transformation’ or the opportunity to understand better the complex problems of poverty and injustice in the developing world through ‘International Development’.

Our aim is to educate students able to engage with the world in all its richness and diversity. We believe that, especially at the undergraduate stage, it’s important that they develop many skills and a broad outlook and understanding. We know that to flourish in the 21st century, our graduates will need to be adaptive and creative – and that means being able to think outside their disciplines.

I won’t go on any further because I know that you have a particularly full day today. I’m happy to talk any time with you about whatever issues you’re interested in.

In conclusion, may I congratulate you all again on the excellent School that you have built up. I wish you the very best with the rest of your day, and I thank you for this chance to address you.

Thank you.

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