The number of postgraduate students at Trinity College Dublin is set to increase by 25 per cent as part of a €372 million strategic plan, circulated to staff this morning.
Trinity hopes the new plan - with its strong emphasis on increased research activity - will help to propel it to a place among the top 50 universities in the world.
The plan envisages TCD becoming a world leader in one key research area within a decade. Its genetics, immunology and neuroscience departments are regarded as among the- world's best.
TCD says it has now achieved its target of drawing some 15 per cent of its students from non-traditional backgrounds. These include students with disabilities, those from a disadvantaged background and mature students.
The university is also continuing to attract some of the highest achievers in the Leaving Cert. More than 50 per cent of its first-year students achieved 500 points or more, according to its provost, Dr John Hegarty.
Trinity's status has been boosted in recent weeks by the new Times Higher Education Supplement table which ranks it among the top 100 universities worldwide. Trinity comes 78th in the table, up more than 30 places from last year.
Trinity is the only Irish university to achieve such a placing. In some cases, it is ranked higher than colleges with twice its staff and more than double its budget.
The updated plan builds on the college's first five-year strategic plan published in 2003. Since then, the university sector has been transformed by much greater State investment, including a commitment to an extra €1 billion in funding in the last budget.
Trinity has also been transformed internally by a restructuring programme pushed through by Dr Hegarty, despite the opposition of some academic staff.
In all, 225 new staff will be recruited over the next five years as Trinity boosts its postgraduate numbers to 5,000. The Government hopes to see a doubling in total postgraduate numbers by 2013 as it develops the "fourth- level" sector needed to drive the economy. TCD will focus on increasing the number of students recruited from masters programmes to PhD programmes.
In an interview with The Irish Times, Dr Hegarty defended the restructuring process, labelled by his critics as part of a "pro-business" agenda. Trinity was working from a new management system where the allocation of resources could be linked to the capacity of departments to generate funding, he said.
However, he strongly disputed any suggestion that this approach could undermine arts and humanities, which remained a key part of the fabric of Trinity.
The restructuring will generate new levels of dynamism, co-operation and creativity, he said. "It allows for research teams across a number of disciplines working together, thereby facilitating the maximum potential for their research."
TCD was buffeted by the row over the summer when University College Dublin was accused of poaching or attempting to poach some key staff. Dr Hegarty said he was satisfied with the new protocol on recruitment drawn up by the seven university heads.
Trinity, he said, also wanted to play a lead role in collaborative agreements with other universities. In recent months, it has signed a number of strategic partnerships with a number of colleges including NUI Galway, UCC and the College of Surgeons.
Dr Hegarty also said that Trinity had no plans to increase its undergraduate numbers which currently stand at 11,500. Any increase would place undue pressure on staff and undermine the student experience.
The college may also introduce a new modularised programme, which would allow undergraduates to sample a wider range of courses.
