We are delighted to announce that University College Dublin (UCD) has joined the Worldwide Universities Network. We welcome President Andrew J. Deeks and his colleagues to the WUN Board, research teams and programs. The Worldwide Universities Network looks forward to a productive partnership.
University College Dublin (founded in 1854) has flourished over the past 160 years, making a substantial contribution to the creation of modern Ireland. UCD is one of Europe’s leading research-intensive universities, currently ranked within the top 1% of institutions world-wide and home to 27,000 Ireland-based students drawn from over 120 countries, together with a further 5,500 students based abroad.
With 400 partner universities for student exchange, UCD’s extensive global study opportunities are taken up by 18% of undergraduates – the highest of any Irish university.
UCD faculty engage in international research collaborations, sharing and contributing to a global bank of knowledge that aims to impact on society. In order to further expand this global engagement, UCD has developed a network of UCD Global Centres, each of which provides a hub of research and education connections for students, faculty, alumni and partners.
In line with WUN’s priorities, UCD excels in research in the areas of education, health, climate change and migration. ‘The pressing need to reshape how humanitarian action and development aid is undertaken in urban areas to address the challenge posed by urban vulnerability’ is a key area of focus for UCD. Research test-bed sites in Africa, Asia and Latin America add to the potentially broad utility and transferability of the findings globally.
UCD’s School of Education provides extensive thought leadership across all stages of education.
UCD Earth Institute research helps identify, clarify, and find solutions to the most pressing environmental problems facing us today, where the UCD Energy Institute aims to deliver world-class energy research and to make a significant contribution to the optimisation, integration and deployment of low carbon energy.
In the area of Public Health, UCD has a unique strength in life-course approaches to chronic disease epidemiology and prevention. It has particular strengths in diet-related diseases with a prestigious ERC award in diet and metabolic health.
‘Responding to global challenges requires strong networks across academia, industry and governments. As a strongly networked university with well-developed interdisciplinary structures, UCD can be an active contributor to WUN’s Global Challenges’, said President Professor Andrew Deeks. ‘I hope to work with our international peers to gather, share ideas and to contribute to the shaping of policy at an international level.’
We encourage WUN members to explore opportunities for collaboration directly with UCD counterparts. The contact details of the UCD WUN Partnership Board and Academic Advisory Board members, and of the WUN Coordinator, will be published on the Governance page of this website.
