WHO’S WHO introduces people who are making an important contribution to education in Ireland today.

NAME: Professor Carol O’Sullivan
OCCUPATION: Dean of Graduate Studies at Trinity College Dublin

Where are you from?
I was born in Dublin.

What is your earliest childhood memory?
My father, Tomás Ó Suilleabháin, singing to me – he had a wonderful baritone voice. However, I never really appreciated his talents as a child, as he used to sing out loud while walking with me around town - mortifying!

How many siblings have you?
I am the youngest of seven children – with three brothers and three sisters.

Where did you go to school/college?
I went to Scoil Mobhi, an all-Irish primary school, Loreto North Great George’s St for my secondary education, and TCD for my undergraduate degree in Mathematics. When I returned to academia after several years in Industry (mainly in Germany) and the birth of my three children, I received a Masters in computing from Dublin City University in 1996, and a PhD in Computer Graphics from TCD in 1999.

Were there teachers/lecturers who had a particular influence on you?
In school, I had an excellent Mathematics teacher called Mary McDonough, who gave us the opportunity to take honours maths (an option not always available in girls’ schools at that time). This good grounding led me to choose Mathematics in University, which ultimately led to an interest in my current field of Computer Graphics. What attracted you to work in academia? When I left College, I went to work as a software engineer in Germany and had no intentions of ever returning to study. However, when my children were born I looked for more flexible working conditions and started teaching in the VEC while doing a taught masters in DCU. My interest in computer graphics began then and I subsequently did a PhD in TCD in that field. I discovered that I loved the world of academia – in particular the freedom to pursue interesting topics in teaching and research and the opportunities to engage in interdisciplinary activities (my particular research focus is on the interactions between human perception and graphics).

How has Budget 2009 affected the area of graduate studies both in terms of taught and research programmes?
The effects of the current economic downturn are not yet fully evident – however, there is a significant increase in interest in all post-graduate areas, as people wish to educate themselves through the current recession.

Do you subscribe to the view that graduate studies, in particular PhDs, must be economy driven?
No, certainly not. PhDs should be driven first and foremost by the desire and ability to pursue original research and to extend the frontiers of knowledge – no matter what its form. However, I don’t believe that both aims are mutually exclusive – i.e., it is possible for original and ground-breaking research to be informed by and contribute to the economy and society in general. What is really important is that the research is original and of high quality. And, in fact, having such highly qualified original thinkers in a society will benefit the country in many ways, both social and economical.

Will the Trinity-UCD research merger enhance the work of your department?
Trinity and UCD have a history of working closely together on areas of mutual and complementary interest, as indeed we do with all of the other HEIs in Ireland. We have, for example, been working closely on joint initiatives such as the DRHEA (Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance) Graduate Education Strand, which aims to share advanced level PhD courses across the partner institutions (TCD, UCD, DCU, NUIM , DIT and ITT). We also collaborate with NUIG and UCC on the development of generic and transferable skills training for PhD students. Furthermore, the IUA 4th level network of the 7 Deans of Graduate Studies have been working closely together to share good practice and to enhance the PhD experience in Ireland. All of these initiatives, along with the Innovation Alliance with UCD, contribute greatly to the work of my office.

What does a typical workday involve for you?
It’s hard to describe a typical day – they are all so different! In addition to my role as Dean of Graduate Studies, I also lead a large research team, so I tend to work pretty long hours and often weekends. My remit as Dean is quite wide and covers the admission, progression and examination of both taught and research postgraduates. My time is divided between meetings about graduate education matters, college committees, reviewing of course proposals and examiners reports, consideration of student cases, strategic planning initiatives, external relations, and many other activities. I also meet regularly with my own PhD students and post-doctoral researchers and try to spend at least one full day a week on my own research, write grant proposals, and perform other research activities such as editing and reviewing papers and proposals. So, as you can see, it’s quite a busy schedule!

What do you enjoy most about your work?
As Dean, I most enjoy the opportunity to interact with academics and students from a wide variety of fields.

What do you like least about your work?
I like almost everything about my work – perhaps it would be nice sometimes to have a little more time for reflection! What would you most like to change? I would like to see more funding and resources available to support all graduate students equally. In particular, postgraduate students with disabilities are not supported sufficiently by the state.

Are you a workaholic?
Yes!

What do you do to chill out?
Sleep!

Do you like living in Dublin?
Sometimes, depending on the weather and the traffic.

What plans have you for the future?
In the short to medium term, I plan to take a year’s sabbatical when my current term as Dean ends (in July 2010) to pursue some new directions of research. Longer term, there are several interesting directions that my career could take and I will consider all my options!

Have you a pet hate?
Apathy and mediocrity – if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.

Have you a role model?
I have been lucky to have great mentors, in particular Professor John Byrne, former head of the Computer Science Department and Prof Jane Grimson, both of whom supported and encouraged me as a new academic in TCD.