2 minute read
Introduction
Professor Ray O'Neill
It is a pleasant task, even in difficult times, to Introduce the 2020 annual report on Research and Innovation at Maynooth University. The report serves to highlight the University’s notable achievements and points of Pride in research and scholarship across its range of disciplines, and in its Interdisciplinary work, over the past year or so.
Professor Philip Nolan, President
Professor Philip Nolan, President
As the world endures the covid-19 pandemic and seeks to limit its effects, there has surely been a reinforcement of the importance of deep and multi-faceted expertise to address urgent global issues. These include responses to pandemics (and preparation for future pandemics), societal inequality, or climate change. Universities have a unique role to play in this regard, and university research must be to the fore.
It is through our research activities that deep expertise and understanding is developed, and keeps developing. It is through participation in significant national and international networks, and through wide and open scrutiny, that we ensure the questions we address, and the answers we formulate, are grounded, important and relevant. And, of the very greatest importance, it is through research participation that we ensure a considered understanding of the hard-won knowledge and methods that are of greatest value in the education of our students. With the covid-19 crisis the importance is sharply accentuated of the importance of university graduates who are capable, well-informed, thinking citizens. This is what we strive for at Maynooth.
Maynooth was formally established as an autonomous, public university in 1997, but the institution traces its origins to the foundation of the Royal College of St. Patrick in 1795; from these deep scholarly roots has grown a dynamic research university which in 2019 was placed in the global top 350 universities in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. While rankings of this type may be of questionable value, this particular ranking is based largely on verifiable measures of quality of research and scholarly activity, and it places Maynooth squarely in the top 3% of universities worldwide. This report presents an annual snapshot of high quality research, scholarship and innovation achievements across the three Faculties of the University, and in our major interdisciplinary research institutes and centres. Maynooth’s research makes a strong contribution to Ireland, and to the international community of knowledge, and it is critical to the excellent education we offer to our students. It is a sustaining and ongoing source of pride for the University.
Philip Nolan, President Ray O’Neill, Vice-President for Research and Innovation
