Partnership with Harris School of Public Policy
Thursday, 29 October, 2015
UCD College of Social Sciences and Law and UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy will exchange faculty, students, research and ideas about public policy with the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by officials from UCD and Chicago Harris during a ceremony at the University of Chicago on 22 April 2015. "We’re really looking forward to this partnership with the University College Dublin," said University of Chicago Provost Eric Isaacs at the signing. “Dublin is an important place where exciting things are happening. This memorandum of understanding is a way to codify our desire to do scholarship as well as implementation of policy."
The partnership agreement includes:
- master classes co-hosted by Chicago Harris and UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy, in which Chicago Harris faculty members will address senior civil and public servants in Ireland
- a cooperative combined degree program in which UCD graduates continue on to Chicago Harris programme for a second master’s degree, and vice versa
- faculty and graduate student research exchanges to promote mutual understanding of economic policy
- two-way internship exchange through which students at each institution can participate in internships arranged by the other.
Colm O’Muircheartaigh, a University College Dublin alumnus and professor and former dean at Chicago Harris, noted that the two universities have been moving in the same direction, bringing data and statistics together with political and social context. "We understand better the need to research and teach at the intersection of policy and methodology," he said. "This agreement will facilitate a synergistic collaboration between the two institutions."
"I want to express my confidence that this will be a robust and vibrant partnership between University College Dublin and Chicago Harris," added Dan Allen, senior associate dean at Harris.
Pictured is Colin Scott, Professor and College Principal at UCD College of Social Sciences and Law; UCD President Andrew Deeks; UCD Alumnus Colm O'Muircheartaigh, Professor and former Dean at Chicago Harris; and Chicago Harris Provost Eric Isaacs at the signing ceremony at the University of Chicago on April 22 (Photo by Rob Kozloff).
The MOU represents both schools' desires to integrate their work with other disciplines and with the policy worlds of both countries, said O’Muircheartaigh, pointing out that the US and Europe have somewhat different political philosophies. For example, in the healthcare sector, the US remains driven more by markets, whereas European countries are driven more by central provision and regulation, he explained. "It certainly helps you to think about the [policy] possibilities if you’re exposed to both [systems] rather than one," O'Muircheartaigh said.
Colin Scott, professor and college principal at UCD College of Social Sciences and Law, recalled that O'Muircheartaigh was a member of the selection committee that appointed him to his initial position at the law department of the London School of Economics.
"We've been immensely pleased with the UCD-Chicago Harris relationship to date," said Scott, noting that Harris faculty members had already taught a master class in Dublin in 2012, which had been an early step towards the MOU. "I look forward to developing our relationship and taking it further."