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OPINION:Tom Garvin is wrong. Harking back to a non-existent golden age for universities will not equip students to meet the challenges of tomorrow, write MARY DALYand BRIGID LAFFAN

THE UNIVERSITY is one of very few medieval institutions to occupy an important place in the modern world. Universities have survived in the past because they did not stand still, and while respectful of tradition, it is vital that they adapt to contemporary needs of students and society. To quote John Henry Newman (founding rector of the Catholic University of Ireland, UCD’s antecedent): “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.”