President’s

Message

This year, 2022, Maynooth University celebrates its 25th anniversary as an independent institution. It is a wonderful milestone to celebrate, and we have held events throughout the year to recognise our collective achievements – how far we’ve come both in size (4,000 to over 15,000 students today) and in stature (ranking among the best young universities in the world).

The history of education and scholarship on the Maynooth campus has a much longer history – with vital contributions to science from Nicholas Callan through his invention of the induction coil in 1836, to a legacy of educating students who go on to make major differences in Irish society. From John Hume to Geraldine Byrne-Nason, who this year was appointed Irish Ambassador to the United States, to so many of you, the impact of Maynooth University over the years is impressive and unique.

It’s a curious thing to be both young and old—to be young and dynamic, full of promise and zeal for the future, and also to have older, well-trodden paths. This is a wonderful thing, and something I am proud to speak about when I am representing the University with government, business and internationally. In fact, it is this juxtaposition of who we are as an institution that has risen to the surface in this past year at the University, as we embarked on the formation of the University’s next Strategic Plan. The exercise is one I find incredibly exciting. We have held numerous consultations, involving both the university and external communities, received literally many hundreds of ideas from staff, students, our external partners and community neighbours, and the process is ongoing until late spring 2023.

This is, to me, a sign of a university community that is truly engaged in thinking about the future role for MU and what we, specifically and uniquely, can bring to our rapidly growing and vibrant region, to the challenges of growth and capacity facing Ireland as a nation, and to the existential challenges we face as a planet. The MU community is thinking bigger than ever before, about how to build on our strengths—how we continue to build on our world-class research contributions in many key areas, how to prepare our students for life beyond university in an ever-changing world, and how to better leverage our strong reputation for engagement with communities, populations, and policymakers.

Alumni already have made many contributions to this plan. I was so pleased to hear your ideas and reflections at recent alumni gatherings, including the Alumni Reunion on campus in September and two international alumni receptions in Paris and London in the autumn. You will continue to be critical partners in this process in the months and years ahead as we make important decisions about the future of our university and then carry them out.

I hope reading through the pages of The Bridge will give you a feel for this energy and for the work being done not only by our academic researchers and students, but by you, our former students, of whom we are so proud. I look forward to sharing the Strategic Plan with you in 2023, and I especially look forward to working with you to help us realise our ambitious plans in the years ahead. Warm regards,

Professor Eeva Leinonen President