Beijing, China, October 23, 2015:Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Ireland’s leading university, has announced a strategic partnership with Beijing Foreign Studies University today. The announcement was made during an Irish Government delegation to China led by its Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan TD.
The strategic partnership will provide a joint research programme where both universities will seek opportunities to cooperate in research. It will also facilitate a student exchange programme where Chinese students and Irish students will have opportunities to study at each university.
Professor Han Zhen, Chairman of the University Council, BFSU, spoke highly of TCD’s global vision and efforts to promote the collaboration between Irish and Chinese universities. He said:
“Ireland is a nation with competitive advantage in higher education. As an elite university which has gained the reputation of ‘the cradle of diplomats’, BFSU has huge potential and great willingness to advance the existing partnership with TCD, the world renowned university in Ireland. The signing of the first official MoU between the two universities will be a critical step in deepening the partnership. BFSU look forward to new agreements with TCD in students and faculty exchanges in Irish studies, Asian studies, European studies and other academic fields.”
Speaking in Beijing following the signature by Trinity of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), Professor Juliette Hussey, Vice President for Global Relations at Trinity College Dublin, said:
“Trinity College Dublin has had strong links with China for most of its history. Today’s signing of a partnership with BFSU highlights Trinity’s focus on global education. The partnership will promote academic collaboration between both institutions that will involve new mobility opportunities for both staff and students as well as research collaborations. The partnership reflects Trinity’s contemporary commitment to Chinese collaborations and deeper engagement with China. This is an important enabler for the work of our new Centre for Asian Studies, which aims to be the leading knowledge centre in Ireland for policy-makers, business leaders and scholars in the field.”
Following Minister O’ Sullivan’s visit to Beijing, Provost and President of Trinity, Dr Patrick Prendergast, will visit Shanghai and Hong Kong, to engage with leading Chinese universities, research centres and industry. During his visit Dr Prendergast will sign student exchange agreements with Fudan University in Shanghai and with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, reinforcing Trinity’s commitment to develop further outward mobility opportunities for its students in Asia.
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For media queries contact Trinity’s Press Officer Caoimhe Ní Lochlainn, atcommunications@tcd.ieor tel: + 353 1 8962310 / + 353 87 9958014.
NOTES TO THE EDITOR:
For further information on the scholarships and full details of the range of courses available at Trinity College Dublin click on: trinitychina.ie
For specific queries on the scholarships please emailtcdchina@tcd.ie
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About Trinity College Dublin
Established in 1592, Trinity College Dublin www.tcd.ie holds a global position as one of the leading universities in the world, ranked in the top 100 of world universities by the QS World University Rankings 2015.
Trinity is located on a 19 hectare campus in the centre of Dublin city. Its historic buildings are located alongside modern award-winning architecture of more recent generations. Trinity College Dublin has many great alumni, many of whom have helped shape the history of the world. Nobel prize winners such as Ernest Walton for physics and Samuel Beckett for literature; great writers such as Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker; famous philosophers such as Edmund Burke and George Berkeley; renowned mathematician William Rowan Hamilton; and Presidents of Ireland, Douglas Hyde and Mary Robinson. Today, Trinity alumni can be found in every sphere of society and are innovators in their fields, leaders in their communities and ambassadors for excellence all around the world.
Trinity is Ireland’s leading university across all international rankings, and is ranked 78th place worldwide in the recent QS World University Rankings 2015.
Trinity College Dublin’s Links with China
Trinity College Dublin has a longstanding relationship with China which dates to the Mission to the Far East and the establishment of Trinity College Fuzhou. The Dublin University Far Eastern Mission (founded in 1886) established Trinity College Fuzhou in 1907, now the Fuzhou Foreign Language School. Later, Trinity was one of the first universities in the European Union to welcome Chinese students to its campus, with students from Beijing and Nanjing studying in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Today, engagement with China forms a core part of the university’s international strategy, and fourteen partnerships have been formed with key Chinese HEIs in the last number of years, and a Trinity Office in Shanghai has been opened. Numbers of Chinese students coming to Trinity continue to increase, and are encouraged by a diverse and rewarding student experience, which includes the support of a vibrant Chinese Society. Additionally, Trinity academics across a number of disciplines are engaged in academic collaborations with their Chinese counterparts to meet some of the major global challenges of the coming years in terms of healthcare, sustainable provision of food and water, urban planning and technology.
