Sandra Collins

UCD Alumni Award in Research, Innovation and Impact

BSc 1991, PhD 1996

Sandra is Director of the National Library of Ireland (NLI). She has worked as Director of the Digital Repository of Ireland at the Royal Irish Academy and has developed the infrastructure for the digital preservation of cultural and social data. She was named by Silicon Republic as one of the top women in technology.

Dr Sandra Collins was appointed as the Director of the National Library of Ireland in 2015. Her interdisciplinary career encompasses research and innovation from mathematics to cultural heritage. Sandra graduated from UCD with first class joint honours in mathematics and applied mathematics, and a PhD in nonlinear fluid dynamics. Previous roles include mathematics lecturer in DCU, master researcher in Ericsson telecommunications, scientific programme manager in Science Foundation Ireland, and founding director of the Digital Repository of Ireland in the Royal Irish Academy. In 2013 she was named in the Top 38 Irish Technology Women by Technology Voice, and in 2014 as one of Silicon Republic's Top 100 Women in Technology. She led the Inspiring Ireland digital cultural platform, which won three Irish eGovernment Awards in 2015 and was nominated for a World Summit Award in 2016. Sandra is a member of the Executive of the Conference of European National Librarians and the Council of the Research Data Alliance, and is a member of the Irish Government’s Expert Advisory Group on Commemorations, and the Boards of the Chester Beatty, the Irish Manuscripts Commission and the Irish Consortium of National and University Libraries (CONUL).