2015 Press Releases

UCC partners with leading Thai universities

13 Apr 2015
UCC President, Dr Michael Murphy, and a University delegation met with the Deputy Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister of Thailand on their visit to Thailand's leading universities.

University College Cork (UCC) has reached agreement with a number of leading Thai universities to cooperate in research, student exchange and staff development. 

A delegation led by the President of UCC, Dr. Michael Murphy, visited Thailand’s top universities, Mahidol University in Bangkok and King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi. 

Similar in size to UCC, both are members of the ASEAN University Network, and leading universities in South East Asia. 

Students from both universities will attend UCC later in 2015 while it is anticipated that students in Engineering from Cork will spend short periods on campus in Bangkok.

Thai graduates from UCC have attained prominent roles in academia across their homeland. Professor Piniti Ratananukul (PhD 1983) holds the position of Secretary General of the Education Council of Thailand, responsible for all public education policy and reporting to the Prime Minister. Three UCC graduates have attained the rank of University Vice President while more than ten hold professorial posts across Thai universities.

At a reception in the Foreign Ministry to mark 40 years of diplomatic relations between Ireland and Thailand, the new Irish Ambassador to Thailand, Mr. Brendan Rogers, welcomed the announcement as an important building block for a stronger relationship between Ireland and Thailand. 

The President and UCC delegation met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Mr. Thanasak Patimaprakorn, who also welcomed UCC’s engagement with top Thai universities.

Dr. Murphy observed that recent international studies on the economic impact of international education highlighted that some 1,000 jobs in the Cork region now depend on the University’s success in attracting international students to the city. 

University College Cork

Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh

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