Report of the President September 2017 – August 2018 Report of the President Report September 2017 – August 2018 August – 2017 September University College Dublin Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland www.ucd.ie Think bigger, go further, learn more Report of the President University College Dublin National University of Ireland, Dublin September 2017 – August 2018 For presentation to the Governing Authority of University College Dublin, National University of Ireland, Dublin at its meeting on 12 December 2018. ISBN: 978-1-910963-31-9 Contents Overview by Professor Andrew J. Deeks, 2 UCD President UCD by Numbers 7 Education 12 Research, Innovation and Impact 24 Global Engagement 40 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion 42 Finance and Capital Development 46 Human Resources 52 UCD College of Arts and Humanities 54 UCD College of Business 58 UCD College of Engineering and Architecture 62 UCD College of Health and Agricultural Sciences 66 UCD College of Science 70 UCD College of Social Sciences and Law 74 University Awards 78 Appointments 84 Retirements 86 1 Overview by the President Overview by the President I am pleased to present my fifth report as President of University College Dublin. Throughout this report you will read of the many successes and accomplishments of our faculty and staff. UCD continues to build its reputation as Ireland’s leading and most global university in line with our Strategy 2015-2020. 2017/18 has been a busy year across the University. Our student although the quantum is insufficient to address current needs across recruitment has held up strongly, with UCD maintaining its place the sector, at least this is a move in the right direction. as the university of first choice for CAO applicants, as well as for international students coming to Ireland. This reflects our growing Despite the challenges that we face, I am greatly encouraged for the reputation for excellence in teaching and learning, our research future. There are continuing conversations about the value of a university impact, as well as our continuously improving campus facilities. education and the proportion of the Irish cohort undertaking university level education, but there is still a strong desire in the Underfunding of the sector continues to be the biggest financial Irish community to see their children undertake university studies. challenge facing the University, with consequent pressure on operational and infrastructural sustainability as student numbers In September I announced the departure of two members of the increase. Despite successive reductions in State funding and increased University Management Team (UMT). Dean and Principal of the UCD demand between 2008 and 2015, UCD made significant progress College of Business, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh was appointed as towards meeting its strategic objectives, while remaining within President of NUI Galway and Bursar, Gerry O’Brien was appointed as budget during that period, albeit at the expense of student:faculty Chief Operations Officer at the University of Limerick. My personal ratios, student support services and campus infrastructure. thanks to both of them for their sustained contributions to UCD during their tenure here. State funding per student remains virtually unchanged, as the allocation of additional funding announced in this year’s State Budget is absorbed Professor Ó hÓgartaigh was replaced in May by Professor Anthony by increasing student numbers and by public pay reinstatement and Brabazon as Dean and Principal of UCD College of Business. Gerry increases. A welcome sign in the Budget was the allocation of some was replaced as Bursar, also in May, by David Kelly. I congratulate capital funding for co-founded infrastructure projects and for them on these appointments and welcome them to the University much-needed capital refurbishment. This is the first time funding has Management Team. been allocated for these purposes during my five years in Ireland, and In September 2017, as we welcomed our new students to the UCD community, the QS ranking placed UCD as number 1 in Ireland and Top left: Feeding the swans at the UCD Festival. number 74 in the world for graduate employability. This ranking 2 UCD Report of the President 2016 – 2017 includes a number of objective measures of employability including // Most of our students join us at partnerships with employers, internships and employer-student connections on campus that demonstrate our commitment to a critical moment in their lives, a ensuring our students are prepared for life after university and time when they are emerging from future success. a school environment which directs Our ambitious plans for the development of the Belfield campus and guides their learning. Their years continue at pace. In July, I announced the winner of the Future Campus architectural competition. This competition included both a master-plan with us should open their minds to for the campus and a statement building to be constructed at the N11 opportunity, personal growth, and entrance. Steven Holl Architects produced the winning design, taking inspiration from the UCD water tower and from the Giant’s new and challenging ideas // Causeway. The building promises to be one of Ireland’s most iconic pieces of architecture, providing a symbol of the ambition and vision of the University, while the first phase of the master-plan will include grants registered this year were two Science Foundation Ireland a new teaching and learning building and will provide a connection Research Centres led by UCD: the BEACON Bioeconomy Research from the campus entrance on the Stillorgan Road through to the main Centre and the I-FORM Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre. spine of the campus which dates from the original campus masterplan. Industry funding included a major artificial intelligence research project with Samsung Electronics. Construction commenced in June on the first phase of our student residence masterplan. This will deliver 924 badly-needed bed spaces for Building our capacity to deliver impact from research continues to be our students. This phase will also deliver new student facilities, including an area of focus. We won many awards for our research collaborations dining options and retail space to be open by September 2020. across the year. We continue to extend our public engagement, to ensure that our research is influenced by and shared with the public In February, I signed the contract for the building of the University for mutual learning. Club. It will open in April 2019 and will provide a venue for faculty, staff, researchers, alumni and partners to meet, eat and socialise. Most world-class universities have a venue of this nature, and this project Global UCD will address a significant gap in our facilities. It will also augment the conference facility of O’Reilly Hall and benefit faculty who Launched in September 2016, the UCD Global Engagement Strategy bring international academic conferences to UCD. has seen continued significant progress during the past year, including the opening of a new Global Centre in Dubai, bringing the total number of centres supporting UCD’s engagement overseas to five. Education This year, our international student numbers increased further to 7,923, representing over a quarter of all students on our Dublin Most of our students join us at a critical moment in their lives, a time campuses and bringing diversity to our community with students when they are emerging from a school environment which directs from close to 140 different countries. and guides their learning. Their years with us should open their minds to opportunity, personal growth, and new and challenging ideas. This In support of UCD’s Global Engagement Strategy, the inaugural UCD year we have continued to invest in delivering our Education Strategy, Global Week for faculty and staff took place in June, and featured an with a commitment to strengthening and enhancing our academic array of speakers from across UCD, Ireland, and our global partners. The programmes. Following the completion of our curriculum review last week demonstrated the value and strength of our global partnerships, year, we are implementing the resulting action plans. and also highlighted UCD’s important and valued place as a dominant player on the world stage in the university and business sectors. This year we launched ‘University for All’, which will offer a real change in the way the University approaches widening participation, requiring faculty and staff across the University to take ownership Equality, Diversity and Inclusion of the Access agenda and to ensure that barriers to inclusion are identified and removed. We also concluded the first year of our pilot Our vision for EDI is to be a leader and role model in equality and co-curricular awards schemes ‘UCD Embark’ and ‘UCD Advantage’. diversity in the higher education sector nationally and internationally, and for EDI to be at the heart of all we do. Research, Innovation and Impact This statement of mission and vision was adopted by the University Management Team as part of the UCD Equality, Diversity and The past year has seen considerable success for UCD in research, Inclusion policy in May 2018. This policy commits the University innovation and impact. It was our most successful year ever for to the creation of an environment in which all members of the research grants, with external awards totaling c122.4 million. This University community should expect to be able to thrive, be represents an increase of more than 25% on last year, and an increase respected and have a real opportunity to participate in and contribute of c5.5 million over our previous peak. Among the major research to University activities so that they can achieve their fullest potential. 3 Overview by the President Right: A journey through time with Roman soldiers at the UCD Festival. Far right: Summer Party for the Homeless in Iveagh Gardens – UCD in the Community, in collaboration with the Dublin Lions Club, hosted a Summer Party with one hundred UCD employees and student volunteers contributing to the success of the event.