The Vincent de Paul Society (VDP) gained the largest membership of any Trinity society last year, according to an annual report which has been circulated to all Trinity students via email.
The report contains statistics on the make-up of Trinity’s student and staff bodies for the academic year 2016/17, and compares them to figures from the last five years. Information was gathered on student societies, with the report stating that of the 121 student societies on campus, the Philosophical Society (the Phil) had the second highest membership, while DU Players and the Historical Society (the Hist) followed.
In addition, the report revealed that the college’s student body has increased by 6% in the past five years. As has been the case in recent years, Trinity’s student body was majority female last year, with female students composing almost 60% of the college’s students.
In line with Provost Patrick Prendergast’s goal for the college during his term, the number of international students studying in the college has risen in the last five years. Around 27% of students were from outside of Ireland last year, while 14% travelled from outside the European Union (EU) to study in the college. The latter figure represents a 5% increase from five years ago. The internationality of staff only showed a 1% increase, however, at 38% for 2016/17.
In addition to containing an overview of the demographic make-up of Trinity, the report also serves as an overview of the accomplishments of the university during the past academic year in the areas of global relations, education, research, innovation, public engagement, student experience, sporting activities and visitors.
“We achieved a huge amount in 2016/2017 and I hope the review captures the remarkable energy and commitment of staff and students,” commented Prendergast in the email sent to students and staff.
As outlined in the report, Trinity celebrated its 425th anniversary with an event opened by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Among a range of achievements, Trinity became a member of League of European Research Universities (LERU), a EU research and education policy group of Europe’s top 20 universities. In September, Trinity was ranked Ireland’s top university in the QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Ranking.
The university was also the third most highly ranked attraction on Trip Advisor and fifth most highly rated by Fáilte Ireland. More than two million people visited Trinity last year, with 964,000 visitors this year alone visiting the Book of Kells.
