Ninth Level Ireland

“In an interview with Bryan Dobson on RTÉ Radio 1 this afternoon, Provost Elect Professor Linda Doyle said that there is more that universities can do to get students back on campus, including rapid testing. ‘There’ll be students now who have had two academic years disrupted’, she said. She continued saying that Trinity is ‘looking at rapid testing’ …” (more)

[Kate Henshaw, Trinity News, 12 April]

“A number of healthcare students at the MTU Kerry campus have not consented to Covid-19 vaccines offered to them. Radio Kerry understands that some of the students have been removed from their placements and a number will not be allowed to take up training placements as a result …” (more)

[Radio Kerry, 12 April]

“All staff and students in higher education are to be surveyed on their experiences of sexual violence and sexual harassment during the coming weeks as part of a ‘zero tolerance’ initiative to create safe campuses for all. In addition, all colleges are being required to record and report cases of sexual harassment and bullying of staff and students on an annual basis …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 12 April]

“Sir, – I congratulate Prof Linda Doyle on her election as provost of Trinity College Dublin (‘Trinity College Dublin names Linda Doyle as first woman provost in 429 years’, News, April 10th). During the campaign, Prof Doyle made several key commitments to early-career academics, particularly precariously employed adjunct staff. At the Irish Federation of University Teachers hustings she promised to ensure they were paid for every hour worked in class preparation and marking time, and to consult with unions in determining a fair hourly rate …” (more)

[Niall Kennedy, Irish Times, 12 April]

“University College Dublin (UCD) has spent almost €100,000 on solicitor fees and investigations following allegations of sexual harassment. Internal university data shows there have been 14 complaints of sexual harassment at the south Dublin college in the past five years …” (more)

[Wayne O’Connor, Independent, 11 April]

“The Government should cover the €1,850 cost of mandatory hotel quarantine for Erasmus students returning to Ireland, an MEP has said. Fianna Fáil’s Billy Kelleher commented on the matter following the Government’s decision last night to add several EU countries to the ‘high-risk’ Covid-19 list …” (more)

[Brendan Kelly Palenque, Independent, 10 April]

“Trinity College Dublin has named Professor Linda Doyle as the first female Provost in its 429-year history. The Professor of Engineering and The Arts and former Dean of Research was one of three female candidates for the ten-year position …” (more)

[Laura Fletcher, RTÉ News, 10 April]

“Professor Linda Doyle is set to become Provost of Trinity College Dublin, the first woman to ever hold this role in the University’s 429-year history. She will be the 45th Provost of the University and take over from the current Provost, Dr Patrick Prendergast, on August 1st this year. Linda Doyle is Professor of Engineering and the Arts at Trinity and became the Provost-elect today after an election involving staff and student representatives …” (more)

[Trinity College, 10 April]

“Prof Jane Ohlmeyer has been eliminated from the Provost election, having received the fewest number of votes in the first round of the election. Ohlmeyer received 211 first-preference votes in total. Prof Linda Doyle and Prof Linda Hogan received 345 votes and 222 votes respectively …” (more)

[Matt McCann, University Times, 10 April]

“Sir, – In his letter ‘Trinity and Chinese universities’ (March 29th), Prof Nathan Hill writes that ‘the increasing marginalisation and oppression of minorities constitutes an imperative to pursue collaborations with the Central University for Nationalities [Minzu University of China (MUC)] and other nationality universities rather than a reason to hesitate in our engagement with Chinese university partners’ …” (more)

[Caitríona Ní Dhúill and others, Irish Times, 10 April]

“Trinity College Dublin will unveil the first female provost to lead the university in its 429-year history on Saturday afternoon. About 860 full-time academic staff are eligible to vote in the election which will take place online this year. The all-female shortlist of three senior academics includes Prof Linda Doyle, dean of research; Prof Linda Hogan, a theologian and former vice-provost; and Prof Jane Ohlmeyer, a high-profile historian …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 9 April]

“Trinity adapted quickly in March 2020 when coronavirus restrictions closed the university. As classes moved online, so did annual examinations. Mitigating measures were introduced, including the option to defer assessments – without explanation – before or after sitting them, or resit modules students had passed alongside greater latitude in marking of assignments and assessments …” (more)

[Declan Treanor, University Times, 9 April]

“Staff members in the School of Chemistry have expressed frustration at the recent cancellation of in-person laboratory practicals, alleging that Trinity is out of touch with the reality of the situation. In March, this newspaper reported that Trinity had introduced new rules mandating in-person activities be a maximum of one hour and 45 minutes in length in order to prevent people working in the same room from being labelled as ‘close contacts’ by the HSE …” (more)

[Jody Druce, University Times, 8 April]

“An initial observation on the provost election from a support and service staff perspective is that the whole process is archaic, undemocratic and insulting to those who work in College but have no voice in the election of a person who will hold the most important position in College for a decade …” (more)

[Cieran Perry, University Times, 9 April]

“At todays Waterford City and County Council Plenary meeting a motion that I had submitted in January was finally debated and passed unanimously. The motion read ‘That Waterford City and County Council calls on the government to clarify the funding and configuration arrangements for their proposed Technological University before dissolving Waterford Institute of Technology’ …” (more)

[Cllr Mary Roche, 9 April]

“Sir, – Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris says that the issue of third-level funding has been ‘ducked and dodged for far too long’ (News, April 7th). He said that a final report is due within the next few months and that he won’t be seeking a dusty shelf for it. The Minister is well aware that action is long overdue and he has available to him the Hunt report from January 2011 and the Cassells report from March 2016 …” (more)

[Pat O’Brien, Irish Times, 9 April]

“Do you ever think about why your degree is called a Bachelor’s or a Master’s? Where did these titles come from? Why do university degrees confer such male-orientated titles? How does this make our graduates feel? …” (more)

[Christine Broughan and Tahereh Riahi, Wonkhe, 9 April]

“In a recently published survey from the Trinity Postgraduate Workers Alliance examining the impact of Covid-19 on postgraduate researchers, we found that 90% of respondents had been negatively affected by the pandemic. Some 35.6% reported loss of income, over 60% reported negative effects on their mental health, while others worried about the security of their accommodation and broader impacts on their research …” (more)

[Conor Reddy, University Times, 8 April]

“Former president of the NUI Galway students’ union and chemistry graduate Clare Austick has been elected president of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) for the 2021-2022 academic year. Ms Austick, who previously held the USI position of vice-president for welfare, acknowledged that there was a lot of work to be done in the coming months to ensure students could return to campus ‘in a safe manner’ in autumn 2021 while dealing with the impact of the pandemic on students nationwide …” (more)

[Sorcha Pollak, Irish Times, 8 April]

“University College Dublin has received planning approval for works which will facilitate a major expansion of its Belfield campus, including a €48m ’tilting towers’ landmark building at its main entrance on the N11 …” (more)

[Seán McCárthaigh, TheJournal.ie, 6 April]