'I want to raise the ambition level here . . . There will be bumps on the road. But this is not a popularity contest.' New UCD president Hugh Brady plans to make a difference in his new role, writes Sean Flynn, Education Editor.

An old, bulky computer rests on the floor of Hugh Brady's office. It has already been replaced on his desk by a black, flat-screened state-of-the-art model.

His vast office, overlooking the lake at Belfield, is sparse. There is no clutter and there are no frills. You get the sense that Hugh Brady is here to shake things up, to achieve real change. You get the sense, though he never articulates it, that he believes UCD, his alma mater, has been underperforming.

There is little time for small talk as Brady proceeds swiftly to outline his bold, dramatic vision for UCD. Leading cutting-edge research, a centre of excellence and so on.

In the midst of it all, he talks about how he is the father of three eight-year-old boys. When the time comes, he says, the "horizon of choice" for their generation will encompass not just UCD, but international heavyweights such as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Cornell.

His task over the next 10 years, as UCD president, is to ensure that the college firmly establishes itself among the great European universities. His task is to ensure that the best and the brightest are drawn to Belfield.

There is an easy, affable confidence about Hugh Brady. Not surprising when you consider how, at 44, he has already held many of the glittering prizes that the academic world can offer.

He worked at Harvard for nine years, most recently as an associate professor of medicine. He has also been head of the department of medicine at UCD and co-founder of the Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research.

His "short" CV ranges across five A4 pages. He has published over 150 research papers, book chapters and biotechnology patents. He has received awards from the National Institutes of Health, the Wellcome Trust, the Health Research Board and the European Union. He is a recognised international authority on the pathogenesis of diabetes and inflammatory diseases.

His appointment has been widely applauded across the education community. Said one senior figure: "UCD is the great sleeping giant of Irish education. It was slow off the blocks in the battle [with other colleges] for research funding and it is living on its reputation. It needs someone like Brady to kick over the traces".

Another senior academic marvels at Brady's commitment and determination. "He could be making a fortune as a consultant in the US or elsewhere, but he sacrificed all of this for academic leadership at UCD. Is he mad? Quite probably."

Hugh Brady laughs when I recount this story and then addresses the issue.

"I think this is a wonderful and unique opportunity. I have been all over the world and I know that the students and teachers in this university compare with the very best. It is not an exaggeration to say that the future of UCD and the future of Ireland are linked. If UCD does well, Ireland will do well. This is a chance to make a difference for the benefit of the college - and for the benefit of the State."

After a decade in North America, he still marvels at the speed of change, the transformation of Ireland. He came back in 1996, just as the economy began to move forward and the society began to change.

"I was offered a post in Edinburgh, but coming here, to UCD, was a no-brainer. The Dublin I had left had been transformed. It was now a cosmopolitan bustling city."

After UCD performed poorly in the competitive race for research funding in 1998, Brady was asked by the former president, Art Cosgrove, to develop the Conway Institute and to provide real leadership. It gave him a taste for academic leadership and a management role.

There is, he says, a real momentum for change in UCD. "My job is to raise the bar, to raise the level of ambition of all my colleagues. I will support as best I can. I will be a cheerleader for those who are making a difference and making an impact. But I will also challenge people to do better, to ensure, at all times, that UCD is a great European university. There is great, unrealised potential here. This is what spurred me to take this job."

UCD, says Brady, has no choice but to raise its ambition level. Students are more demanding than ever. They are the best. They want the best. If they don't find it at UCD they will go elsewhere, to another college in another country. "The competition is international, not local. Joe Louis used to say in the ring, you can run but you cannot hide. For UCD and, indeed, the entire Irish university sector, all the world's a ring."

UCD, he says, must "play smart. We can't be good at everything. We need to define what our strengths are. We need to be less of a supertanker and more like a team of small frigates, moving around and adapting to change".

Will he be a hard taskmaster? "I want to raise the ambition level here. I hope people will see that I will be acting, at all times, in the best interest of the college. There will be bumps on the road. But this is not a popularity contest."

CV: Dr Hugh Brady

Date of birth: August 9th, 1959.

Family: Married to Yvonne O'Meara. Three children: Daire 8, Oisin 8, Tristan 8.

Career: 1995-1999 - Associate professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School.

1999-2001 - Associate Dean for Research, Faculty of Medicine, UCD.

1999-2000 - Acting director, Conway Institute of Biomedical and Biomolecular Research, UCD.

1996-2003 - Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics, UCD

Brady on. . .

Accountability:

"There is a tendency to treat all talk of academic accountability, responsibility and duty as being somewhat beneath us. We are here because of a major investment by the taxpayer from whom we derive 90 per cent of our funding. My role is to ensure that we are putting this investment to good use."

Communications:

"The whole higher education sector must communicate more effectively to the public. We must spread the good news about the very high level of quality assurance systems in Irish universities, about our world class research, about our very high teaching standards. The message has not got out there. We need to do a better job to convince the taxpayer we merit more funding."

Research:

"Worldwide, academics look at Ireland as a location for research in a way they would never have done in the past. The Government has done much to change things. But, there must be a fuller realisation that investment in research does have economic rewards. The universities must be the hotbeds of innovation in the knowledge economy. But they must be properly funded."

Access for disadvantaged students

"UCD cannot deal with this issue on its own, where there is a culture of non-participation at third level.

But we are doing exciting things like the New Era programme, which links UCD to schools in disadvantaged areas.

We need to be more flexible in our delivery of courses. We cannot expect a single mother from a disadvantaged area to proceed in college at the same pace as an 18- year-old from a private fee paying school.

We need to allow people accumulate credits in different ways."

The Value of Education: Words from a new leader

The following is an edited excerpt from Professor Hugh Brady's inaugural lecture as UCD president. The lecture, The Value of Education, will be delivered tonight before an invited audience at the O'Reilly Hall.

Higher education:

"There is a disconnect between stated Irish government policy on the one hand and this year's draconian funding cuts on the other. This disconnect needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency if UCD and Ireland is to reach its full potential.

Higher education funding in Ireland just cannot endure continuous up and down, stop and go funding of higher education.

Speaking as a father of three young boys . . . there is no opposition between sustained investment in higher education and the consolidation and enhancement of our already world-recognised primary and secondary education systems. It is not a choice between world-class universities and new facilities for Johnstown Primary School, which the boys attend. We need a continuum of excellence from primary through secondary and onto higher levels of education.

UCD

As a UCD graduate, I say with confidence and considerable pride that this is a great university. Through its staff, students and alumni, UCD has been a central player in the development of all facets of the Irish State and society.

For UCD to continue to succeed and to firmly establish itself among the great European Universities we must define ourselves as:

• A highly competitive research-intensive university where bold and imaginative educational programmes and excellence in teaching go hand-in-glove with a commitment to the discovery process, research and innovation;

• A university that is shaping agendas nationally - supporting where appropriate and challenging where warranted;

• A university that is truly international with a distinctive Irish flavour;

• A university where international competitiveness is the benchmark for everything that we do, whether it be teaching, research or administration.