Africa, Ireland and UCD: Working together to address global sustainability challenges
Thursday, 22 May, 2025
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Africa, Ireland and UCD: Working together to address global sustainability challenges
22 May 12:30 - 17:30 followed by reception, (opens in a new window)UCD O'Brien Centre for Science.
UCD’s Africa Engagement Strategy 2023-2028 was published last year, establishing Africa as a priority region and committing the university to deepening its research, scholarship and innovation engagement with the continent. This ambition will be achieved through the development of meaningful and equitable relationships with scholars and institutions from across the continent of Africa, as well as leveraging the broad range of existing partnerships. Sustainability, climate and environmental research that tackles key global challenges is of critical relevance in this context.
UCD is among the Irish Higher Education Institutions most actively engaged with Africa and with African partners, based on student population, educational initiatives, and research collaborations. However, current engagement is siloed within different academic disciplines and does not adequately represent the importance of Africa in the world. The aims of this event are to connect researchers across UCD who engage with Africa in the areas of sustainability, climate and environment, engage with the wider political, policy and funding context for these activities, and to build capacity for future initiatives. Preliminary programme provided below.
Registration
This event is open to everyone however the first part of the day (12:30-16:00) may be of more interest to an internal UCD audience. The final session is a keynote panel discussion (16:00-17:30) aimed at a general audience.
To register for any or all of the three sessions, please complete this (opens in a new window)Google form.
Call for posters and presentations: If you are a UCD researcher and interested to share your research in or about Africa on sustainability, climate or environmental topics as part of session 1 or as a poster, please find further information here (deadline for expressions of interest 30 April).
If you have any questions, please email (opens in a new window)caitriona.devery@ucd.ie
Preliminary Programme
| 12:30-13:00 |
Lunch + research poster display |
| 13:00-14:50 |
Welcome from Earth Institute Director, Professor Eoin O’Neill Session 1: Showcase with research presentations + posters Short presentations highlighting the breadth of environmental, climate and sustainability research across multiple disciplines in UCD with African partners or centred on African contexts, exploring intersections, synergies and opportunities to collaborate. |
| 15:00-16:00 |
Session 2: Sustainability research collaborations - Research Ireland / Irish Aid SDG Challenge funding This session will provide funder, researcher and community perspectives on Research Ireland / Irish Aid funding for collaborative, transdisciplinary projects. Speakers: Dr Maysoun Mustafa, (Research Ireland Challenge Call lead) (opens in a new window)WECOAdapt project - Dr Liana Ricci (UCD), Professor Gabriel Kassenga (Ardhi University, Tanzania), Dr Given Mhina (Ardhi University, Tanzania) Dr Tim Ndezi, (Centre for Community Initiatives (CCI), Tanzania) SANKOFA project - Dr Adwoa Serwaa Ofori (UCD), Professor Miriam Kalanda-Joshua (University of Malawi). |
| 16:05-16:20 |
Welcome & Earth Institute overview: Prof Eoin O’Neill, Earth Institute Director |
| 16:20-17:20 |
Session 3: Keynote panel - Africa, Ireland and UCD: Working together to address global sustainability challenges This session will address the external and policy context as well as the benefits, challenges and priorities for collaborations around sustainability, climate and environment research between Irish and African research partners, in the context of UCD's research partnerships in Africa and the recent UCD Africa Engagement Strategy. Panellists: Prof Kate Robson Brown, UCD Vice President for Research, Impact and Innovation Prof Pat Gibbons, Director Centre for Humanitarian Action, Academic Lead UCD Africa Strategy Dr Ines Raimundo, Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique. Kyle O’Sullivan, Director of the Africa Unit at the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Chaired by Tom Arnold. |
| 17:20-17:30 |
Concluding remarks Professor Dolores O’Riordan, UCD Vice President for Global Engagement |
| 17:30 |
Reception |
Event co-hosted by UCD Earth Institute and UCD Global Engagement, supported by Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.