Professor Donal O’Mahony, School of Computer Science & Statistics
I think that 2015 is the year in which we will finally see the electric car becoming mainstream. This will happen first in the big Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen with western countries following in the 5 years afterwards. Increasingly, the cars will drive themselves.
The move to cloud computing will continue and this year is when we will see the first very high profile failure in the cloud – with thousands of popular websites going off the air for 24 hours or more. This will come as a big shock to many who don’t realize how dependent we already are on this technology.
A facebook successor will emerge (anyone remember Bebo), and in Ireland, someone in government will finally realize that meters (water, electricity, gas) only need to be installed in households where they expect that the feedback will significantly alter consumption.
Within TCD, the dining hall will be awarded its first Michelin star and Computing will become such a popular course that a building swap will be concluded between the O’Reilly institute and the Arts building. Finally, TCD will become entirely powered by renewable energy from a giant solar panel array covering both the cricket and rugby pitches supplemented, in the evening times, by teams of students pedalling exercise bikes in the college gym.
John O’Hagan, Professor of Economics.
What worries/excites me about 2015? Let me start with the worries.
My first worry is the possible escalation of the Ukraine crisis and the spread of violence beyond Ukrainian borders. Just because Europe has had peace for 70 years does not mean that such peace can ever be taken for granted. Europe was ravaged by wars for too long.
My second fear, and related to this, is the possible rise of extreme populist parties in the EU. There are several elections coming up in the EU this year, starting with Greece, which could shape the destiny of the EU for decades to come and possibly heighten the chances of civil unrest. One of these elections of course is in the UK, with its possible implications for UK membership of the EU and economic relations between Ireland and the UK.
But where are the rays of hope for 2015? Well the economy in Ireland is recovering remarkably, especially on the employment front. Looking back to the recession of the 1980s, there were elevated unemployment levels then for 15 years. In the case of the recent recession this applied for only five years maximum. What is odd is that despite Ireland having one of the strongest economies in the EU in the last two years is that the parties of government are doing so badly in the opinion polls. Voters can be so fickle!
And as a strong supporter of the principle of water charges I look forward to paying my first water charge bill!
Roja Fazaeli, Professor of Near and Middle Eastern Studies
With regard to the last the conflict in Syria continues unabated. With no demonstrable political will in the offing, Syria sadly will continue to be a critical conflict spot into 2015. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has registered more than 3.7 million refugees as of January 2015. Around 6% of this number has sought asylum in Europe. Over half of these European asylum seekers are located in just two countries: Germany and Sweden.
Another place that I am watching closely is Iran. Sanctions continue to have real and detrimental effects on the everyday lives of Iranians. Diplomatic talks involving Iran, the permanent five members of the UN Security Council, and Germany are proceeding and this may be one bright spot, as the constellation of negotiators looks well poised to reach an agreement over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Finally, as Katherine Wilkens at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has noted, Kurdish actors across the region may find themselves wielding additional political influence in 2015.
Particularly following the siege of Kobani by the Islamic State, or Daesh, the politics of Kurdish identity have received a boost in international support. In the face of broader regional instability this could have positive implications for Kurds, particularly in Iraq and Turkey.
Professor Joseph Barry, Chair of Population Health Medicine (Public Health & Primary Care)
The problems with long waiting times in Irish Emergency Departments, and trolleys in hospital corridors, seems intractable. Health Minister Leo Varadkar has appealed for new ideas. Many workers in the health services, including some Emergency Medicine consultants, agree that we have too many Emergency Departments(SIX in Dublin!) in the country.
I predict, and hope, that Minister Varadkar will be brave and will announce the impending closure of about one quarter of our Emergency Departments, concentrate highly trained staff in the enhanced remaining Departments, with the result of shorter waits and safer working environments. By the admission of the Taoiseach we are sending our young medical and nursing graduates into unsafe workplaces.
We may well be in an election year-promises are mounting. Will they be honoured this time? The demographic attracting most attention is the squeezed middle. An even more deserving sector is the choked bottom. That is where austerity is biting most and it began long before 2008. I predict those at the bottom of the economic pile will be cast adrift . I hope I am wrong. Well off people have to advocate for the poorest sector, not for tax cuts for themselves.
I predict Manchester City will win the Premier league and I have my fingers crossed that Spurs will hobble through to the Champions’ league in 4th place.
Dr Eoin O’Dell, Associate Professor of Law and Chair of the Fellows.
My first prediction relates to Trinity’s independence from government interference. The fundamental principles of academic freedom and institutional autonomy are essential for universities, for the their students and staff, and for society in general. However, these principles are under threat from two pieces of legislation scheduled for this year.
First, the heads of the Technological Universities Bil, 2015 have been agreed by government. At present, universities have greater autonomy from government than Institutes of Technology. However, as Institutes of Technology convert to technological universities, government will relinquish very little of the control it currently enjoys over them. This would create universities with a high degree of government supervision, which would be a dangerous precedent for the university sector.
This is likely to be compounded by a Bill to amend the Universities Act, 1997, which is also lurking on the government’s current legislation programme. By virtue of the strictures of successive Employment Control Frameworks, universities have suffered a great loss of financial autonomy over the last five years, especially as regards employment and promotion decisions. And although the most recent Framework has not been renewed, if this Bill is enacted, it would provide another means by which government could continue to exert control in an area vital to the strategic development of Ireland’s universities. If both of these pieces of legislation are introduced in their current form, it would be a terrible double whammy for Ireland’s university sector in general and for Trinity’s proud tradition of independence and autonomy in particular.
My second prediction is that the tail of international university rankings will continue to wag the dog of university strategy at both national and college level. The rankings are becoming less of a lottery, and responses to them are becoming more considered. But they are still accorded an influence out of all proportion to their underlying merits.
My third prediction is that Ireland will continue to be buffeted by European policy, not just relating to the Euro or the stability of the European Union, but in working out the ramifications of the recent decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union that the EU cannot accede to the European Convention on Human Rights. This decision, handed down just before Christmas, got very little traction in the mainstream media, but it will have profound consequences for the inter-relationship of the two main European bodies of which Ireland is a member.
