University College Dublin has announced the opening of a new Global Center for North America based in New York with representative offices in San Francisco and Chicago.
UCD has had a presence in New York for four years but the opening of the Global Center will add considerable impetus to activities focusing on academic and innovation partnerships, alumni and Irish diaspora networks, as well as on student exchange and graduate placements.
UCD President Prof Andrew J. Deeks with the Ambassador of Ireland to the United States, H.E. Anne Anderson at the official opening of the UCD Global Center in New York
The development of the UCD Global Centers in North America will be matched with centers in Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, and New Delhi. The opening of these centers will enable UCD pursue its new global engagement strategy which aims to place the university in the top ten in the world for global engagement.
Currently there are some 1,500 US students at UCD but the university has ambitious plans to double these numbers over the next three years.
“There are obvious areas of interest to US students such as literature, Irish studies, history, politics and international relations and now is an ideal time to expand in these areas.” The President of University College Dublin, Professor Andrew Deeks said.
Pictured at the launch: Barbara Jones, Consul General of Ireland in New York; Prof Andrew Deeks, President of UCD; Sheila O’Donnell, O’Donnell Tuomey; John Tuomey, O’Donnell Tuomey
The President also launched UCD’s program to commemorate the Irish decade of centenaries, which spans the final Home Rule Bill, the impact of the First World War, the 1916 Easter Rising, the War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. Some 25 projects drawing on history and literature, geography and archaeology, equality and women’s studies, art and architecture, will bring scholars from around the world to UCD over the coming 12 months to contextualise the events, starting with the political, cultural and societal impact of the Easter Rising. The university houses unique collections including the National Folklore Collection, the History Archive and the James Joyce Special Collections and will extend access through digital and public programs.
“The expansive scope of this program is such that there couldn’t be a better time for interested students and scholars of humanities and social sciences to come to UCD .” Professor Deeks added. Details of the UCD program on the decade of centenaries is available on www.ucd.ie/centenaries.
Specific to the U.S. And Canada, the President announced details of a new MA scholarship in Anglo-Irish Literature and Drama. The Gus Martin Memorial Scholarship offers full tuition fees to the successful applicant.
In addition, UCD has opened a major scholarship scheme for study abroad students. The Generation Study Abroad scholarship will provide 50 scholarships of 1,000 Euro and is designed to support the Institute for International Education (IIE) initiative to encourage US students to study overseas.
The UCD campus is an extensive 330 acres with 2,700 residences for students. Belfield campus boasts the first global lounge designed to meet the needs of international students. The parkland campus is famous for its sports facilities and the university rugby, soccer, field hockey, swimming, basketball and track teams are the leaders in varsity sport in Ireland, with some teams also taking part in national leagues.
