Funding partnership with Edinburgh strengthens European links
Posted 15 November, 2018
Professor Jonathan Seckl, Vice-Principal Planning, Resources and Research Policy, University of Edinburgh and Professor Orla Feely, UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact
A new fund to support collaborative research has been agreed between University College Dublin and the University of Edinburgh.
The fund, worth up to €100,000 in the first year, forms part of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the two universities.
The partnership commits each institution to matched funding over the next three years and support students and faculty to share knowledge and expertise in a number of key thematic areas.
The collaboration will focus areas where both UCD and Edinburgh have significant expertise, and a shared ambition to develop a world-leading position.
(opens in a new window)Professor Orla Feely, UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact said: “UK institutions, such as the University of Edinburgh, are significant partners for UCD and our strategy is to strengthen our relationships with such universities and to maintain and develop those relationships, whatever the external landscape.”
“[This] agreement formalises a close partnership between the two institutions that is one of our most valued, and expresses our ambition to jointly contribute our expertise to solving some of the world’s most challenging problems.”
She added: “Both universities will also now explore the establishment of joint commercialisation and innovation activities to promote collaboration and innovation between Ireland and the UK.”
A new fund to support collaborative research has been agreed between (opens in a new window)@EdinburghUni and University College Dublin (opens in a new window)@ucddublin
— The University of Edinburgh (@EdinburghUni) (opens in a new window)November 16, 2018
Worth up to €100,000 in the first year, the fund forms part of a Memorandum of Agreement between the two institutions.
➡️ (opens in a new window)https://t.co/w9kS5rwnax (opens in a new window)pic.twitter.com/23GJTpefAM
(opens in a new window)Professor Jonathan Seckl, Vice-Principal of Planning, Resources and Research Policy at University of Edinburgh said: “To address the great challenges that our planet and its people face, we are now forging deeper partnerships with select leading European universities.”
“Stronger links with our colleagues at University College Dublin will provide exciting new opportunities for students and staff alike.”
The MoA builds on the existing close relationship between UCD and the (opens in a new window)University of Edinburgh, which includes a long history of Erasmus+ exchanges and research collaborations.
Initially, the partnership will focus on One Health, recognising the continuum between human and animal health addressing challenges such as antimicrobial resistance; Geosciences, looking in particular at how to maximise natural resources while minimising climate impacts, and Migration Studies, that is a shared lived experience in both societies.
Both Scotland and the Republic of Ireland have long histories of emigration, and the collaboration will seek to understand the impact of diasporas.
It will also address the more recent experience of both countries in migration.
By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations
