Bríd Seoige (BS): First of all, welcome and congratulations. You are no stranger to the West of Ireland; how does it feel to return now as President of the University? 

David Burn (DB): Very good indeed! I was just reflecting this morning that I probably first came to Galway around 34 years ago, before the main road was built. I was with my wife and mother-in-law, and I absolutely went on record saying that this is my favourite city in Ireland. It was just so fantastic, the buzz, the vibe, I obviously got the feel of the students being an essential part of the whole scene. If you said to me back then that I would return in the future as President of University of Galway, I wouldn’t have believed you. So, it’s a lovely feeling and a dream come true. 

BS: What do you think are the core obligations of University of Galway as a centre of knowledge and research? How are those obligations evolving in today’s context?

DB: I’m reminded of something a vice chancellor over in England once said: ‘It’s not what we’re good at; it’s what we’re good for.’ That encapsulates my approach. 

We’re obviously a seat of great learning, great at research and education, but that is just part of the equation. If we’re not adapting to what this part of the world, in particular, needs, but also Ireland more broadly and indeed internationally, if we’re not equipping our students with the skills they need, what the labour market requires, actually we’re failing them. So we have to be agile and adapt to the new technologies, the new demands, the multidisciplinary approach, which is much more prominent these days from a research perspective. It’s great to do good research at whatever level on the translational spectrum between discovery right through to population-based research, but you should always have an eye on impact. For me, trying to make a difference to the population in the west/north-west of Ireland would be priority one and I hope that would ripple out and have benefits across the island of Ireland and internationally. 

BS: As you begin your tenure, how do you plan to navigate the evolving challenges of higher education, from pressures on HEA funding and the increasing reliance on alternative income sources to increasing demand for accountability and global competition? Is this a core challenge for leadership today? 

DB: I come from a system in the UK which is under severe pressure at present, and indeed I had a very difficult last few months in my role at Newcastle University, where we did have to make cost cuts and that translated to staff losses. I know that is not the situation here in Ireland and I’m thanking my lucky stars for that, but the system here is under pressure and chronically underfunded. So, there are things we can do at multiple levels. 

The first thing is to give my full informed input to the Irish Universities Association and help, as a key member, to lobby the government for greater investment in higher education. But we know there are serious pressures on the fiscal situation, so our system is likely to remain underfunded for the foreseeable future. That means boiling it down to the university level. From my NHS background, where you had fixed-amount payments, you were always thinking: What other sources of income can we generate? What efficiencies can we make, what expenditure can we reduce to balance the books? Often universities do forget the efficiency bit, so I am sure we can definitely do better in that regard. 

If I start with the systems and processes, we can do a lot to try to offload work from our very hard-pressed staff, particularly professional service staff, who are just fantastic. The colleagues I’ve met are amazing. But they’re under pressure and we could make their lives easier through better systems and processes. I particularly mean Information Solutions and Services (ISS) and investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI), which could free up good staff to do more productive things. 

In terms of income, clearly we need to look at international student recruitment, but we need to learn from the UK and not put all our eggs into one basket, one market. One would hope the Irish government will always take an enlightened view toward immigration rather than trying to restrict student ingress. We have challenges here in Ireland and the events recently in Dublin have not helped; that does send negative messages out, but hopefully Ireland is still regarded as an extremely welcoming and friendly country. If we can diversify where students are coming from, it would give us greater resilience. 

The other big area is advancing philanthropy targets. Given where we are, with our Atlantic face to the US, we can do more in that space. I see it as a key mission to boost our income from donors who want to support the University through capital investment and through people as well. 

BS: What strategic opportunities do you see for the University to thrive within this changing international landscape? 

DB: I see huge potential in this University. We’ve got fantastic people, and I’ve met wonderful colleagues. I see where their hearts are; they want to do well for the University, and I regard my job as unleashing that potential and allowing them to flourish. I’d like to ensure we are aligned in a general sense of direction and common purpose. 

Prior to joining, I had come to a conclusion about the University’s areas of strength which aligns well with our new strategy, and the four strategic pillars of research excellence really encapsulate these strengths (Innovation of Health; Creativity, Culture and Society; Sustainable and Resilient Environments, Earth and Ocean; Transformative Data and AI). I know that strategy was heavily consulted upon, a lot of people fed in from all levels. 

I would love if, whenever one of us was abroad and someone asked, ‘What are you good at?’, anyone from University of Galway could instantly name the four pillars and give a few examples of each. A lot of universities might struggle to articulate areas of strength, and what I like about those pillars is that they are rooted in genuine substance and strength, based on our history, our people, and our place. 

This comes back to the systems and processes. There is a clear sense that colleagues are wading through an awful lot of processes and compliance, and I want to make their working lives a bit easier. We are regulated externally, we have to be compliant of course, but is there anything we can do internally? There are things we can do for our own processes, which are more amenable to simplification. 

BS: We’re seeing increasing debate around the balance between technical skills and broader human attributes, like creativity, collaboration, and cultural awareness. Do you believe we’re moving toward a more holistic model of education? What role do you see for arts and humanities in this? 

DB: This is a really hot topic in the UK; a negative narrative is emerging in some quarters about disinvesting in arts and humanities. For me that would be an absolute disaster, for the sector as a whole. For University of Galway it would be particularly damaging given our heritage, our absolutely vibrant arts and culture scene, and our bilingual nature. A recent conversation with an academic working at the intersection of art, computing, and AI reminded me that you simply can’t separate science from the arts. 

It’s important to recognise how environment and art can affect mental health. I recall a research project showing how issues like litter or neglected spaces can lower mood, while art therapy can help manage conditions like dementia. That’s why giving students an interdisciplinary outlook is vital, especially today, with the pressures of social media and shrinking attention spans – that breadth of knowledge and awareness is vital. Personally, though I come from a STEM background, I’ve always loved music for its power to evoke memories and emotions; I’d feel truly lost without it. 

The study of language is absolutely essential. It’s easy to live in a bubble and assume English is enough, but language shapes how we see the world. Here at University of Galway, in the heart of the Connemara region, Irish has a special place and I’m fully committed to it. I know there was some concern about appointing a president who isn’t a native speaker, but I’m determined to learn. In fact, this morning I opened an event in Irish, and I’m working hard to deepen my knowledge. 

It’s wonderful that students here want to learn Irish. In terms of languages here at the University, there is the pure-language approach that happens in the College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Celtic Studies, and another approach is to connect language study with other disciplines, for example, pairing French with marketing or French with business studies. That kind of hybrid course we have at the University really makes a difference. Having language skills makes our graduates much more marketable, as well as widening their minds to the beauty of language. 

BS: Knowing what we know about the rapid evolution and applications of AI technologies and robotics, what do you think are the implications for third-level education? How do you strategically balance the growing demand for job-ready skills with the enduring mission of higher education to foster deep knowledge, critical thinking, and adaptability? 

DB: It’s a fact that attention spans are diminished and young people are finding information in ways that I don’t understand. I think that instead of standing up in front of a lecture theatre, in the future it will be more a case of a flipped-classroom approach where the students are doing a lot more self-directed learning, and learning where to find information. There will be smaller classes with more discourse and interchange of information. This is a great way of learning and keeps students engaged. We have to move with the times. 

Regarding how medicine will be taught in the future, there will be massive changes. Again it’s down to where do you find things, not what do you know. As an example, as a student I spent many hours doing dissection.  In recent times anatomy teaching, which is essential to medical learning, now includes a process where an expert will do a dissection, and students can follow much more easily where the ulnar nerve or the median nerve runs. Furthermore, 3-D reconstructions or 3-D printing through software programs or simulation facilities are now commonplace, which have added to the learning experience. 

The other aspect that I notice with the medical curriculum and that I welcome is putting the patient at the heart of the education experience, looking at issues from a patient’s perspective, and that’s not something back in the day we had much of at all. 

BS: As the new President, how do you see the role of the alumni community shaping the future of the University, from strengthening global connections to supporting students and advancing our strategic goals? 

DB: In my recent conferring speeches, I commented that our graduates are joining a community of over 130,000 alumni. I encouraged them to stay in touch and let us know, wherever they are, how we can support them better. One model I’m keen to explore is alumni ambassadors, where alumni based internationally could share their experiences with students who are thinking about studying at University of Galway, and recommend us. This not only gives current students a positive perspective on their future but also provides alumni with a sense of purpose and achievement. 

Equally important is offering alumni opportunities for continued professional development or online learning. By providing accessible online courses, we can help alumni advance their careers wherever they are in the world. These courses could be offered for a modest fee and would keep alumni engaged with the University while potentially encouraging future support, such as donations. 

Another important advancement area is for the President to travel and meet groups of alumni. Where we have a high density of alumni, perhaps in the States, it would be great to host events to bring alumni up to speed with their alma mater and get their input. That’s on the radar; we’re already planning things in that direction. 

BS: Looking ahead, if you were to walk through University of Galway campus in 10 or 20 years, what would you hope to see and feel? How might the physical and social environment evolve? 

DB: Obviously, that will be beyond my term as president. Hopefully, I’ll still be able to walk the campus in 15 or 20 years, though, depending on technological advances, I might even arrive via an autonomous vehicle! More importantly, I hope we haven’t overdeveloped this beautiful campus and still have the green spaces, and an eye on biodiversity. The proximity to the Corrib, the river, that beautiful scenery, it’s really special, and I hope future generations can enjoy it as we do today. 

I would like to see the Quadrangle beautifully preserved. We need to have a good look at our estate, and there may need to be quite an investment. I would like to be a president who ensures the fabric of our University is taken care of for posterity. 

Other things over that period of time, and depending on where the autonomous vehicle took me, we probably would not see lecture theatres; the style of education will change. I would like to see labs by function. There would probably be fewer labs because we might be outsourcing. There would probably be more large computing facilities where we’re doing clever things with the processing of data. 

I would like to go through the campus and have my senses assailed by the smells of different foods, because we would have a bigger international student population and it would be lovely to offer a wide range of ethnic foods. 

In terms of learning, as I said, attention spans are shorter, and students access information in ways that were unimaginable when I was a student. Flipped-classroom approaches, guided self-directed learning, and smaller group sessions focused on discussion and problem-solving are already here. This approach sparks curiosity, keeps students engaged, and aligns with how people learn best today. Balancing these practical, technical, and human-centred elements is essential for modern higher education and will impact how we, as a University, will evolve. 

Find out more from the President’s Office, University of Galway!