UCC launches Global Development Centre

PROMOTING the need for greater collaboration and co-operation between the developing and developed worlds is the focus of the new UCC Centre for Global Development.

The university has committed to strengthening external engagement, maximising the impact of its research and teaching programmes for the benefit of the wider society, locally and globally.

Deputy president Professor Irene Lynch-Fannon said: “The first major step in the creation of an organisational structure for the delivery of UCC’s Strategic Plan ambition for engagement in global development has now been taken with the formal launch of this centre.”

“International aid is coming to be regarded more as a participatory activity than part of a passive donor culture, and increasing numbers of students at second and third level, and adults already in the workplace, are participating in volunteering.” added director of the centre, Professor Patrick Fitzpatrick.

The centre wants to foster partnerships between the Irish Aid programme and Higher Education Institutes to make a difference to the lives of people in some of the poorest communities in the world.

Over 100 UCC staff members are already actively engaged in global development through teaching, research and volunteering. A number of strategic partnerships have been built with universities, international aid agencies, and international bodies, such as the World Bank.