How Seán Radcliffe, an Irish Scholar, Secured €10,000 in Undergraduate Research Funding Through the Laidlaw Leadership & Research Scholarship

Hi, My Name is Seán Radcliffe, and I am an Economics Undergraduate student at Trinity College Dublin. I am from Dublin itself too, and have lived here almost all of my life. I decided to study Economics as I have a strong interest in using its structures to improve the lives of people all over the world. From Health and Addiction Economics in inner-city Dublin to the field of “Development Economics” of the Global South, studying, researching, and working in this subject is what drives me career-wise. In my final years at Trinity, I hope to specialise in Development, Global Trade, and Conflict Economics, hoping to spend a year abroad at a Trinity partner university in Asia or the Americas. This undergraduate degree, along with experiences I have undertaken, such as the Laidlaw scholarship, will hopefully set me up for postgraduate research and application in this field professionally.

Laidlaw Leadership & Research Scholarship Details

I have received the Laidlaw Leadership & Research Scholarship from the Laidlaw Foundation in partnership with Trinity College Dublin. The total amounts to approximately €10,000; that is, two €3,500 sums at the beginning of each of the summers that I am on this scholarship (Summer 2026 and 2027), €1,900 in research and travel expenses, and myriad other benefits and access to superb resources for professional growth and personal development.

There are 26 students in my cohort for this scholarship. Scholars can be studying any undergraduate degree at Trinity.

It is offered at:

• Barnard College
• Brown University
• University of Cambridge
• Columbia University
• Cornell University
• Duke University
• Durham University
• EPFL
• Georgetown University
• Harvard University
• The University of Hong Kong
• Imperial College London
• University of Leeds
• London School of Economics and Political Science
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• NYU Abu Dhabi
• University of Oxford - SDG Impact Lab
• University of St Andrews
• University of Toronto
• Trinity College Dublin
• Tufts University
• University College London
• University of York

Trinity is the only Irish higher education institution that is a part of the Laidlaw Foundation, making this scholarship the only paid undergraduate research scholarship in all of Ireland.

Educational Background

I completed my Irish Leaving Certificate in 2024, and I have no other prior qualifications. Grades are not part of the consideration for this project. You are assessed through an application and lengthy interview process.

How Did You Prepare to Apply to Trinity College Dublin?

Did You Take Any Standardized Tests? If So, How Did You Prepare for Them?

This scholarship was advertised to all undergraduate students who had two summers remaining in Trinity via email (you must be an undergraduate for at least two years after you are accepted onto the scholarship, as the experience lasts 18 months), and I also have connections with friends in older cohorts of the scholarship who encouraged me to apply.

No standardized testing. Application and Interview Process.

How Did You Prepare to Apply for the Laidlaw Leadership & Research Scholarship?

The application process closes in January, and you must include a research proposal and motivations to be a scholar. One of the first steps is to find an academic supervisor who will support you in drafting this proposal and in your summer research period. I began by emailing professors in the Trinity School of Economics with a brief understanding of the general area I wished to research. When I had secured a supervisor, we narrowed down to a specific research topic, and I drafted my application, including proposed title, methodology, hoped-for results, motivations, etc. A lengthy document that was submitted in January. From the hundreds of applicants, approximately 45 were chosen for an interview, which involved one-on-one sessions with the Trinity Careers Staff and a group setting leadership test. In April, 26 of us were chosen and offered the scholarship.

What Does This Scholarship Entail?

My research, which I conducted through this scholarship over six weeks of summer 2026, is titled “Reading Between the White Lines: An Investigation into Cocaine-Related Harm in Ireland During Periods of Economic Change and Crisis, 2004-2024”. I endeavoured to investigate patterns in treatment demand, employment and accommodation status, and gender distribution across four distinct economic periods; to examine how policy decisions during austerity created the conditions for the post-2013 surge; and to inform local and national government policy.

Over the coming academic year, I will participate in team-building exercises, training on personal development, and workshops on the growth of leadership skills. I will attend the Laidlaw Conference in London this October with the opportunity to present my project in front of other scholars, academics, and publishers. And so much more!

Next summer, I will conduct my “Leadership in Action” placement, where I will go abroad to work in community development or the like. I have not determined where my project will be, but I have a few ideas and hopefully will have it sorted in the coming months for summer 2027.

What Do You Think Made Your Application Stand Out?

I believe research proposals should show a strong element of social change. All scholars have researched topics that, if acted upon, would improve the lives of those in Ireland and abroad. Leadership and Research have that in common, and it's an important aspect of scholarship to want to be a good leader, academically and in your actions.