Interview with Linda Doyle, Provost, Trinity College Dublin

18 Oct Interview with Linda Doyle, Provost, Trinity College Dublin

Ireland’s tertiary sector punches above its weight globally, with all Irish universities appearing among the world’s top 800 institutions in the QS World University Rankings for the first time in 2025. What factors have helped Ireland build one of Europe’s most respected higher education systems and where does the country stand out internationally?

Ireland has a long tradition of excellence in education. If you look back through history, there is something about education that is in the Irish DNA. That begins at the primary and secondary levels, where we have outstanding schools and that creates a strong foundation for higher education. I also think we are a very open country. Trinity, like the other Irish universities, is open to new influences and ideas and we have a significant number of students from around the world. There are about 280,000 students across the higher education sector, including both Irish students and international students and I think that diversity is a real strength.

Another factor that is extremely important is academic freedom. In Ireland, researchers and academics have the freedom to pursue the research they want and to teach what they want. I would say Ireland is one of the countries with the greatest academic freedom in the world and I believe that is a tremendous advantage. Besides, our leading universities are comprehensive universities. By that, I mean they bring together science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines, health sciences, the arts, humanities and social sciences. For me, those are the characteristics of a healthy and vibrant higher education system. Finally, people in Ireland genuinely value education. There is a deep appreciation for its importance and I think that matters as well.

In December, the government allocated €4.5 billion to higher education and research under the Tertiary Sectoral Plan 2026–2030. What recent legislative and budget decisions do you believe will have the greatest impact on Ireland’s universities and what more needs to be done to strengthen long-term competitiveness?

Ireland’s universities are all public universities. They depend on government funding, alongside other income that they generate themselves. Government funding therefore matters enormously to every university in Ireland.

In terms of recent decisions, one of the most significant developments has been the government’s allocation of funding for research infrastructure. A major new initiative called INSPIRE is dedicated to developing research infrastructure across the country and that is extremely important. A second example is the recognition that talent really matters. We now have a Global Talent Ireland initiative that is designed to attract researchers from around the world. A third major development is through Research Ireland, which is similar to the U.S. National Science Foundation. Research Ireland has recently funded seven new national-scale research centers and I believe this is particularly important.

In a smaller country, you have to create scale in different ways. One of the ways we do that is through national research centers. They may be headquartered at one university, but they bring together multiple universities and industry partners from across the country. Two of these new centers are based at Trinity — one focused on quantum technologies and another on advanced therapies.

It is hugely important that the country reaches 2.5% of GDP in research and development investment and, ideally, goes beyond that to 3%. The purpose of that investment is primarily translational research. From the universities’ perspective, however, there are two equally important elements. One is bottom-up, curiosity-driven fundamental research, where you do not necessarily know at the outset what the practical applications will be. The other is more top-down, strategically prioritized research. Both are essential and both need to exist. Our role is to highlight the value of curiosity-driven fundamental research while also taking a very active role in translating research into real-world opportunities.

All of Ireland’s universities have initiatives and support structures that enable researchers to spin out companies, file patents and work in partnership with industry. That is particularly important in Ireland because many of the world’s leading technology companies have their European headquarters here, making collaboration with those companies and with industry more broadly, a key part of our research ecosystem. IBM for example has 12 research laboratories around the world and one of them is located at Trinity. IBM researchers come to work at the university, where they sit alongside Trinity faculty members and students. It creates a very close partnership. A PhD student, for example, may be either a Trinity student or an IBM employee, but they are jointly supervised by both a Trinity academic and an IBM researcher. They work together in areas such as AI, quantum technologies and other advanced fields. It is a very strong example of how closely universities and industry can collaborate.

The university continues to invest heavily in infrastructure, sustainability and research despite rising operating costs. Can you give readers of LA Times an overview of Trinity College Dublin’s evolution and the values that continue to define the university today?

Trinity is the oldest university in Ireland, having been founded in 1592. Trinity prides itself on having a deep history while also looking forward and continuing to push boundaries. It is that combination of drawing on the past while constantly focusing on the future. As the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, said when he visited Trinity, “Trinity is much more than a university. It’s a veritable wellspring for ideas, inventions and enduring moral clarity. Some of the Western world’s greatest contributions to science, art and literature have their roots here. Trinity alumni invented the steam turbine and the modern stethoscope. They pioneered radiotherapy and linear algebra, coined the term ‘electron’ and introduced the world to Count Dracula, Dorian Gray, Gulliver and Godot. Trinity students are building on this legacy.”

There is a deep history, a strong commitment to the arts, humanities and social sciences, combined with STEM disciplines. We also have health sciences, teaching hospitals and medical students. It is that comprehensive university model.

The E3 Learning Foundry is a new building, but the most interesting aspect is that it brings together three disciplines. It combines engineering, natural science — which includes areas such as botany, zoology and geography — and computer science and statistics. The idea behind it is that there are very complex challenges facing the world. If you take climate change and broader environmental issues, there is a need for both engineering-based solutions and nature-based solutions. Students going forward need to be experts in their own fields, whether engineering, zoology, botany, statistics, or computer science, but they also need to be able to communicate with each other, work together and understand each other’s language. They need to be able to consider both technical, human-made solutions and nature-based solutions and understand how these can work in harmony.

The building reflects this shift in focus, where students from different disciplines can work together on shared projects and learn together. There are maker labs and it is very much a living building, where students can understand how it operates and gather data from it. There is even space to grow things on the roof. There are also new courses, particularly at master’s level, in areas such as climate adaptation, smart cities and related fields that draw on these different disciplines. This gives a sense of how the E3 Learning Foundry is changing education.

We are very aware that traditional structures — such as a four-year undergraduate degree and a four-year PhD — are not always sufficient for a rapidly changing world. Lifelong learning is becoming increasingly important. We are developing new models of lifelong learning that allow people to move in and out of the university throughout their careers. This includes what we call micro-credentials, where people can take shorter, focused learning modules at different stages of life. This is particularly relevant for professionals such as health workers who want to learn about AI, or individuals who want to move toward greener practices, or develop new skills for their careers.

Universities play a central role in Ireland’s thriving startup ecosystem and Trinity College Dublin has established itself as one of the country’s leading innovation hubs. How has Trinity College Dublin established itself as a launchpad for startups and entrepreneurs and which emerging ventures should we be watching?

First of all, I think we give our academics and students the space to develop ideas and I think that is really important. We work very closely with industry on a wide range of projects and a couple of the examples I mentioned earlier illustrate that well. Through our new Rinn Quantum Centre and the Trinity Quantum Alliance, we work with both large and small companies in quantum technologies. In advanced therapies, we work with healthcare systems and companies to develop real solutions for patients. Partnership is therefore a very important part of how we deliver innovation.

We also have what we call ARC Hubs — Accelerating Research to Commercialization. Our ARC Hub for Therapeutics is designed to translate the work we do in immunology, biology and the health sciences into therapies that can help people. It does exactly what its name suggests: it accelerates research to commercialization.

More broadly, the university has an outstanding innovation team that works with both companies and researchers across Trinity to help translate intellectual property into commercial opportunities.

We also have researchers who have been particularly successful at spinning out companies. One example is CroíValve, which develops heart valve technologies and is on a very positive trajectory. Another is Nexalus, which focuses on cooling technologies for data centers, an area of growing importance as demand for data centers continues to increase. Inflazome has been very successful in the field of immunology. There is a whole range of startup activity taking place, alongside very close collaboration with industry across the university.

How is Trinity advancing equality, diversity and inclusion across its community and why is this so important to the university experience?

The European idea of a university is one that is rooted in inclusivity. Our mission as a university is to provide and fiercely defend a pluralist university education — enhanced by research, rooted in the academic freedom I mentioned earlier, enriched by diverse backgrounds and perspectives and marked by critical thinking. For us, the university thrives on that diversity of people. A good example of this is our long-standing commitment to access. The Trinity Access Programme has been running for more than 30 years and the university benefits greatly from having students who are academically brilliant and come from all walks of life.

We also have a course for people with intellectual disabilities, the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities, which I think is a world-class model. It shows how, when you broaden your perspective, you recognize the contribution and brilliance that people bring, even from very different backgrounds or with different abilities. It is part of the fabric of the university. We build on this in other ways as well. We have a vice president for equity, equality, diversity and inclusion and one of our core values is belonging. We use that word carefully. Belonging does not mean that everyone has to agree or hold the same views. It means people can be their true selves and feel that there is a place for them here. We work on this continuously with our students and across the university. Universities are also places where ideas are debated and disagreed with and that is very important too.

Ultimately, we believe that better decisions are made, better research is done and stronger communities are built when there is diversity and inclusion — when people can be themselves. These are values we hold very deeply and actively defend, particularly at a time when, in many parts of the world, they are being challenged or eroded.

Digital transformation is reshaping how universities teach, operate and prepare students for the future workforce. At a recent discussion, you said you were optimistic about education’s ability to adapt to the opportunities and challenges presented by AI. As technology literacy becomes increasingly important, how is Trinity adapting its curricula to prepare graduates for the future world of work and new career opportunities presented by new digital technologies?

One of the ways we are preparing is by being adaptive, but for me the fundamental approach at the moment is developing our own philosophy, particularly around AI and advanced AI technologies. That philosophy has a number of elements, but it is very centered on the human. I see the university as needing to center and preserve “magnificent humanity” and to use AI in service of that. That is becoming clearer in how we position ourselves. We want to tell our students and staff, academic staff and professional staff alike, that these tools are not like traditional tools. There is something different about them and they require a high level of critical understanding, awareness and reflection.

That does not mean innovation or experimentation should be constrained. Students and staff should still push boundaries and be disruptive, but with that awareness and with the human firmly at the center. For example, we have an AI Accountability Lab, which closely examines evolving AI platforms and systems and takes a critical approach to them. It is important that users of these systems understand issues such as bias, including structural bias, the way these tools can reduce cognitive load and how they may affect the way people think and learn over time. These are not fact machines and it is important to understand their limitations. We are not focused on telling people what to think, but rather how to think, how to learn and how to remain critical. That underpins everything we do.

In March, Trinity presented 20 awards at its fourth annual Sustainability Awards during Green Week. How has sustainability become embedded across the university’s operations, research and curriculum?

Sustainability — climate action and biodiversity are fundamental in our Thrive strategic plan. We approach this from both a top-down and bottom-up perspective. The Sustainability Awards are a good example of the bottom-up approach. These awards recognized 20 individuals, including students, academic staff and professional staff, who are actively changing practices across the university. They may be developing green labs, improving recycling, or changing everyday behaviours around how people travel to and from work. The awards reflect the fact that, across the university, sustainability is embedded from the strategic level through to day-to-day operations.

In our behavioral values, which center on belonging, respect, care and imagining, one of the values is being “nature positive.” People sometimes ask how that can be a behavioral value, but for us it is part of embedding sustainability into how the university operates.

We are also developing our Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) approach which includes our ESD Fellows, people from across the university who work together to develop modules and course content that can be integrated into teaching. These modules are not yet embedded in every course, but the long-term aim is that all programmes will include an awareness of biodiversity and climate action in some form. More broadly, Trinity is particularly strong in understanding the relationship between biodiversity loss and climate change, which do not always align neatly and can sometimes be in tension with one another. We are fortunate to have a vice president for biodiversity and climate action, Prof. Jane Stout, who has a deep understanding of this interplay. We also have major research initiatives, including the AIB Climate Hub. There are around 300 to 400 researchers working on climate-related and biodiversity-related research across the university.

Ireland’s higher education sector remains strongly outward-looking, with record international enrolments in 2025 led by students from India and the USA. In Trinity’s most recent financial year, non-EU students represented 22.7% of the student population and generated around half of total academic income. Why should U.S. students choose Trinity College Dublin and what makes the student experience unique?

The pedigree and longevity of Trinity speak for themselves to a certain extent. You come to a place where education has been taking place for centuries. The United States is celebrating 250 years since independence and Trinity is more than 430 years old, so there is a deep sense of history here and people do feel that when they arrive. Our campus is very distinctive and sits in the center of Dublin. Many cities place palaces or government buildings at their core, whereas in Dublin the university is at the center. That reflects the value placed on education.

Another important element is research-informed teaching. Our academics are working at the cutting edge of their fields and they bring that directly into the classroom, which creates a strong academic experience. We also focus on the wider student experience. There are more than 175 clubs and societies, allowing students to engage in activities beyond their academic studies. That sense of community and camaraderie is very important, even within a student population of around 23,000.

We also place a strong emphasis on student support. There are excellent counselling services and students are expected to develop independence. In some respects, they are given a lot of autonomy and are treated as adults expected to take responsibility for themselves, which can be both a challenge and an opportunity as they transition into adulthood.

Finally, our values matter a great deal. Trinity has a strong tradition of social justice, environmental responsibility and encouraging students to speak up and be themselves. I think all of these factors together are what attract students. North America is, in fact, one of our largest international markets. We have a very large number of strong initiatives and partnerships. One example is our Global Brain Health Institute, which focuses on brain health equity. It supports what are known as Atlantic Fellows — hundreds of fellows from around the world working on issues such as healthy aging, dementia and improving brain health outcomes globally. The University of California, San Francisco is a key partner in this initiative, so it is a strong example of an established collaboration with the United States. We have many other long-standing relationships with U.S. institutions, both at individual and institutional levels and we continue to develop these.

I am also chair of a European network called the League of European Research Universities, which includes 24 leading universities. At the same time, we engage closely with the Association of American Universities and similar organisations internationally. In addition, we have structured academic partnerships such as the Dual BA programme with Columbia University and we are always looking to expand these kinds of collaborations. These dual-degree arrangements are particularly valuable and very effective models of partnership.

What final message would you like to share with LA Times readers about Trinity College Dublin and the opportunities emerging across Ireland’s higher education sector?

We are very much focused on our strategic plan, Thrive, which is about intensifying both research and innovation. Partnership is a key part of that ambition. We also see ourselves as a bridge to the European Union. Ireland and Trinity in particular, are in a unique position: an English-speaking country with close links to the United States, while also being fully connected to Europe. Our door is open. We very much welcome partnership. We have a great deal to offer and we also gain a great deal from strong international collaboration.