New Alumni Appeal to Support Student Learning

Posted on: 31 March 2011

A new Alumni Appeal aimed at sustaining Trinity’s tradition of academic excellence by supporting exceptional students was launched by the Provost, Dr John Hegarty, on March 30th last.  Trinity College Dublin is constantly developing and building on its world class reputation.  The enthusiastic support from alumni will fund projects that will transform lives, power the economy, make Ireland smarter and open Trinity’s gates wider to all.

The appeal aims to connect alumni to the exciting projects happening at Trinity today.  It also addresses a core financial need in the Trinity community namely for postgraduate scholarship, student excellence and access initiatives.  All funds raised will be distributed directly to schools and the Trinity Access Programmes. 

The Alumni Appeal centres on four short films showcasing current Trinity students, each one sharing a unique story about how their work impacts wider society.  In one, Sabina Brennan, a postgraduate student in the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, describes how her research into brain function and cognitive decline will impact Ireland: “Currently dementia care costs more than cancer, heart disease and stroke care combined, costs that are set to double over the next thirty years.  Fifty percent of baby girls born in Ireland today will live to the age of 100.  So we really need to find ways to intervene, otherwise we are going to have social or economic crisis.”

Trinity is home to over 2,000 ground-breaking post-graduate research projects, from developing treatments for killer diseases and advancing equality in the developing world to creating lucrative new technologies and challenging long held cultural assumptions.  There are also more than 500 people currently being supported by the Trinity Access Programmes who, owing to their personal circumstances, would otherwise not be able to reach their academic potential.

Speaking at the event Director of the Trinity Foundation, Nick Sparrow said: “These students make me proud to be at Trinity.  I’m privileged to help share their stories, which are just some of the hundreds of reasons to give back to Trinity and help contribute towards a better future, not just for our students but for our country and our planet.”

More information on the Trinity Alumni Appeal is available online: http://www.tcd.ie/alumni/appeal/