Universities & colleges

What’s being discovered at Dublin’s third-levels? Postgraduate degrees are increasingly useful for people who want to stand out in the jobs market. Much of the focus here has tended to be on taught masters programmes, but the skills picked up during a masters by research or a doctoral (PhD) programme are invaluable: you will learn about how to research and evaluate information and then effectively communicate what you have learned. We spoke to four students about their research projects and what’s next for them. Lisa Koep, PhD candidate at the school of marketing in

Looking for stars? Try BIMM Spotted a famous musician in Dublin recently? There’s a fair chance they were coming out of TU Dublin’s school of commercial music – BIMM. Situated on Francis Street in Dublin 8, the British and Irish Modern Music Institute – or BIMM – holds regular masterclasses for its students with world-class musicians. Over the past decade, Imelda May, Danny O’Donoghue of The Script, Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlain and even Hozier have paid surprise visits to BIMM’s students. US singer-songwriter

Opera could save the cinema – or kill itself Who likes the trailers? For many film fans, the previews of upcoming films are an integral part of the cinema experience. In recent years, however, most cinema-goers will have noticed a new phenomenon: less trailers for upcoming films and more for live opera and theatre, which is beamed into cinemas across the world. Cinemas love it. It attracts an older, wealthier demographic and often at times of the day when the cinema might not be very busy But who goes to the cinema to watch live opera and theatre? Actually, quite a few, says Christopher Morris, a professor of music at

What you can expect studying at NCAD Art College is a waste of time, right? Not so. The National College of Art and Design on Thomas Street is really punching above its weight and is intent on disproving the lazy stereotypes about art students. Its annual showcase has become an art and design highlight in the city – featuring painting, product design, sculpture, fashion and more. We have had lots of opportunities to showcase our work outside the college. Meanwhile, its fashion students have been awarded top prizes both here and abroad. The Dublin art college is cli

Grand Canal Dock is home to more than just the tech companies it’s famous for. That dark grey contemporary building with unusual green bubbles on the front is The Lir – Ireland’s National Academy of Dramatic Art. Its courses are developed in association with London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and its reputation is enviable. Acting is not for the faint hearted though; it takes a certain type of determination and passion. “It’s…satisfying to me, going through a script and having to do it night and night again. Every moment is live and there is no second take”, explains

One American’s experience of studying in Dublin Ben Campbell Rosbrook is originally from Syracuse in upstate New York. After completing his undergraduate at a college in Vermont, he came to Ireland to do his Masters degree at Trinity College Dublin. That was back in 2016, but today he still lives in Dublin where he works as a commercial analyst. After Ben had been living in Dublin for a few months, Dublin.ie spoke to him about his experience of studying in the city. So what brought him to Dublin? Student life from an American’s perspective “I’m spending like half or a

As Professor Luke O’Neill discovered recently, when you become a fellow of the extremely exclusive and august science club that is the Royal Society, you have to sign their book. Previous signatories include Newton, Boyle, Freud and Einstein (Oh, and superstar astrophysicist Brian Cox). Which makes the process rather nerve-wracking, according to O’Neill, a biochemist at Dublin’s Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute and one of the world’s leading immunologists. Luke O’Neill: There’s a practice, you don’t want to smudge your name! Dublin.ie: That’s quite some company you’re keeping there - but what do all you science guys have in common? Luke O’Neill: Science is trying to find stuff out. You can call it exploration, you can call it pioneering, frontier stuff because it’s all about making discoveries. We are explorers, that’s our job, that’s what attracted me to it. I wanted to see something nobody’s seen before. And in my case, luckily enough in my lab we probably had three big discoveries that made a big difference: we explored the immune system and saw things there for the first time. The next step is there’s a whole new pathway or process discovered - and of course the thrill would be if that was a dysfunction or a disease because then you might try and correct it. Once you find the enemy, you might be able to design a new medicine that might beat it. Dublin.ie: So you’re a biochemist and not an ordinary one? Luke O’Neill: I’m a bit of a schizophrenic! I was interested in chemistry anyway and biochemistry is chemistry writ large: if you want to understand something you’ve got to understand the chemical basis for things - and biochemistry is the basis for life. If we understand the chemicals of life wouldn’t that be a thrilling thing? One comparison is with genetics: geneticists don’t really go beyond the genes, you know – and I want to know the real fundamentals. Like genes makes proteins, but what do they do? I was always obsessed with true mechanism – the underlying mechanism, the very basics of how things work. I’ve always been obsessed with molecular things in a sense.

Medicine in Trinity College is known as one of the most difficult courses to get into in Ireland. These students will play a major role in the future of healthcare – here and worldwide. Someday your life might just depend on one of them. During hospital placements, some of these students will experience incidents that most of us never have to. They’ll witness life-changing moments and hear tragic backstories. “Sometimes I’ve taken a step back and thought: ‘Oh, I’m very lucky to never have had any of those issues’,” says Aisling Hickey, a Trinity

What sets Dublin’s top culinary arts school apart? TU Dublin’s School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology, which was once based on Cathal Brugha Street but is now located on its new Grangegorman campus, has been blazing trails for over 80 years. Dublin.ie met with the Head and Assistant Head of the school, Dr. Frank Cullen and Mike O’Connor, to find out what sets their culinary school apart and what the move to a centralised campus at Grangegorman has meant for its students. An 80-year-old institution The Culinary Arts School first ope

IADT is Dublin’s Institute of Art Design and Technology and inside the walls, it’s alive with ideas, creativity - and a girl who hula-hoops every single day! The college is situated in Dún Laoghaire – Dublin’s picturesque coastal town - and it’s home to 2,300 students and staff. Being only 12km from the city centre means “the students have the option of hanging out in Dún Laoghaire or making the trip to the city centre” says Students’ Union president, Alice Hartigan. Conveniently, it’s on the 46A bus route, the one they voted Dublin’s favourite bus route of all time: check out the views from the top deck!

First things first: The Bots. What is it? “The Bots” is how teachers and students refer to The Teagasc College of Amenity Horticulture, located at the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin. They’ve been teaching there since 1812 so there’s quite a bit of history. For our first instalment of Horticultural Dublin we want to find out about this unique institution hidden away in the suburbs. To investigate, we’ve enlisted some people on the inside. We’ve got John Mulhern, Principal of the College, and prized former pupil, Gary Mentanko. John has been with Teagasc, a wider authority on agriculture and food development, for 20-odd years. Gary studied Horticulture at the Bots and has also conducted Horticultural work in the Arctic. We’ll come back to that.

DCU is growing. The young university is spreading its wings across the north of Dublin, with campuses in Glasnevin and Drumcondra. As a result more eager students will be adopting these areas as their new home. So, what can students coming to study in the New DCU expect from this part of our fair city? Student life is about balance. A rounded education does not just happen in a lecture hall. Libraries, books and essays may make up a large part of the university experience but they are not the be all and end all. New friends, new experiences and new locals are all waiting to be explored.