Sinéad Lucey is the Head of E3 Business Development at Trinity College Dublin. Her current role focuses on the development and implementation of a collective universities’ international education strategy, and all associated elements, within the broader Irish International Education Strategy. She is also the faculty at the Trinity College Dublin and lectures on Engineering, Mathematics and Science. She has a demonstrated history of working in the national and international education management industry. She is skilled in advocacy, policy formulation, Government relations, university partnerships, business planning and development, relationship management, and public speaking. In an exclusive interaction with the Higher Education Digest, Sinéad Lucey talks about the importance of international collaboration, Trinity College Dublin’s E3 Scholarships, many more.
- Why is it important for Indian institutes to collaborate with global universities to foster research and innovation?
Research needs to be borderless, ageless and genderless. International collaboration is key to ensuring research and innovation contributes to ranking performance as well as enabling excellence in research.
At Trinity we are committed to working with Indian universities who are committed to harnessing our collective expertise for the greater good. Collaboration is about building a critical research mass and leveraging diverse and in-depth expertise to address multifaceted research problems, and to solve major societal challenges that defy categorisation or cannot be addressed from one perspective alone. It is about respecting individual knowledge while understanding that certain research challenges call for collective responses.
- What do you see as the key to academic institutions turning their intellectual capital into marketable products?
Ireland and its people have a long history of being innovative, agile, imaginative and inventive and it is no surprise that Trinity is ranked 1st in Europe for producing entrepreneurs (Pitchbook, The Universities Report, Sept 2018). Students’ innovation, enterprise, courage, and creativity are strongly encouraged at Trinity and there are many mechanism and supports for students and researchers to turn their research and projects in to marketable products. For example the Nicotine patch is a product of Trinity Research.
Trinity has produced more spin-outs than any other Irish university, many of which have grown to be leading companies such as Opsona, Havok, IdentiGEN and Iona Technologies. In the last five years Trinity has created over 38 campus companies across all the main sectors of medical devices, pharmaceuticals and ICT.
- Tell us about the new E3 course & scholarship by the Trinity College Dublin to attract international students, especially students from India.
E3 is an initiative that brings together engineers, natural scientists, computer scientists and statisticians to develop balanced technological solutions that enhance the well being of the planet.
The E3 concept allows for the seamless integration of teaching, project work and research in new innovative ways for STEM students, graduates and researchers. All first year students will engage in project based learning, working in teams with colleagues across the disciplines of engineering, the natural sciences, and computing.
E3 graduates will:
- Have strong technical competence in their chosen discipline
- Be comfortable and experienced working in teams, including with specialists from other disciplines, on ill-defined and multidisciplinary challenges
- Be skilled communicators across a range of platforms and to varying audiences
- Have an ability to think at multiple levels of detail and abstraction
- Be comfortable in both practical and theoretical contexts
- Be able to make informed and ethical decisions that balance technical, social and environmental considerations
- Be able to confront the limitations of their own knowledge and to address these limitations through collaboration and life-long learning
E3 Scholarships: Aimed at attracting talented Indian students to our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
Undergraduate scholarships
There are several scholarships available in the following areas: BAI Engineering, B.A. Biological and Biomedical Sciences and B.A. Geography and Geoscience.
Postgraduate taught scholarships
There are several scholarships available in the following areas: full-time taught postgraduate programmes in the School of Engineering, the School of Natural Sciences, MSc in Energy Science and the MPhil in Environment History.
- How will Trinity’s direct links with industry and research sponsors facilitate the employment and career development to its graduates?
The Trinity Careers Service supports Indian students to explore and plan for their career ambitions. The service helps students to identify and articulate how their learning experiences, both in the classroom (through the programme) and outside (through co- and extra-curricular activities), contribute to career readiness and intellectual and personal development giving students the ability to contribute to the workplace of the future.
Graduate employment Trinity graduates are among the most employable and successful in the world according to the QS World University Rankings for Graduate Employability 2019, which rank Trinity first in Ireland for graduate employment rate and alumni outcomes. Trinity is ranked 39th highest in the world for producing highly successful, creative and world-changing graduates, attributes that are fostered throughout the Trinity education.
In partnership with employers Trinity graduates are held in high esteem across the world and Trinity has a strong record of engagement with employers across all employment sectors worldwide. We engage with government, national and multinational employers, and NGOs to ensure that we are informing and supporting their strategies for Ireland. We seek employer views on 21st-century skills and the changing needs of the workplace so we can work with them to:
- embed employability and career-development opportunities in our curriculum
- create workplace internships, placements and exchanges
- promote employer engagement through Trinity/employer forums
- develop employer input to work-based learning activities
- prepare our students for the changing workplace of the future and for jobs that do not yet exist
- facilitate links between employers and academia.
Trinity Career Service connects employers with students and graduates through on-campus, offcampus and online events and activities. We also have a global network of Trinity alumni who are willing to connect with you to share their experience and provide advice.
Trinity Career Service create opportunities for you to engage in internships, work placements, work experience or work-based learning during your studies. You can also learn through global exchanges, study abroad, global internships, research laboratory placements and community engagement.
- What is your advice to the Indian students who wish to study at Trinity College Dublin?
Do your research. It is important that you choose a course that fits your needs and your career aspirations. Trinity has an office in the Taj Palace in Delhi, and we would encourage you to meet with the representatives there to discuss the options available to you. We also host a series of events across India through the Global Relations team.