Update from College Secretary to staff and students

16 April 2020

Dear colleagues and students

Next week marks an important week in the College calendar – Trinity Week. Due to the current College closure, regrettably only some of our annual events can take place next week while others will be rescheduled in the next academic year. On Trinity Monday the announcement of Fellows and Scholars will be made by the Provost at 10.00am, followed by the Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving in the Chapel, and Professor Eoin Mac Cárthaigh, Discipline of Irish and Celtic Languages, School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies will deliver the memorial discourse commemorating Dr Eleanor Knott, Irish scholar, academic and lexicographer. These three events will be available online and an email with details will follow. I hope that as many of you as possible can participate remotely.

With the COVID-19 pandemic we have all had to adapt our work and study practices by embracing technology even more. Please note that a significant increase in cyber-attacks including phishing and other unusual contacts has been reported against universities and hospitals recently. Cyber criminals are attempting to exploit the unfamiliar situation caused by the global pandemic by leveraging the fear and distraction associated with recent events to access your devices, accounts and data. It is important to stay alert and protect your personal and University systems and information against these threats. Please review IT Service’s comprehensive advice  and contact the IT Service Desk to report any suspicious activity.

On another technological note, Trinity Access, in partnership with CAMARA and the ESB, has launched a campaign called Tech2Students to source used laptops, for refurbishment, to be donated to Leaving Cert students in schools linked to Trinity Access who don’t have access to a laptop at home in their ‘virtual classroom’. If you could pass the word to friends, family, colleagues etc. it would be appreciated. If the project is successful it is planned to extend it. More information can be found here.

I hope you and your families continue to remain safe and well.

Kind regards

John Coman

Secretary to the College, West Theatre, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland

Rúnaí an Choláiste, An Téatar Thiar, Coláiste na Tríonóide, Baile Átha Cliath, Ollscoil Átha Cliath, Faiche an Choláiste, Baile Átha Cliath 2, Éire