Speaking at a reception at the School of Asian Studies, HE PS Raghavan praised the School for its role in developing Irish-Indian relations and spoke of the increasing cooperation between Ireland and India in education and many other fields. The attendance included: UCC President, Dr Michael Murphy; John FitzGerald, Librarian/Director of Information Services; Professor Fan Hong, Head of the School of Asian Studies; representatives of UCC Library, Mr John Fitzpatrick, Professor Sebastian Green, Department of Management and Marketing; Ms Louise Tobin, The International Education Office, together with faculty and students.
Ambassador Raghavan spoke of the strong connections between Ireland and India in the 19th and early 20th centuries and said: “I am very happy that these connections are reviving, not least in the area of education.”
The Ambassador paid warm tribute to the establishment of the School of Asian Studies and outlined his support: “The School of Asian Studies is the first initiative of its type in Ireland and that’s saying something,” he said. “We are very happy to offer our support, this is just a small gesture and we offer our further support in the future,” he added.
Thanking the Ambassador for his donation, Dr Murphy spoke of the links between UCC and India going back to the university’s foundation in 1845. “When this university was established almost half of the students studying here studied medicine, he said. “On graduating, two thirds of these medical students went to work in India for the army medical corp,” Dr Murphy explained.
He also spoke of the Sexton Collection (Anglo-Indian) which has recently been catalogued by the Boole Library. “With the establishment of the School of Asian Studies we are taking steps to educate our students to understand this vital region."
Pictured L-R:
Dr Michael Murphy, President, UCC,
Professor Fan Hong, Head, School of Asian Studies, UCC and
HE PS Raghavan, Indian
Ambassador to Ireland.
MMcS
