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INTERVIEW | Undergraduate Education


Life of an Undergrad

(Full page photo of Professor John O’Hagan)

Professor John O’Hagan M.A. (j.o.), PH.D., F.T.C.D. (1974) speaks to Brian O’Neill about the challenges facing undergraduate students during their time at university.

"Unless we, as teachers, continue to be stimulated by new things then we cannot expect to stimulate our students’ interests"

Professor John O’Hagan is more qualified than most when it comes to conversations about how life for undergraduates at Trinity College has changed over the years. Professor O’Hagan has worked in the Department of Economics in Trinity since 1970, and in almost 40 years, he has witnessed first hand the trials, tribulations, pressures, and strains of thousands of students who have crossed his path in that time. The unusual thing about Professor O’Hagan’s experience is, however, that he doesn’t notice much change at all, not in the people anyway.

“I don’t think students are different coming into College now compared to when I started,” he says. “Students are faced with the same issues today as they were back then, but there are far more people finishing second-level these days going on to third-level. Therefore those issues like living away from home, and other matters relating to non-academic life, are more accentuated.”

Professor O’Hagan has an adamant view of the role of education today. “The purpose of education is the acquisition of knowledge and skills, and the ability to think and innovate, which is particularly important considering the times in which we find ourselves in today,” he explains.


24 | Trinity Today