Pathbreaking Partnership Between Trinity and Infosys
September 20, 2018
Dear Members of the Trinity College Community,
I write to announce a pathbreaking partnership between Trinity College and Infosys, the global technology consulting firm that is opening an innovation hub in Hartford—one of four in the United States. While Infosys has other major educational partnerships, including with the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Purdue University, Trinity is the only liberal arts college with which it has partnered.
The vision behind this multiyear initiative is to leverage a liberal arts education in creating the future of work and of digital technology in particular. This partnership positions Trinity at the forefront of higher education, and I am confident it will lead to exceptional opportunities for our students, faculty, and staff. I invite you to read the press release for further details.
We expect immediate and long-term benefits from this endeavor. Infosys will hire Trinity graduates and develop internships for them, and the partnership will support research and applied learning opportunities for our students and faculty, including those in the Computer Science Department. More broadly, this innovative relationship promises to differentiate us among liberal arts colleges, to create new revenue streams, and to showcase our accomplished alumni. In a rapidly changing world, we will provide Trinity students with unique advantages, complementing their core liberal arts education with technological skills and applied learning. I also am pleased to report that initiatives relating to the partnership will be housed in our new downtown space at One Constitution Plaza.
This process began in summer 2017, when I was invited to join the Connecticut state delegation that met with Infosys leaders who were considering Hartford among a list of potential sites for a hub. Once Infosys announced last March that it was creating a hub in Hartford, we initiated conversations—led by Sonia Cardenas, dean of academic affairs and strategic initiatives—with the company. We knew well that Infosys prioritized the presence of an “academic ecosystem” in considering where to locate its U.S. hubs. We were gratified upon meeting Infosys leaders to learn that they believe—as we do—in the power of a liberal arts education to produce graduates with the analytical capacities, creative thinking, and diverse perspectives necessary to propel innovation.
Since those initial meetings, Dean Cardenas has worked closely with Infosys leadership and consulted with various constituents on campus, resulting in a recently finalized Memorandum of Understanding for the partnership. We now will begin exploring the creation of several concrete initiatives, and Dean Cardenas will continue leading these efforts.
Our work with Infosys will build on our strengths as a liberal arts institution, and it will advance our aim to make Trinity the preeminent liberal arts college in an urban setting. Importantly, this partnership is consistent with the three pillars of our bicentennial strategic plan, Summit: creating a first-choice liberal arts college, connecting in transformative ways to Hartford and the world, and building on our rich past to ensure a sustainable future.
Stay tuned for ways to engage in and support this exciting partnership!
Sincerely,
Joanne Berger-Sweeney
President and Trinity College Professor of Neuroscience
