Global Engagement Plan
Global Engagement Plan
For decades, UCC lived by the mission ‘where Finbarr Taught let Munster Learn’ reflecting our sense of place as an important, regional University. As the world has changed, so too must the University refocus its ambition to take its place among the world’s leading universities with the capacity, indeed the responsibility, to help solve some of the world’s major problems.
Building on decades of Internationalisation, University College Cork positioned global engagement at the heart of its University Strategy – Securing our Future. Setting out the University vision for global engagement, Governing Authority approved the University’s first Global Engagement in December 2024.
Designed to advance the University’s impact and reputation on the world stage, the Plan sets out four pillars that will frame its priorities over the lifetime of the Strategic Plan.
Consultation Process
The Plan is underpinned by extensive consultation with individual staff and students, stakeholders, University bodies and office holders over the past 12 months, and it has been enriched too by engagement with our peer and partner institutions around the world. Reflecting a deep commitment to values based global engagement, the Plan articulates a vision of the University that is both global at UCC – in ensuring that the University reflects and is enriched by the world around us – and global from UCC – in taking our place among the impactful universities with the capacity and the responsibility to make the world a better place.
The Four Pillars
The four pillars of the Global Engagement Plan are: Excellence, Impact, Partnership and Citizenship.
Under Excellence, UCC will be enriched by talented students and staff from all over the world in line with our commitment to diversity and excellence. This pillar includes priority actions to strengthen our global reputation through the adoption of a new integrated model of marketing and communications, a data -led approach to student recruitment, an excellent international student experience, a strengthening of our international programmes and support for the People and Culture Plan to help UCC attract the best global talent.
Under the second pillar we will impact the world’s grand challenges through our research, alumni engagement and thought leadership. Priority actions include the prioritisation of strategic research collaborations, accelerating our position in the global rankings, extending our global reach through targeted alumni engagement, leveraging our expertise in sustainability and climate action and strengthening our rich tradition of arts and culture to advance our international reputation.
Under the third pillar, we are committed to being a strategic and ethical partner, to maximising our networks and alliances to global benefit. Our priority actions are to establish a human rights framework to promote a responsible approach to global engagement, to collaborate with our key stakeholders to further University and the national strategy, to maximise the potential of UNIC, our European University Alliance and to prioritise regions of significance to promote a strategic approach to all our global engagement activity.
Finally, under our fourth pillar we will champion will champion Global Citizenship across education, research and engagement, in order to promote mutual understanding. Our priority actions here are to prioritise development education and integrate the SDGs into our curriculum and our research, to promote UCC as a place where all identities and cultures are celebrated and intercultural understanding advanced, in line with our values, to develop and promote a policy of Languages for All to enable student success, inclusion, mobility and cultural understanding, to promote greater inward and outward mobility opportunities for students and staff and strengthen UCC’s position as a University of Sanctuary, reflecting our responsibilities as a global citizen at home and abroad.
Enabling the Global Engagement Plan
The Global Engagement Plan has three enablers – finance to include a resource model that supports delivery of these priorities, governance, to ensure appropriate leadership and oversight of its objectives and data, to support evidence-based approaches throughout the lifetime of the Plan. Underpinning the Plan is a multi-annual programme of transformation that begins with a schedule of immediate actions for 2025.
I want to thank all of you for your inputs and support, for your hard work and leadership and I look forward to collaborating with you all to translate our global goals into action!
Published Global Engagement Plan
The full global engagement plan will be published in both Irish and English in the new year.