School of Social Sciences and Philosophy NEWS 2020 Professor Carol Newman Head of the School of Social Sciences and Philosophy Welcome from the Head of School The COVID-19 pandemic has changed every aspect of our lives with no part of society or the economy unaffected. The Higher Education sector has adapted in ways that we would never have anticipated one year ago. Thanks to the dedication and tireless work of our staff and the commitment of our students we transitioned almost seamlessly to online teaching and examinations. Simultaneously, researchers in the School initiated ambitious research projects aimed at understanding the economic and social impacts of the pandemic and informing policy development. This highlights the importance of research in the social sciences, particularly in times of crisis. These unprecedented times give us even more cause to celebrate the many other achievements of our School over the last academic year. The School had a number of significant successes in research, including prestigious prizes awarded to researchers in economics, the establishment of a new research centre, the Trinity Centre for Justice and Values, in philosophy, a new Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, in political science, and major funding for research on child digital use and wellbeing in sociology. In addition to welcoming new staff members across the School’s four departments – economics, philosophy, political science and sociology, Philip R. Lane was appointed Honorary Professor of Economics and Sharon Donnery and Hamish McRae as Adjunct Professors in Economics. The Department of Philosophy welcomed a new Head of Department, Dr Kenneth Pearce. Our sincere thanks to Professor Paul O’Grady for his service as Head of Philosophy for the last five years. The generous support of our alumni continues to enrich the student experience. Internships are an increasingly important element in undergraduate education and the School continues to strengthen opportunities for students in this area, from the OECD Internships for Senior Sophister economics students to the Iveagh / Saothar Fellowship Programme in International Policy. Our Grattan Scholars programme continues to support our PhD programmes with the School welcoming its 20th Grattan Scholar to Trinity in 2020. We thank all our alumni for your support and continued engagement with our School. Professor Carol Newman
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