University College Dublin: Ireland’s International Pride

HER Team
Workers in Indian industries and other sectors are able to exercise their rights and avail benefits in the corporate world because of the efforts of the charismatic activist and social reformer V.V. Giri, the fourth President of the republic of India. However, V.V. Giri’s charitable affluence does not end there. The Indian labor force isn’t the only body that benefits from the works of the former Indian president. University College Dublin (UCD) which is considered as Ireland’s Global University, has been providing scholarships to Indian students who want to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate programs at UCD in recognition of V.V. Giri, who studied law in UCD from 1913 to 1916. UCD’s commitment to attracting top Indian students is evident in its scholarship offerings along with their regular visits to India, importantly with key academics and engagement with Indian university partners such as the University of Delhi, IITs and IIMs amongst others.

"One of things that we are very proud of in UCD is our metrics about being a global university. We have over 30,000 students including 6,000 international students from over 127 countries. Over 300 Indian students are currently in the campus and they are all exposed to global experience with students from various countries interacting with them," says Prof. Jeremy C. Simpson, Vice Principal (International), UCD College of Science. Today, UCD has Global Centres located in New York, Beijing, Delhi and Kuala Lumpur to support the university's extensive strategic relationships in North America, China, India and South East Asia. The UCD Global Centres provide an accessible first point of contact for high schools, partner institutions, students and parents in the local time zone. Importantly they also provide a base for the development of a network of productive and sustainable partnerships, along with increasing awareness of the opportunities that UCD can offer as ‘Irelands Global University.’

"We will be extending the objectives of our Global Centres further in the near future; forging broader collaborations in education and supporting UCD students in their mobility to study and undertake work placements in region; supporting the development of new research collaborations and networks; identifying and leveraging new sources of collaborative research funding and communicating the impact of research at UCD," claims Prof. Simpson. Ranked in the top 1 percent of the world's universities, UCD provides an international context for the educational experience, giving students the tools to contribute proactively to the international community as global citizens and preparing them for life and work across borders and cultures. "Though, UCD is a distinctively Irish university, we offer a world-class education delivered by academic staff, who are at the leading edge of their fields internationally. More than 25 percent of our teaching staff members are from other countries, which make us truly a global university to study in," explains Prof. Simpson.

Being a 160 year old institution, the Irish University with its great strength in diversity of disciplines embraces its role to contribute to the flourishing of Ireland; through the study and discussion of people, society, business, economy, culture, languages and the creative arts, as well as through research and innovation. The University conducts research within each of its extensive range of disciplines and in multidisciplinary areas addressing challenges of a global scale. Over the last decade UCD researchers have doubled their annual number of papers in the international literature and have co-authored publications with more than 7,000 international researchers from more than 130 countries. These papers are cited by other researchers at a rate that is 59 percent above the world average. As Ireland's leader in innovation, technology transfer and commercialization, UCD's commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship recognizes the importance of actively participating, contributing and collaborating to exploit leading-edge research and development outputs. On the research front, presently, UCD focuses on four themes addressing critical challenges and economic development opportunities facing both India and Ireland: Agri-Food, ICT, Health, and Energy.

Leading in first-preference applications in Ireland year after year as well as being one of the most ideal Universities for international students coming to Ireland, UCD receives more than 1000 applications from Indian students every years and has large number of Indian alumni members who are settled in different parts of world. "Ireland is dynamic, vibrant and one of the friendliest countries in the world. Many Indian students are now travelling to countries like Ireland rather than conventional countries like Australia, UK and U.S. I hope what they will find in UCD will be very surprising for them and our global exposure will help them to secure better career in the future," concludes Prof. Simpson.

Prof. Jeremy Simpson, Vice Principal (International)

He is a Fellow of the UCD Conway Institute and runs the UCD Cell Screening Laboratory. Additional academic roles within UCD include Head of Subject for the Cell and Molecular Biology Program, he is the designer and coordinator of the MSc in Imaging and Microscopy, and is currently Vice Principal (International) within the UCD College of Science. In January 2014 he became Head of the School of Biology and Environmental Science.

Ranked in the top 1 percent of the world's universities, UCD provides an international context for the educational experience, giving students the tools to contribute proactively to the international community as global citizens and preparing them for life and work across borders and cultures.

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