Trinity breaks new ground with Ploughing debut
Posted on: 19 September 2024
Vice-President of Global Engagement Emma Stokes said the experience had been “fantastic”. “We had hundreds of visitors each day to our booth. Students at all stages of their education, as well as parents and many of our alumni.”
Swapping cobbles for furrows for the first time in its history, Trinity College Dublin made its institutional debut this week at the 2024 National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, Co. Laois.
In a bid to engage up close with an upcoming generation of students and their parents, Trinity operated a booth at this year’s “Ploughing,” hoping to engage with some of the 250,000 or so people who visited the three-day festival.
The booth was staffed by a team from Trinity Global, which recruits students from Ireland as well as overseas.
Vice-President of Global Engagement Emma Stokes (pictured in main image on tractor with colleagues Deirdre Shirt (left) and Audrey Fevrey) said the experience had been “fantastic”.
“We had hundreds of visitors each day to our booth. Students at all stages of their education, as well as parents and many of our alumni.”
“We met people interested in undergraduate study, research as well as postgraduate courses, short courses and, of course, microcredentials. People of all ages.”
The decision to attend the Ploughing follows a review of how Trinity engages with secondary schools on the island of Ireland, which led to a decision to attend a greater diversity of events.
“We want to ensure that students from all over the island think of Trinity as an option for them,” said Emma Stokes. “Next year, we would plan to bring a lot more of our researchers with us to highlight Trinity’s research opportunities and excellence.”
Visitors to the Trinity booth over the week included Ivana Bacik, leader of the Labour Party and Trinity alumna.
The Ploughing visit comes shortly after Anna-May McHugh, the indefatigable leader of the Ploughing for decades, received an honorary degree from Trinity in June.
Having made the expedition to Laois once, Emma Stokes said Trinity would “definitely be coming back”.
Media Contact:
Catherine O’Mahony | Media Relations | catherine.omahony@tcd.ie