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Have you ever wondered why the seemingly distinct disciplines of mathematics and music are so often spoken of in the same breath? Or why it is often assumed that a good musician must also be adept at maths? Perhaps the common denominator is that the theoretical foundation of each realm is essentially one and the same. Numbers and numerical systems are relied upon in the understanding, execution and creation of musical works. Even at its most basic level, the performance of notated music involves a sufficient grasp of proportionately related values of duration, and the ability to translate a sequence of ordered pitches into sound. To compose music, the relationships become even more sophisticated, as one must consider how these sounds might work in combination.

The connection permeates the entirety of our mappable musical history. The earliest known musical instrument is a three-holed flute fashioned from an animal bone that was discovered in Slovenia in 1995, and estimated to be between 50,000 and 60,000 years old. Even an instrument as basic as this demonstrates an innate understanding of links between measurement and pitch by placement of holes drilled into the bone.

We can best elucidate the multiple parallels by dividing the building blocks of music into three distinct categories: rhythm, pitch, and harmony.

From the perspective of pure acoustics, pitch is all about frequency levels in sound waves.”

MUSIC IN THEORY …

A rhythm is a combination of differing durations in a phrase, each connected to another by numeric proportions, with rhythmic symbols acting as a visual shorthand for numbers. If you imagine clicking your fingers or clapping along to a song, this process suggests a basic unit of rhythm. Most commonly, this will be represented by a crotchet (♩), and the most prevalent arrangement of crotchets is ‘four-in-a-bar’. Imagine a 1–2–3–4 count in that is often given by the drummer in a band, sometimes made just by striking the drumsticks together.

When notated, each bar conforms to a regular number of beats indicated by a time signature comprising two numbers. For example, in the time signature 4/4, the lower number tells us the type of beat (crotchet) and the upper one the number of beats (four). Thus, 4/4 means four crotchet beats in a bar. Other note values are proportionately related to our basic unit of pulse. A crotchet is twice as long as a quaver, four times as long as a semiquaver, and half as long as a minim.

From the perspective of pure acoustics, pitch is all about frequency levels in sound waves. This is most easily conceived as the rate of vibrations produced by a bowed or plucked string: the higher the number of vibrations per second, the higher the frequency, and in turn the pitch. A sequence of rising numbered pitches delivers a musical scale, with the first– second–third corresponding to the notes labelled as do–re–mi, and so on.

Here is a rising C major scale with note names in place of numbers or the do system, from middle C to the C an octave (eight notes) above.

We encounter harmony when pitches are combined one on top of another, and these may be considered consonant when the combinations are pleasing, or dissonant when they communicate tension. The primary harmonic unit combines the first, third and fifth degrees of the do–re–mi scale in a triad, with the example below being constructed upon the note C. The lowest note is C, with E a third above it and G a fifth below.

The most fascinating aspect of this consonant arrangement of notes is how they are found in the natural world in the form of the harmonic series. This is the sequence of notes that sounds almost imperceptibly above the so-called ‘fundamental’ note when, for example, you play an open string on a cello.

A harmonic series on the note C – the lowest string on the cello – yields another C an octave above, then a further fifth (G), third (E), third (G), and so on, with the intervals becoming increasingly smaller. The beginning of this natural series presents us with the notes of our basic major triad (C–E–G), and thus a gateway into a universal harmonic vocabulary.

…AND IN PRACTICE

In my own work as a conductor, the numeric and geometric are critical to performance preparation. When teaching conducting to students, I regularly emphasise that the unadorned text of music – the score – is akin to a book in which there are no paragraphs, no sentences, no phrases. This is underlined by a statement by the influential 20th century composer Arnold Schoenberg, who wrote: “Without organisation, music would be an amorphous mass, as unintelligible as an essay without punctuation, or as disconnected as a conversation that leaps purposelessly from one subject to another.”

Structural analysis enables the music to become a readable narrative rather than a sonic stream of consciousness. The overall architecture often conforms, if loosely, to prevalent templates, while the negotiation of musical statements over time requires keen anticipation of the journey ahead. You cannot adequately commence a phrase without knowing how long it will last; think of this in terms of how deeplyyou need to fill your lungs in order to effectively sing a particularly short or long line of melody.

All my performance scores contain extensive markings, with the most crucial being the numbers that indicate phrase structure, also called the hypermetre. Metre tells us the number (and type) of beats in the bar, hypermetre the number of bars in a phrase. Analysis also situates the phrase within a larger formal framework, and that sense of geography means you are better equipped to focus on the potential vagaries of the live concert environment. At this point, it can be a little more unpredictable.

In my own work as a conductor, the numeric and geometric are critical to performance preparation. “

For the singer in a choir or the instrumentalist in an orchestra, counting is a critical activity. Most classical works from the 17th to 19th century involve a regular recurring pulse, like three or four in a bar. But as we enter the 20th century, variations on this become more frequent. The pivotal piece that incorporates rapidly changing metres is Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, first performed in Paris in 1913, and famously inspiring an audience riot. In this score, it is common for extended sequences of bars with contrasting metres: four crotchets in a bar (4/4) might be followed by three in a bar (3/4), sometimes three quavers (3/8), or even five semiquavers (5/16). One particularly notorious example is a single bar comprising eleven crotchets (11/4). Such complexity demands the utmost level of concentration – and non-stop counting.

But even in music of greater metric consistency, counting remains vital. This is especially true when not playing and you are counting the empty bars until you have to begin again. Let us consider one legendary example. If you are the tuba player in the famous ‘Largo’ from Dvořák’s New World Symphony, you play for five bars, then count – very slowly – for 114 bars, play for another four bars, and you are done. As a conductor, I am always counting, if subconsciously, and it would be expected that I give the tuba player a decisive nod at this crucial moment. But as a player, you may not want to take that chance, so you methodically count the 114 bars of 4/4 – 456 beats in total.

FROM SCIENCE TO ART, AND BACK AGAIN

It was Pythagoras, the Greek philosopher and mathematician of the sixth century BCE, who is often credited with discovery of proportional relationships in music by way of an undoubtedly apocryphal tale about a blacksmith striking anvils with hammers of contrasting dimensions. Aristotle observed that the Pythagoreans “believed the entire vault of heaven to be harmony and numbers”, and their underlying principles endured for centuries. Music was regarded as a subject to be studied alongside arithmetic, geometry and astronomy in dominant models of classical education. Increasingly, it began to assert itself more as art form rather than a science, but mathematical attributes persisted in works by the greatest composers.

J.S. Bach in particular has been associated with mathematical sleights of hand in his music. Bach mastered and refined technical aspects of the fugue, a form of counterpoint that treats musical ideas in an almost mechanistic way. Fugues often incorporate mathematical ploys such as inversions and retrogrades, which are both types of mirroring. Inversions flip the theme on a horizontal axis, while retrogrades are the musical equivalent of palindromes.

His unfinished masterpiece The Art of Fugue employs the following principal theme, commencing with a rising fifth, then a descending third, another descending third, and so on.

A later movement, ‘Contrapunctus IV’, begins with an inversion of this theme: a descending fifth, followed by an ascending third, another ascending third, and so on.

The most famous instance of a retrograde in Bach’s music is the crab canon (canon canzicrans) from The Musical Offering of 1747. This is an 18-bar theme that proceeds as normal before being played backwards in its entirety. Both versions of the theme can then be played simultaneously. This has been compared with the mathematical concept of the Möbius Strip (see below) in which two ends connect in such a way that the strip shall only possess one side.

Similar strategies would be popularised in the early 20th century, when numerical and geometric matters once again seemed to take centre stage. Maybe the most mathematical of trends was pursued by the Second Viennese School consisting of the aforementioned Arnold Schoenberg and his disciples. Schoenberg frequently employed inversions and retrogrades, while his student Alban Berg placed a large-scale palindrome at the centre of his opera Lulu.

But these tendencies pale in comparison to the mathematical rigour of a compositional system that Schoenberg pioneered in the 1920s. This system, called dodecaphony or twelve-tone technique, allowed each of the twelve notes in the chromatic scale – all the white and black notes within an octave range on the piano keyboard – to have equal weighting. While classical works had traditionally been subject to the gravitational pull of a central pitch, Schoenberg’s democratisation of the twelve individual pitches generated a music that seemed to be suspended in mid-air. “In this space,” he wrote, “there is no absolute down, no right or left, forward or backward.” For many, this was the quintessential sound of musical Modernism, equivalent to the Joycean novel in literature, or the abstract canvases of Kandinsky, Malevich, Kupka, and others.

An intriguing addendum to Schoenberg’s story is that he was afflicted with triskaidekaphobia, an irrational fear of the number 13. Schoenberg refused to use it as a bar number in his own manuscripts, adopting 12A as a substitute. He also once refused to rent a house with the dreaded number on account of this condition, and even respelled the title of his opera Moses und Aron so it only contained 12 letters, not 13 as the correct spelling of Aaron would have entailed. He became superstitious about dying at an age that constitutes a multiple of 13 but managed to avoid this fate; he actually died at the age of 76 – on Friday 13 July 1951. His final utterance, if reports are to be believed, was simply: “Harmony.” ■

Just Add Water

Ponds are extraordinary reservoirs of biodiversity and play a critical role as Ireland faces significant biodiversity loss. More than half of Ireland’s amphibian wetlands have been lost to drainage, industrial peat extraction, pollution and natural senescence in the past century. Naturally vegetated ponds are excellent at carbon sequestration, with small ponds sequestering 20-30 times the amount of carbon compared with woodlands, grasslands and other habitats. UCD Estate Services understand the value of ponds (or lakes as they are known on campus), and are committed to protecting and creating pond habitats.

As most alumni know, UCD has historically been home to breeding pairs of Mute Swans on both the Main and Upper Lakes. Typically, swans start building nests on the islands in March or April, and the cygnets have always been a source of joy on campus.

Specifically designed to encourage biodiversity, the Upper Lake (a former carpark and bus stop that were transformed in 2014) lies between the Engineering Building and Sutherland School of Law. This natural-looking lake has been carefully designed to encourage biodiversity, with marginal planting, cobbled beaches for wading birds, islands for nesting, and deeper troughs of cooler water for fish. It’s a hub of activity where you can watch birds, bees, hoverflies, and Ireland’s biggest dragonfly, the Emperor Dragonfly, in action. The Moorhen is a common sight, as are herons and cormorants, and you’ll see Tufted Ducks bobbing on the surface or swimming underneath.

The Lower or ‘Secret’ Lakes, behind the UCD Veterinary Sciences Centre and UCD Conway Institute, are part of an original watercourse that has been developed into reed beds and ponds and are home to a variety of birds including the wren, Moorhen and the rarer Water Rail.

UCD Estate Services actively supports birdlife with a daily feeding programme. (Please note that alumni are requested to let us know if you spot any frogs while exploring!).

As well as fostering biodiversity, the Lakes are a clever piece of engineering, gathering rainwater from surrounding buildings and attenuating and releasing when required. They are also a resource for the academic community who use them for scientific studies, and a wonderful amenity for students, faculty, staff and the public.

When Belfield became the site of the new university campus, it comprised a number of old estates, each with their own woodland attached. As Ciarán Bennett, UCD Estates Operations Manager, explains: “These formed a natural woodland boundary for the campus. Colleagues such as horticulturist Ciarán Beattie have been instrumental in the management of campus trees and woodlands over time, through initiatives such as the 8km Boundary Woodland Walk and UCD`s annual Tree Planting Programme.”

www.ucdestates.ie/green-campus/biodiversity/

Is féidir linn ar fad difríocht a dhéanamh do mhaireachtáil ár mbeach agus ár bhfeithidí pailnitheacha trí phlandaí atá oiriúnach do phailneoirí a chur”

Na 10 bPlanda is oiriúnaí do Phailneoirí

Tá leabhrán acmhainní saor in aisce nua curtha amach ag Plean Uile-Éireann um Pailneoirí. Na 10 bPlanda is oiriúnaí do Phailneoirí i Suíomhanna Éagsúla is ainm don leabhrán agus tá 24 liosta ann de phlandaí atá oiriúnach do phailneoirí dúchasacha agus neamhdhúchasacha i suíomhanna éagsúla, gairdíní, bláthchiseáin chrochta, agus locháin san áireamh. Forbraíodh an treoir i gcomhar leis an Dr Noeleen Smyth, ó Scoil na Talamhaíochta agus Eolaíocht an Bhia UCD. “Is féidir linn ar fad difríocht a dhéanamh do mhaireachtáil ár mbeach agus ár bhfeithidí pailnitheacha trí phlandaí atá oiriúnach do phailneoirí a chur,” a dúirt an Dr Smyth. Tá neart fianaise ann go bhfuil na pailneoirí feithide seo, agus pailneoirí eile amhail foichí, leamhain, féileacáin, agus seangáin, ríthábhachtach nuair a thagann sé chuig barra agus plandaí fiáine a phailniú. Tá titim ag teacht ar na pailneoirí seo de dheasca easpa flúirse agus éagsúlacht plandaí bláthanna – lena chinntiú go bhfuil réim chothrom shláintiúil bia á fáil acu, ba cheart go mbeadh siad ábalta iad féin a chothú ar phailin agus neachtar ó raon bláthanna ó luath san earrach go dtí an fómhar. Aimsigh an treoir ag www.ucdestates.ie/green-campus/biodiversity

Fionnachtain Lágair Shuntasach

I bhfionnachtain iontach, tháinig mac léinn géineolaíochta sa tríú bliain, Stephen Allen, ar chineálacha giosta darb ainm Saccharomyces eubayanus ar champas Belfield níos luaithe i mbliana. Is tuismitheoir de Saccharomyces pastorianus é ceann den dá ghiosta seo agus úsáideadh an giosta bríbhéireachta sa Bhaváir ag deireadh na Meánaoiseanna, tráth a d’aistrigh an réigiún ó leannta a dhéanamh chuig beoracha cosúil le lágar.

Níorbh fhios roimhe seo conas a thosaigh na grúdairí Gearmánacha sa 13ú haois ag baint úsáide as an ngiosta hibrideach, toisc nár bhfuarthas S. eubayanus ach i gCríocha Mheiriceá agus san Áise. Tugtar le fios ó fhionnachtain shinsear an speicis giosta seo ar deacair teacht air agus atá ag fás ar ithir na hÉireann go raibh an giosta le fáil i ndeisceart na Gearmáine i rith dheireadh na Meánaoiseanna, agus tá seans ann go bhfuil pobail an-chríonna fós i bhfolach in áit éigin i gcoillte na Baváire agus in áiteanna eile.

“Trí theacht ar S. eubayanus san Eoraip tá Stephen tar éis ceist sheanbhunaithe a fhreagairt maidir le cad as a dtáinig giostaí lágair,” arsa an tOllamh UCD Geraldine Butler, príomhúdar páipéir i dTaighde Giosta Chónaidhm Chumainn Mhicribhitheolaíochta na hEorpa, arna fhoilsiú ag Oxford University Press. “Cuirfidh an fhionnachtain Éireannach fuinneamh le cuardaigh le haghaidh aonraíoch giosta cosúil in áiteanna eile san Eoraip … is sampla iontach í an fhionnachtain de theagasc a bhfuil taighde mar bhonn aige.”

Téigh ar shiúl ealaíne timpeall an champais

Is cuid de líonra de shuiteáin ealaíne a choimeádtar go cúramach iad na dealbha atá ar fud Belfield agus tugtar Cosán Dealbhóireachta UCD orthu. D’fhorbair Ruth Fergusan, Coimeádaí Theach Newman UCD, agus an Dr Paula Murphy, Scoil Stair na hEalaíne agus an Pholasaí Chultúrtha UCD, an Cosán ar dtús. Tá oibreacha ó ealaíontóirí a bhfuil clú áitiúil agus idirnáisiúnta orthu ar an gCosán, amhail Paddy Campbell (Wind and Water), Carolyn Mulholland (Tremor) agus Jill Pitko (Joie de Vivre).

Is féidir leat Chroma a fheiceáil in Ionad Eolaíochta Uí Bhriain, agus Judgement, dealbh chré-umha ag Rowan Gillespie, a léiríonn beirt fhear i mbun comhrá domhain, díreach lasmuigh den tslí isteach chuig Scoil Dlí Sutherland. Tá a scéal féin le hinsint ag gach ceann de na dealbha seo. Tá eolas (agus grianghraif ó Vincent Hoban) ar na dealbha, léarscáil idirghníomhach san áireamh, ar fáil ó shuíomh gréasáin Leabharlann Dhigiteach UCD. digital.ucd.ie.

Micro-Credentials

UCD now offers more than 80 short microcredential courses in multiple sectors including Agriculture and Food, Data Science, Financial Mathematics, Financial Services, Health Data Analytics, Law, and Medicine and Health. Micro-credentials, ideal for those who may not have the time to engage with longer programmes of study, and an excellent choice for professionals looking to upskill, pivot or change their career, provide learners with globally recognised accreditation and the possibility of using that credit towards a UCD award, such as a UCD professional diploma or master’s. UCD Alumni can avail of a 20 per cent discount on a number of microcredentials. See www.ucd.ie/microcredentials/

Coming Soon: UCD’s New Sport & Performance Complex

UCD has been granted planning permission for a three-storey multipurpose sports hall, Tennis Centre and music performance centre. The facility combined will also serve as an assessment centre for end of term exams with capacity for 2,250 students.

The development will also provide two new UEFA-standard artificial football pitches, six new five-a-side football pitches, and an artificial half-size hockey training pitch. The project, estimated to cost more than €87million, will be funded by the annual €254 student levy which has in the past funded existing sports and student facilities and will now support this new development.

Right on Track

UCD’s brand new state-of-the-art Athletics track is now open and is the home of UCD Athletics Club, the UCD Triathlon Club, UCD School of Public Health, local schools, businesses and clubs. UCD Athletics Club has signed up to the Sport Inclusion Disability Charter and the track will be key to supporting athletes with disabilities.

Classic Examples

New additions to UCD Library Special Collections are worth a visit

Adding To The James Joyce Archive At UCD

UCD Special Collections recently acquired new letters that add to the Joyce material in the C.P. Curran-Helen Laird collection. Joyce and Curran attended UCD, graduated together and remained lifelong friends.

In addition to a 1904 note from Joyce to Curran arranging to meet in Bewleys, the acquisition included a letter to Curran in 1917 while Joyce was in Zurich working on Ulysses. In this letter, he describes how he is “recovering from a painful – and this time dangerous – illness of the eyes”. This is significant as it may be the first description by Joyce of his eye trouble, which would afflict him for the rest of his life.

These letters are a significant addition to the Curran-Laird collection of correspondence, books, photographs and ephemera in UCD Special Collections, which was deposited in 1972. The original correspondence collection features more than 400 letters and includes a further 23 letters from Joyce to Curran as well as many written to Curran by Joyce’s family, associates and friends. This collection is a valuable resource for Joyce scholars throughout the world, and is available to view on the UCD Digital Library.

We urge people to explore these fascinating letters in UCD’s Digital Library, to see Joyce’s words in his own handwriting,” said Dr Sandra Collins, UCD University Librarian.

Curran (1883-1972), a lawyer and historian of 18th-century Dublin architecture, sculpture and plasterwork, became a great supporter of Joyce. Curran was married to actress, costumier, teacher and suffragist Helen Laird (1874-1957) and a vibrant and diverse group of artists, historians, playwrights, actors and writers attended the couple’s famed salons in Rathgar. Curran was a model for the character Gabriel in Joyce’s The Dead. He is also mentioned by name in Ulysses, where Stephen Dedalus recalls that he owes him ten guineas. www.ucd.ie/specialcollections

Heaney agus na Clasaicí

Tá taispeántas nua, ‘Heaney & Na Clasaicí’, tar éis oscailt i Leabharlann UCD. Pléann an taispeántas obair Seamus Heaney trí thuiscint litríocht Ré na gClasaicí. Tá rogha d’eagráin theoranta agus cóipeanna sínithe obair bhuaiteoir Ghradam Nobel, a bhronn alumnas UCD agus mac léinn Yeats, an Dr Joseph Hassett, ar Shainchnuasaigh UCD, sa taispeántas. Is dlíodóir Gael-Mheiriceánach aitheanta agus seanchara chlann Heaney é an Dr Hassett.

Pléann an taispeántas ról an domhain chlasaicigh in obair Heaney. Coimeádann an Dr Hassett, i gcomhar le hEvelyn Flanagan agus Kathryn Milligan ó Shainchnuasaigh UCD, an taispeántas.

Is urlabhraí ar son na n-ealaíona agus tacaí scríbhneoireacht na hÉireann é Joseph agus, in 2022, bhronn an tUachtarán Ó hUiginn Gradam Scothsheirbhíse an Uachtaráin air mar aitheantas ar a obair ar son na hÉireann agus ar son phobail na hÉireann thar lear.

Students work hard to earn their place at UCD because they know that a great education matters. It holds the key to rewarding career paths, stronger communities, and a fairer and more sustainable future. However, for some students, determination, ability and boundless potential are not always enough to overcome the social and financial barriers they face. Fortunately, there is an incredible community of alumni and philanthropic supporters who are wholeheartedly invested in levelling the playing field so that brilliant young people from all backgrounds have the opportunity to flourish and succeed at UCD.

TRANSFORMING LIVES

Some alumni retain strong ties to their School or College, and choose to give back by donating to a College Support Fund. These flexible funds are allocated where they are most needed to enhance the student experience, supporting scholarships, internship bursaries, and experiential learning opportunities, as well as emergency assistance for students experiencing financial hardship.

Many others – more than 4,000 alumni – are proud UCD Champions who support UCD and our students by donating regularly through the annual giving programme. Their generosity helps make UCD a great place to study and enriches students’ social and academic lives in so many ways – supporting scholarships, sports and cultural activities, UCD Library and Writing Centre, mental health services, and a host of other initiatives. Every donor has their own reasons for choosing to support UCD students. Kate Drinane was motivated by a sense of gratitude and social justice.

“It’s about knowing your support will help not just the individual but our society as a whole”

“When I was a student I was lucky to be supported by my parents and to have a weekly allowance. Knowing that I had somewhere to lay my head at night removed a lot of stress and concern. On an individual level, it’s all about empowering students and helping someone afford books, accommodation and basic necessities. On a macro level, it’s about having regard for others and making sure that people have equal opportunities regardless of their status or background. It means that we can have a more diverse workforce and a better educated society. It’s about knowing your support will help not just the individual but our society as a whole.”

COLLECTIVE IMPACT

The past year has been extremely challenging for many of us, trying to make ends meet amid the spiralling costs of food, energy and accommodation. We are sincerely thankful for the loyalty and generosity of our alumni and friends, who continue to give what they can to ensure that our students receive meaningful support when they need it most. We value and appreciate every gift, no matter how small, and every cent donated goes directly to the donor’s chosen cause. The collective impact of our giving community is enormous, and so is our gratitude to each and every one of our wonderful supporters.

■ To learn more about how you can support UCD students today, visit www.ucdfoundation.ie/supporting-students.

The great generosity of our alumni community and philanthropic supporters plays a huge part in making UCD a wonderfully diverse, inclusive and modern university and a leading centre for research and discovery. Philanthropy helps to create life-changing opportunities for students from disadvantaged and under-represented backgrounds, and to ensure that every UCD student has a rich and formative college experience.

SUPPORTING STUDENTS

Gifts of all sizes donated to College Support Funds and through the UCD Champions annual giving programme go directly to support our students through scholarships, bursaries, emergency hardship funding and other supports and services where they are most needed. It’s impossible to overstate the impact of this support.

Philanthropy enriches the intellectual, cultural and creative fabric of UCD by supporting the holistic development of our students. It creates opportunities for students to reach their full academic potential and to develop their unique talents in areas beyond their field of study through initiatives such as UCD Choral Scholars and the Ad Astra Academy.

For students like Shane Black, the support of a scholarship can transform their journey through university by easing the burden of financial stress and enabling them to participate fully in UCD life. Shane describes the deep and lasting impact of the scholarship he was awarded through the student support fund in the School of Law – UCD Sutherland Opportunity supported by Mason Hayes & Curran.

I am living proof of the profound impact your support can have on a person’s life.”

“In the area I come from, there is not nearly enough participation in third-level education. I knew that taking up my place in university would involve a lot of financial struggle but I also knew it was a risk I had to take. It is impossible to summarise what a profound impact this scholarship has had. It has given me all the tools I needed to build a better future, and that is exactly what I did. UCD is built upon curious, intelligent, generous and hardworking people, and those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds are no less hardworking and curious. I am living proof of the profound impact your support can have on a person’s life.”

THE THINK AGAIN PROGRAMME

UCD is proud of its track record in widening the participation of students from diverse backgrounds in third-level education so that our university community better reflects the rich diversity of Irish society. Thanks to an extraordinary leadership gift from a philanthropic donor, we are continuing to reshape and reimagine our approach to access and inclusion with the launch of the Think Again programme – the first of its kind in an Irish university.

This pioneering programme, led by UCD Access and Lifelong Learning, is targeted at one of the most under-represented groups in higher education – mature women students from low-income households. These women can face many barriers to accessing education, including those related to childcare support, caring responsibilities and accessing suitable accommodation. Think Again is tailored to the particular needs of under-represented women, providing a bespoke blend of financial, academic and personal support to facilitate their success at UCD and beyond.

ADVANCING PAEDIATRIC MEDICINE

Philanthropy also plays a vital role in driving forward ambitious and innovative research by UCD’s world-leading academics. Generous individuals and corporate donors are funding groundbreaking research because they believe in the power of brilliant people working together to find creative solutions to our greatest challenges. They know that research being done at UCD today has the potential to transform the lives of people all over the world and close to home, and they want to play their part in making it happen.

The research team is using a combination of computational modelling and experimental analyses to revolutionise the treatment of cancer in children by developing treatments that are tailored to each individual patient. They develop ‘digital twins’ of patients, computer avatars that allow them to simulate and optimise the effect of therapies before they are given to patients. Digital twins will enable researchers to find new drugs and clinicians to make more precise diagnoses and optimise treatments for each individual patient so they receive only the amount of drug they need and no more. These exciting developments in UCD research promise to transform outcomes for children with cancer in the future.

WOMEN IN STEM

UCD is committed to equality of opportunity in an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated. An alignment of our values with those of Smurfit Kappa was behind the company’s decision to provide generous philanthropic support for research into the experiences of women in engineering careers – and the barriers to retaining women in engineering roles – under the UCD Newman Fellowship Programme.

The Smurfit Kappa Newman Fellowship on Women in STEM was launched on International Women’s Day earlier this year, and the newly appointed Fellow, Dr Deirdre Brennan, is looking forward to exploring her subject in depth over the next two years: “I am delighted to join the community of Newman Fellows, to be part of this innovative initiative that merges industry and academic research in order to create real impact in people’s lives. To have the opportunity to research the question of retaining women in STEM careers is particularly pertinent today, in light of the cost of living crisis and issues with childcare.”

Since its inception over 30 years ago, the Newman Fellowship Programme has provided outstanding opportunities for ambitious early-career researchers to pursue their interests across an incredibly broad array of subject areas, spanning the sciences and humanities. The programme is funded entirely by philanthropic donations from passionate individuals and corporates who are driving positive change in the world through their support for research at UCD.

TRANSFORMING OUR CAMPUS

We love to welcome our alumni back to UCD to revisit favourite haunts and see what’s changed on campus. Our buildings, facilities and natural environment are always evolving to meet the academic and social needs of our growing community today and in the future. Philanthropic support is a vital enabler of this continual development, which is essential to maintaining UCD’s position at the forefront of teaching, learning and research. Visitors to Belfield these days will notice major work taking place near the N11 entrance, where UCD Centre for Future Learning is under construction. This state-of-the-art building will transform how we teach and learn at UCD and is a critical investment in the physical and digital infrastructure of our campus, as well as the academic development of our students. The Centre for Future Learning will be fully technology enabled, and its flexible and adaptable spaces will be used by students and faculty across all academic disciplines, freeing up much-needed space in other buildings that are currently at capacity.

Over at the College of Science, the final phase of development of UCD O’Brien Centre for Science is advancing rapidly. This will complete the transformation of our science programmes and infrastructure to create one of the finest, most diverse science facilities in Europe. The O’Brien Centre for Science will be a seedbed for agile and talented graduates with a strong foundation in scientific knowledge, digital skills, and essential transversal skills such as creativity, communication and entrepreneurship. Extraordinary philanthropic support strengthened UCD’s successful bid to secure an additional €25m in government funding for this exciting project earlier this year.

THANK YOU

Our fantastic giving community of alumni, volunteers, friends and corporate partners contribute so much, and in so many ways, to make UCD a great place to learn, grow and flourish. A heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you for all that you make possible for our students, our researchers, our campus and our community.

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As temperatures reached record levels across the world, terrifying images of burning landscapes in Europe and wildfires and toxic ash in North America, coupled with the deluges of rain we experienced at home in Ireland, the summer months brought the realities of global warming home to all but the most die-hard of climate deniers.

Amidst these sobering reports, there was good news in the passing of the EU’s Nature Restoration Law, a core pillar of Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s European Green Deal, after months of heated debate and an opposition campaign scientists criticised as misleading.

“The EU is a world leader in developing this legislation,” says PROFESSOR TASMAN CROWE, UCD’s Vice President for Sustainability. “It is a big step forward and sets an important precedent.” Opposition to the law argued that it would hurt food security and punish producers already damaged by the pandemic, war in Ukraine and energy crisis, with the farming lobby claiming the law was ill-prepared, lacked a budget and would be unimplementable for farmers and forest owners.

Scientists disagreed that restoring nature would be bad for food and the economy, with an open letter signed by 6,000 scientists highlighting studies showing that restoring nature would improve food security, help fisheries, create jobs and save money.

The Nature Restoration Law comes at a time when Europe’s nature is in bad health with more than 60% of its soils categorised as unhealthy and 81% of habitats in poor condition. The abundance of farmland birds has halved in the past 40 years, and one in three bee and butterfly species are in decline.

The Nature Restoration Law will place recovery measures on 20% of the EU’s land and sea by 2030, rising to cover all degraded ecosystems, in particular those with the most potential to capture and store carbon and to prevent and reduce the impact of natural disasters, by 2050.

“The EU is seeking to build up Europe’s resilience and strategic autonomy, prevent natural disasters and reduce risks to food security.”

This is the first continent-wide, comprehensive law of its kind and a key element of the EU Biodiversity Strategy. Restoring wetlands, rivers, forests, grasslands, marine ecosystems, and the species they host will help increase biodiversity and secure the things nature does for free, such as cleaning our water and air, pollinating crops, and protecting us from floods.

By taking these important steps towards limiting global warming to 1.5°C, the EU is seeking to build up Europe’s resilience and strategic autonomy, prevent natural disasters and reduce risks to food security.

“Biodiversity provides a wealth of essential public goods and services including clean air, water, pollination, and soil fertility,” explains Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, CHARLIE MC CONALOGUE (BA History and Politics 2000). “Our farmers, foresters and fishers rely on and manage these goods and services for their livelihoods.”

The passing of the Nature Restoration Law by the European Parliament paves the way for the final stage of negotiations – ‘trialogues’ – between the European Commission, the Council and the Parliament. While the detail of the Nature Restoration regulation is under negotiation at EU level, Minister McConalogue says that supporting environmental delivery is necessary across all sectors of society to protect future generations and a cornerstone of the Food Vision 2030 strategy.

“My Department is already delivering key actions to support biodiversity, climate change mitigation and improvements in water quality, and Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027 will support Irish farm families in contributing to our climate and environmental ambitions while continuing to produce safe, sustainable food,” says the Minister.

Farmers are lobbying for substantially increased funding to compensate them for the changes they are being asked to make. Minister McConalogue points to specific supports already introduced by his Department, including the new national agri-environmental scheme, ACRES, which integrates locally led and results-based approaches to deliver greater impact, increased funding for organic farming and continued support for European Innovation Partnerships, a novel approach based on supporting local teams to develop and implement local actions.

“The Nitrates Action Programme which commenced last year introduced significant changes to reduce the loss of nutrients from agriculture to water,” says Minister McConalogue, “and farmers have made significant efforts to address water quality, however it will take time before the impact of these changes becomes visible in our water data.” Professor Crowe says that now that we know that the legislation is going ahead, the discussion will be around the details. “There will be wrangling and pushback from sectoral interests,” he predicts. “In the past, incentives were geared towards intensification, so there is a level of sympathy towards farmers who are now being asked to do the opposite. There is a fine balancing act between the provision of funding and allowing farmers who want a say over their own land a degree of self- determination.” Forestry is another sector in which the Nature Restoration Law is controversial. The Minister points to his Department’s proposed Forestry Programme which aims to deliver more diverse forests to meet economic, social, and environmental objectives.

Coillte is Ireland’s state-owned forestry business, managing 7% of the country’s land and responsible for innovative projects such as the ‘Beyond the Trees’ visitor destination at Avondale, Co. Wicklow, a €19 million project overseen by the company’s Head of Recreation, DAITHI DE FORGE (BAgrSc Forestry 1994).

Coillte says that it supports the need to restore and enhance biodiversity, and is focused on balancing and delivering the multiple benefits of forests for climate, nature, wood and people. It says it works carefully with nature in all of its forests and lands to protect important species and habitats, with biodiversity areas that are a mix of forested and open habitats from native woodlands to broadleaved and mixed forests to conifer forests, and open habitats including areas of uplands, heaths and bogs.

Of the 440,000 hectares under management by Coillte, 20% is managed primarily for nature, with the biodiversity value increased through enhancement and restoration projects. Coillte’s ambition is to increase this to 30% by 2025 and to 50% in the long term.

Fishing is also impacted by the Nature Restoration Law, with fishers saying it is not possible to decarbonise the fleet and protect the environment as the EU wants using existing funding.

Minister McConalogue points to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive with measures including the Landing Obligation, Multi-Annual Plans, and the Clean Ocean Initiative to remove plastics from the seas, as one of the main mechanisms currently delivering environmental protection.

It is clear that the Nature Restoration Laws are controversial and it is clear there is work to be done in garnering support from those in the farming, forestry and fishing communities. The challenge now is to develop common ground between those whose livelihoods are most impacted and NGOs, businesses, scientists and the public to develop a National Restoration Plan that will benefit people and nature in Ireland.

The possibility of a Nature Fund at the national level that is separate to the CAP in order to underpin the implementation of long-term restoration is something which the Government is under pressure to introduce, with 71% of Irish people wanting the Nature Restoration Law, according to a recent Ireland Thinks poll and research showing that every euro invested into nature restoration brings €8 to €38 in economic benefits.

In March 2023, the LIFE on Machair project began piloting a farmer participation payment programme, the LIFE on Machair Restoration Programme. A six-year, EU-funded project, it seeks to improve the conservation condition of Irish Machair habitats. Machair is a unique and rare coastal system found only in Ireland and Scotland. In Ireland, it is found on the north west Atlantic coast, from Connemara to Donegal. According to LIFE on Machair project manager DR CATHERINE FARRELL (BSc Environmental Biology 1996, PhD Botany 2001, Dip Env Impact Assess Mangt 2004), “Since Brexit, the EU’s entire Machair habitat is only present in Ireland, which means Machair conservation here is now of even greater significance on a European scale.” Machair sites provide an important refuge for threatened breeding wader bird species and pollinators in Ireland that rely on these coastal areas as important breeding areas. Dr Farrell notes the support for the project from myriad sources: “From farming to nature conservation, tourism to local amenity, bird watchers to bumblebee enthusiasts, and to those who are general appreciators of the natural world, we find common ground in sharing a deep appreciation and respect for the nature we want restored.”

JITENDRA SINHA (MSc Agr Rural Development 1997) is the co-founder and CEO of SAI-Sustainable Agro, which aims to disrupt conventional approaches and lift small-scale farmers out of extreme poverty by following a climate-resilient agroforestry model.

As a rural development, climate finance and global warming expert with many years of experience as an EU team leader in Bangladesh, China, and Sri Lanka, and as Chief Technical Advisor to UNDP/GEF and the government of Iran, he says he welcomes the passing of the Nature Restoration Law.

“The survival of humankind depends on the restoration of nature,” says Sinha. “Our generation is the last best hope of the earth, and if we do not act now, humankind will probably become extinct in the coming years. One question that is always asked is how farming for small landholders can be economically viable and ecologically sustainable. I have been instrumental in designing, piloting, and scaling the agroforestry model which takes care of Planet, People and Prosperity on degraded land for small farmers across Asia and Africa which shows how this is possible. The model won the BRICS Solution Award 2021, judged by the World Economic Forum as one of the top 13 innovations which can address SDG 2030 successfully.”

FRANK O’MARA (BAgrSc 1987, PhD 1994) is Director of Teagasc which has an extensive research programme addressing greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration, water quality, soils and biodiversity.

Through its advisory service, Teagasc communicates its environmental messages directly to 45,000 farmer clients, and indirectly to up to 130,000 land owners through its Knowledge Transfer activities. As part of its service, Teagasc advisors have assisted 45,000 farmers to identify the ‘Space for Nature’ on their own individual farms as part of the application process for the Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme, (BISS) and the Eco Scheme, and has also supported thousands of farmers who signed up for the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (ACRES). It also provides a free service to help farmers implement measures to maintain and improve water quality and its Signpost Programme has brought together over 60 organisations to support farmers and the agriculture sector to implement actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the sector. Signpost farmers are located all around the country and National Farm Survey (NFS) recorders are engaging with farmers on the process of collecting data. The data will be gathered throughout the year so progress on environmental indicators, performance and profitability can be tracked.

While we mainly think of rural environments in the context of Nature Restoration, there is a growing focus on urban environments too.

“In the past, there has been a tendency to set aside areas for nature but it is increasingly seen as something that needs to be incorporated into urban situations too, in relation to flood alleviation measures, for instance,” explains Professor Crowe. “We are all part of nature and we need to intervene, restore and recover everywhere.”

UCD PhD candidate MARYANN HARRIS (Study Abroad Student Agriculture 1992/1993) is a landscape architect and ecologist who works as an Environmental Planning Manager in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and contributed to the drafting of the Nature Restoration Law. Her doctoral research has involved analysis of past land uses of urban green spaces in Dublin to assess the impacts of this on habitat continuity and biodiversity.

“Looking at past land uses can indicate both the degradation that has occurred and the potential for nature restoration,” she explains. “This can inform strategies for planning for future green spaces and also climate change adaptation, such as in identifying areas for wetlands and flood protection.”

Harris notes that areas of habitat continuity contain remnant habitats and species which are fragments of the earlier ecosystem of Dublin Bay prior to urbanisation, and provide biodiversity and cultural history that are unique to Dublin.

“By analysing these remnants,” she explains, “we can retain genetic diversity and local populations of flora and fauna. This is important because it increases resilience to diseases and enables us to build on what is already there. Some urban restoration projects have to reintroduce species but we still have many species of international importance for nature conservation in Dublin City that require attention.”

Harris says that it is more important to support existing species than to introduce blanket ideas about, for instance, planting huge numbers of trees as such initiatives would result in the loss of biodiversity for migratory birds of international importance that require grazing on grasslands.

“There is a growing appreciation of our dependence on nature and that our adaptation to climate change depends on nature-based solutions.”

Harris points to the UNESCO Biosphere designation as a major initiative for Dublin Bay in providing a framework for targeted nature conservation in a collaborative way between several stakeholders and the government bodies. Its conservation strategy builds on local knowledge and activates people in many different ways. “Working with the Biosphere has given me a great insight into how nature restoration projects are taking place internationally and informed my research and professional practice,” explains Harris. “I have also used this knowledge in my input to the draft of the EU Nature Restoration Law, which marks a significant step toward meeting international targets for both biodiversity and climate change mitigation and adaptation. It is going to require a whole of Government approach and will involve preparation of a national plan for nature restoration. This will create demand for new jobs and skills and certain types of land use that may previously have been disregarded will potentially have value. The economic returns on nature restoration are significant and our quality of life will benefit from a healthier ecosystem.”

Professor Crowe has previously advised the Irish Government on nature restoration in marine protected areas and believes UCD has a lot to offer in the lead-up to the implementation of the Nature Restoration Law.

“In the past, policies have not always been well-handled,” he says, “and effective buy-in with stakeholder engagement will play a big part in the success of the Nature Restoration Law. There will be some unpalatable change and good, appropriate communication is key to achieving this. UCD can play a part both in terms of its evidence-based research, particularly on the agri-environmental side looking at the best way to do things in the context of its work at the Lyons Estate and its expertise in stakeholder engagement. The work being done in the BiOrbic Bioeconomy Research Centre is also very relevant. It’s important that the government does not rush through measures which may be ineffective but takes its time to make sure things are done right and there is alignment between interests.

“The passing of the Nature Restoration Law marks a sea change. The apocalyptic vision of the world to come that we saw this summer is fresh in everyone’s minds and the link between climate change and biodiversity that has always been alluded to is clearer. The unprecedented level of change in the natural system and the degradation of nature raises both moral and practical questions, and I think there is a growing appreciation of our dependence on nature and that our adaptation to climate change depends on nature-based solutions,” says Professor Crowe. ■

The EU and the Challenge of Artificial Intelligence

The onus on governments now is not to attempt to fruitlessly stem the tide of the rise of Artificial Intelligence but rather to ensure our societies and our laws are properly prepared to manage these new powerful tools. AI should not exist in a legal vacuum. Without proper legal protections and oversight, AI will not be a force for good and human betterment, but rather a source of conflict and fear.

The debate about how AI should be regulated is also part of a global discussion about security, digital sovereignty, and data protection, especially as competition between the US and China for control over resources and supply chains becomes even more intense. The European Union must meet this challenge while defending fundamental rights.

The EU’s proposed “AI Act” seeks to aid governments by providing a regulatory framework and common protections for all citizens and Member States, in recognition of the fact that this question is not just national, but international. This act takes a risk-based approach to the question of oversight with higher levels of oversight of AI in sectors of greater importance, for example law enforcement and healthcare provision. It will prevent the use of AI in areas that pose serious risks to our societies, such as social scoring and predictive policing.

The act also aims to future-proof the regulation of AI. This means that core concepts of AI and its deployment will be regulated rather than specific forms of the technology, thus allowing for future innovation and technological change in the sector. This in turn should mean that people can have confidence that AI exists to serve citizens and not the other way around.

Trust and understanding are vital to the continued fair usage of AI. Citizens should be well informed on the impacts of AI and the ways it is used in the world around them. This information should be presented in a meaningful and straightforward way, not solely through footnotes in unreadable small print.

It is clear from the recent report on public perceptions of AI by the UCD Centre for Digital Policy that at present, the vast majority of citizens are still not aware of what role AI plays and how their data is processed. The draft “AI Act” forms a strong basis upon which the EU can adapt to the increasingly large role that AI is playing in all of our lives. However, this legislation alone is not the panacea to all the potential risks that AI will bring.

Before deploying AI systems at scale across society, we need to ensure that they are trustworthy.”

– Dr Patricia Scanlon, Ireland’s AI ambassador; Founder, SoapBox Labs

SOCIETY

In 2023, humans are moving from frequent, daily touchpoints with AI to more deeply integrated experiences and interactions that impact every aspect of our daily lives. AI is driving the fourth Industrial Revolution and revolutionising how governments and industries as diverse as education, healthcare, finance and transportation work and interact with each other and the public.

In healthcare for example, AI assists in diagnosing diseases, tailoring treatment plans and accelerating drug discoveries. In education, it is enhancing educational experiences by automating assessments and personalising learning based on individual needs and progress. In the realm of transportation, AI is powering self-driving vehicles and improving traffic management systems. AI can also significantly impact the climate crisis, both positively by optimising energy usage, driving climate-friendly innovations, and improving accuracy of climate models, and negatively if the energy-intensive AI processes rely on non-renewable energy sources.

There has been much talk of an ethical approach to AI but what does that actually mean for society?

Before deploying AI systems at scale across society, we need to ensure that they are trustworthy and are designed to ensure a positive impact. An ethical approach to AI applications involves ensuring that fairness, transparency, accountability and privacy are built into their DNA. It involves mitigating the potential harm they can do while maximising the benefits.

Why does this matter so much? At the individual level, AIdriven systems can shape our personal experiences, influencing the products we buy, the news we consume, how we manage our health and more. Without ethical considerations baked in, these systems can prompt privacy breaches and inadvertently manipulate our behaviours, creating echo chambers that skew our view of the world as distinct individuals.

At the societal level, the implications are even more significant, profound and complex. Algorithms with the ability to reinforce systemic biases, causing unfairness in critical areas such as job recruitment, law enforcement, or credit lending can also promote democracy by streamlining electoral processes like voter registration and protecting the freedom and integrity of our social discourse.

At its most fundamental, ethical AI is about trust and human rights, and is both a moral and a practical obligation if we are to harness the huge potential of AI and the fourth Industrial Revolution that is upon us.

RETAIL

Today we are at the dawn of a data-driven digital era that will bring change to our societies, lifestyles and industry at a scale and pace never before experienced on the planet. Advances in technology, speeds of adoption and data generation will have a seismic impact.

The retail competitive landscape is changing dramatically, with barriers to entry falling, and markets opening for anyone with the ability to reimagine a business model and create value for consumers – this presents great opportunity but also for many, a massive threat to existing business. Those who can effectively and appropriately harness AI within their business will be the winners.

So what are the key areas where AI is being leveraged and how? The answer lies in how data is captured, collated and processed. The power of AI means that data can be processed in near realtime, enabling businesses to dynamically evolve their ‘go to market’ strategies and product portfolios.

AI is increasingly being used to dynamically link highly complex supply chains, enhancing product traceability and optimising supply bases. As consumers become more discerning in regard to the products they purchase, regulation demands are increasing.

Sophisticated compliance standards and regulations increasingly apply across nations, regions and local areas. The resultant pressures on retailer supply chains is immense. By applying AI to large data silos, combined with this ever-changing regulatory landscape, insights are generated, highlighting potential risks to consumers and enhancing decision-making on product recalls and optimised sourcing in real-time.

AI is being used to analyse product performance data and realtime customer feedback to predict potential future component failure. As products are launched globally, immediate feedback can be gathered from large audiences through social media and other platforms, to inform the retailer on consumer choices. This information can be fed back in real time to product development departments, enabling business to react and immediately change elements of the product design and feature set.

The algorithms driving Retail AI and Machine Learning (ML) platforms are constantly being fine-tuned to better align strategic intent to product realisation and ultimately customer satisfaction.

It is important to note that with great power must come discipline. AI can bring huge benefits but at the core of all retail success is consumer trust. Many organisations embed trust scores as part of their digital strategic initiatives. These scores place emphasis on retailers’ credibility, reliability, intimacy and self-orientation as it applies to solution development.

Alongside its transformative capabilities, AI brings ethical challenges. It is crucial to ensure … a balance between innovation, privacy and security…“

– Amy Awad, Senior AI consultant, EY and Co-Founder and CTO, LeanIn

TECHNOLOGY

The ongoing AI revolution is reshaping the entire technology landscape and driving unprecedented innovations across all sectors. The recent advancements in AI show massive potential and even more remarkable developments that will fundamentally transform the future of humanity. The transformative power of AI is becoming more evident; it can process and leverage large amounts of data and optimise decision-making.

AI has advanced significantly since the historic milestone was achieved by Christopher Strachey with the first AI Program. Since then, AI solutions have undergone a remarkable journey of advancement and scientists continue to push boundaries of what was once thought impossible. The focus has shifted towards enhancing perception, reasoning and generalisation capabilities by utilising cutting-edge computational models and algorithmbased Machine learning (ML) technology.

AI applications have made a significant impact across various domains, with intelligent automation, predictive analytics, image and video analysis, and risk management and fraud prevention at the forefront. However, with tools like ChatGPT gaining attention, the impact of generative AI is becoming more significant. Around 44% of companies are investing in leveraging AI and aiming to integrate it into their businesses, reflecting its indispensable role as a technological innovator in the foreseeable future.

Intelligent Automation (or Hyper Automation) stands out as the foremost application of AI across industries, enabling business to streamline business operations, boost efficiency, reduce costs and deliver enhanced customer experiences. A recent study by McKinsey Global Institute predicts that automation technologies could increase productivity by up to 40% in certain industries. By 2025, 10% of enterprises that successfully establish AI engineering best practices will be able to generate at least three times more value than those that don’t. To efficiently leverage the power of AI, businesses must first assess their maturity level and identify the most suitable entry point and technology options aligned with their vision.

Alongside its transformative capabilities, AI brings ethical challenges. It is crucial to ensure responsible and unbiased use of AI, to achieve a balance between innovation, privacy and security in this ever-evolving technological landscape.

Looking ahead to the next five to ten years, we can expect profound changes in business workflows across industries. The winners in this new digital era will be those who effectively integrate AI into their critical processes and unlock its value. As computing power and data availability continue to grow, AI will play an increasingly significant role in our daily lives, driving economic growth and transforming industries. We can anticipate AI’s integration into autonomous vehicles, smart cities, personalised medicine and other domains, promising an exciting future.

INDUSTRY

AI is not merely a new gadget in our technological toolbox; it is a transformative force that is fundamentally reshaping industries. Its impact is multifaceted and profound, driving efficiency, innovation, and granting a competitive edge.

At CeADAR, Ireland’s centre for Applied AI, we witness this transformation firsthand. We work with a diverse array of companies, from start-ups to multinational corporations and public sector organisations, to harness the power of AI and data analytics. Our partners span various industry verticals – agriculture, healthcare, finance, and more – underlining the industry-wide applicability of data science and AI.

In manufacturing, AI-powered technologies, such as generative models, are igniting a revolution, accelerating product development, slashing costs and facilitating rapid adaptation to market demands. The retail sector is witnessing the rise of immersive AI-driven shopping experiences, while finance is being reshaped by AI financial life coaches. AI has permeated transportation, healthcare, and education sectors as well, powering autonomous vehicles, assisting disease prediction, and tailoring curriculums for individual learners.

But the impact of AI goes beyond these tangible efficiencies. AI is also redefining human roles within industry. While there are concerns about job displacement, there is another side to the story. AI, when harmoniously integrated, can elevate human work, relieving workers from repetitive tasks and enabling them to focus on creative and strategic aspects of their roles. This ‘Human-AI Symphony’ signifies a new work paradigm where humans and machines collaborate for enhanced outcomes.

The integration of AI into our lives and industries necessitates addressing ethical, social, economic, and legal considerations, such as data privacy, algorithmic bias, and accountability. Establishing ethical guidelines, investing in safety and education and ensuring transparency and accountability are paramount. We must be prepared for continuous learning and adaptation as AI technology evolves.

When wielded judiciously, AI can shape a better industrial future. It encourages us to dream bigger, and those dreams are closer to reality than ever.

MEDICINE

The 21st century is rapidly evolving into the century of data science with AI leading the way. Medicine and biomedical research are no exceptions. We can now produce more data than ever before, and the bottlenecks have shifted from data production to data interpretation. That especially applies to big and complex data sets such as omics data and images. AI promises solutions due to its ability to detect and classify hidden patterns in such data. In 2017, AI made headlines by diagnosing skin lesions with accuracy on par with human experts, but 24/7. Thus, tireless and high-throughput AI could solve our problem of the shortage of medical staff. Its remote availability also could relieve inadequacies to healthcare access in different regions of the world.

AI can diagnose conditions that humans cannot, e.g. predisposition to diabetes from retina scans, or gene expression from histopathological images. The next frontier will be omics data, such as genome sequences. Although we can read the full text of our genome, we currently only understand less than 10% of it. AI will help us decipher the semantics of genetic variations and their complex interactions that cause disease or preserve health. As every genome is unique, this type of analysis will be the key to precision medicine. For instance, Systems Biology Ireland at UCD is using AI and advanced computational modelling to construct ‘digital twins’ of cancer patients. These in silico avatars allow us to provide the best therapy for each individual patient, optimising treatment on the digital twin before we administer it – truly personalised medicine. Such personalised interventions pose new ethical challenges. AI is an X-ray of our molecular data. We need to safeguard against misuse and misguidance. AI can err, and if it does, it usually blunders severely. We need policies regulating both AI use and technological quality control. But, if used responsibly, AI will likely revolutionise medicine in this century like antibiotics did in the last.

LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES

AI is fast-paced, controversial and disruptive. Like the internet, it can be used for good or ill, and over time it will transform the way we work and live. Working in a research-intensive university is one of the reasons I was excited to be appointed as UCD’s University Librarian in 2022. This is exactly the right place to address the opportunities and challenges of AI.

AI will certainly change the professional work of libraries and archives. It will help us generate metadata and catalogue large collections, including photograph, audio and video archives. This output will then require human intervention, such as expert review and enhancement by librarians and archivists, and perhaps crowd-sourced quality control where citizen scientists review and improve the quality of the data AI produces.

We can expect that AI will be useful for Library Chatbot services, literature searches, data management plans and deduplication work. It can improve accessibility with alt text and captioning, and provide book summaries and personalised reading suggestions. Of course, this also raises concerns about bypassing the independent learning process which is an essential part of the university experience.

We know that AI can generate convincing false references, create ‘deepfake’ videos and photos, and violate copyright by effectively stealing creators’ content from the internet. We know that the training data and the developers’ biases influence the AI’s responses, producing and perpetuating harmful stereotypes and inferences.

With powerful tools such as AI, we need to develop regulation, ethical use and academic integrity guidelines. Libraries are also ideally suited to develop digital literacy services and resources to help users understand the limitations of AI and to be able to evaluate and critique AI-generated content. I am excited that UCD Library will play a leading role in these new developments.

THE FUTURE OF WORK

A once-in-a-lifetime shift in how we work has created chaos and opportunity. With 80% of companies surveyed by Gartner in January 2023 reporting that they were already hybrid working, there is a lack of meaningful data and trend insights for employers. Even large organisations are struggling to get it right, many still operating a trust-based model with informal arrangements in place. As a temporary arrangement has now become permanent, the introduction of technology is the only way to make hybrid working work, for both employees and employers.

Some organisations are leading the way in understanding what employees want and seeing how that can align with the needs of the organisation. Only when that information is gathered and understood can the future of work be successfully created.

Capella uses technology to streamline and optimise the employee experience of hybrid working, while at the same time delivering deep data and insights around workplace analytics and behaviours to employers. Our software uses AI to implement advanced analytics and data-driven decision-making. AI-powered algorithms analyse complex data sets, identify trends and deliver predictions, aiding businesses in making informed decisions with actionable insights and gaining a competitive edge in retaining and attracting talent. Without this kind of information, it’s impossible to get hybrid working right.