There is something about the democratic ethos in this university that makes everyone want to have a say. A constant desire to push and do things better I t’s a late summer’s day on campus, soon after rain. The wet limestone setts of Parliament Square gleam in the sunshine and the sparkling granite highlights the classical detailing of the facades. Trinity looks magnificent, as always, and there’s an unusual bustle about the place for this time of year, courtesy of a Hollywood film in production. It’s easy to feel optimistic for the academic year ahead, as we cautiously yet expectantly emerge from the darkest months of the COVID pandemic. For the new Provost, Linda Doyle, reaffirming Trinity as a place to study – a beautiful campus, in the heart of a busy city – is a priority after nearly two years of lockdown. ‘COVID has reinforced the human need for connection with place, the need for a home,’ she says. ‘We’ll have students starting in first year who’ve missed chunks of fifth and sixth year…Third years who haven’t properly experienced campus life.’ Now at last, full, fulfilling college life doesn’t seem like such a far-off prospect, although whenever students do return to campus, the Provost suggests that elements of how teaching was delivered during lockdown may still be retained. ‘A return to in-person learning doesn’t mean we won’t continue online offerings, but they’ll be anchored by the sense of space and place here on campus.’ As we conduct this interview, there are only weeks to go until Michaelmas term and the start of ten years of Dr Doyle’s Provostship. She was elected on a large majority so there was clearly much about her manifesto, Imagine Trinity , that caught the imaginations of voters. She summarises it broadly as ‘looking to the future and asking: what kind of university do I want to work in? It’s about creating the very best conditions in Trinity for it to be the very best
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