2019
UCC and Shanghai University establish Irish Studies Centre
An Irish Studies Centre has been established in China through an agreement between University College Cork (UCC) and Shanghai University (SHU).
With over 40,000 students, Shanghai University is one of China’s leading universities and this joint agreement will see a joint lecture programme established to both further research collaboration and to generate cultural awareness and understandings between Ireland and China.
This year is the 40th anniversary of official diplomatic ties between Ireland and China. “It is fitting that we establish an Irish Studies Centre with Shanghai University in this historic year. Both our nations are separated by distance but through such partnerships, we can improve understandings of our cultures and seek to address common challenges," commented Professor Patrick O’Shea, President, UCC.
Shanghai University President Jin Donghan said, “this Irish Studies Centre will become one of the most important indicators of the depth of friendship between our sister cities and our two countries in a year, which marks a milestone in a long friendship between Ireland and China.”
UCC was part of an Irish delegation led by the Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD that met with universities in Shanghai and Beijing, to discuss bilateral education cooperation, with a view to strengthening further the links between Ireland and China.
UCC’s College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Science (CACSSS) will be the lead college working to develop the Irish Studies Centre in Shanghai University, in an initiative that was supported by the Confucius Institute and UCC’s China Working group.