The award was presented to Professor Maria Leptin in recognition of her outstanding contributions to developmental biology, her distinguished leadership in European science, her stewardship of the European Research Council, and her unwavering commitment to the advancement of research and knowledge.
Awarded by the Trinity Long Room Hub, in partnership with Teneo, the global CEO advisory firm, Trinity European Laureate Awards honour individuals and organisations, both Irish and international, that epitomise the European ideal and have made a sustained contribution to European values.
Provost Dr Linda Doyle presenting Prof Maria Leptin with the Trinity European Laureate Award
The award was presented by Trinity Provost, Dr. Linda Doyle. Speaking in advance the Provost said: “I am deeply honoured to present the Trinity European Laureate Award to Professor Maria Leptin. As President of the European Research Council, Professor Leptin has become one of the foremost advocates for frontier research in Europe, enabling scholars across all disciplines to pursue bold ideas and make transformative discoveries. She has also championed the foundational role of the arts, humanities, and social sciences, making a compelling case that ‘to understand human values, we need disciplines that study humans in all their variety.”
Commenting on the award, Professor Patrick Geoghegan, the Director of the Trinity Long Room Hub, said: “Professor Leptin’s distinguished career offers a compelling example of what can be achieved through long-term investment in excellent research and talented researchers. Her driving force has been her belief that all research matters and is fundamental to everything we do. In recognising Professor Leptin, we celebrate the enduring importance of research itself, and the values of openness, collaboration, and intellectual ambition that have been at the heart of European scholarship”.
To mark the occasion Professor Leptin delivered a laurate address. Professor Leptin said: “It is a great honour to receive the Trinity European Laureate Award. I accept this award while recognising everyone who has influenced and helped my own work, the inspired and dedicated staff of the two international organisations I have led over the past 17 years, and the European research community whose feedback and support has made it so much easier to get through the difficult times.
It is a special pleasure to receive this award at Trinity. Universities have long memories. They remind us that knowledge is not built in one generation, in one institution or even within one country. Europe is an intellectual space where ideas, people and arguments have crossed borders for centuries.
Visible breakthroughs often rest on a long but invisible history. If research is asked only to be useful it will become less valuable over time. Europe cannot afford that. That is why academic freedom matters. Academic freedom is a condition that an enlightened society creates because a society needs knowledge it cannot predict. It comes with duties such as honesty, openness to correction, and a willingness to explain what we do.
The conditions for excellent science are built slowly but can be damaged very quickly. We need stable institutions, predictable funding, independent evaluation, research infrastructures, international mobility, public trust and a long term view. The ERC is one of Europe’s clearest expressions of trust in researchers but based on peer review, on competition, and the willingness of researchers to expose ideas to demanding scrutiny. That combination matters. It is freedom with standards.
I am grateful to Trinity for this award which honours a Europe made through knowledge, conversation and cooperation. Science will not solve every problem, but it gives us one of the best ways we have of being less wrong together. That is not a small thing.”
The event also included a panel discussion on “The Future of Research” with Professor Aoife McLysaght, Government Science Advisor, Professor Luke O’Neill, and Professor Maria Leptin. Concluding remarks were provided by Dr. Diarmuid O’Brien, CEO of Research Ireland.
Listen back to the event on the TLRH SoundCloud here.