Trinity College Dublin are set to build a second campus in the biggest transformation of the higher education institution’s estate history. The £880m scheme, which will be designed to drive entrepreneurship and innovation with the aim of housing more than 400 new start up businesses, will be situated within the Grand Canal Innovation District and will take inspiration from innovative districts from around the globe including Boston, Toronto and Rotterdam.

The plans, which will be a focus of the Dublin Development Plans Conference where Trinity College Dublin will speak, will see a new 5.5-acre campus in the Grand Canal Dock along with a thriving hub for start-up companies, a zone for foreign direct investment companies and a home to a community of venture capital companies alongside public and civic spaces.

Set the become the ‘innovation and cultural heart of the city’ the new campus will enter into a consultation period before the development of a masterplan to transform the area – which will be done in the coming months.

Dr Patrick Prendergast, Provost of Trinity College Dublin and speaker at the Dublin Development Plans Conference, said: ”The presence of a world-class university at the heart of the Grand Canal Innovation District will be the catalyst for collaboration and partnership between industry and universities. I’m therefore delighted to announce that trinity has decided to commit to taking the historic step of developing a second campus dedicated to technology and innovation on a designated site adjacent to Grand Canal Quay and Macken Street in the heart of the district. This 5.5-acre site is ideally suited to the proposed use and will transform the existing area.”

He added: ”Working closely with the local community, a campus of style and impact with open spaces, ease of access and new retail spaces and services, will spark further urban regeneration in the area as well as create educational and employment opportunities for all those living in close proximity to the district.”

We can’t wait to hear more about this and many other schemes at the Dublin Development Plans Conference.