Maynooth University

Mission
Maynooth University is internationally recognised for the quality and value of our research and scholarship, and our dedication and commitment to teaching and our students.
Part of the NUI and formally established as an autonomous university in 1997, Maynooth University traces its origins to the foundation of the Royal College of St. Patrick in 1795, drawing inspiration from a heritage that includes over 200 years of education and scholarship. The University is a place of lively contrasts. It is a modern institution, dynamic, rapidly-growing, research-led and engaged, yet grounded in historic academic strengths and scholarly traditions.
The humanities, social sciences and natural sciences form the academic and intellectual core of the University, complemented by strong departments and programmes in teacher education, computer science and electronic engineering, business and law.  Maynooth University has an international reputation for research in humanities; social and spatial sciences; mathematics, communication and computation; and  human health. This research connects directly with our teaching, and with wider societal needs through a very successful knowledge transfer office.  Maynooth University is very much an engaged university, making significant contributions to social, cultural and economic development at local, regional and national levels.
Maynooth University describes itself as “a university dedicated to people, ideas and culture, where we work together as a scholarly community to inquire and discover, to teach and learn, to create, conserve, disseminate and apply knowledge, and to engage with the problems and challenges that face modern society; through all these things in combination, we are central to innovation, economic growth, social development and cultural vibrancy,  and are essential to a free, open, equal, democratic and sustainable society.”
The University community comprises more than 11,000 students and  800 staff from more than 20 countries.  The institution has grown rapidly in recent years, but retains a student-centred and deeply collegial ethos.
Maynooth University has recently launched a new University Strategic Plan 2012-17, charting a clear and ambitious direction for the development of the University, including major enhancements in undergraduate and postgraduate education, focussed investment in research, further internationalisation, and deeper engagement with enterprise and the community.