- Home
- Securing Our Future: UCC Strategic Plan 2023-2028
- UCC President
- John O'Halloran ePortfolio
- Governing Authority
- University Leadership Team
- President (Chair)
- Deputy President & Registrar
- Chief Financial & Operating Officer
- Corporate Secretary
- Director of Buildings & Estates
- Chief People & Culture Officer
- Advisor to the President (Interim)
- Head, College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences
- Head, College of Business & Law
- Head, College of Medicine & Health
- Head, College of Science, Engineering & Food Science
- Director of Information Technology Services
- Vice President for Research & Innovation
- Vice President for Learning & Teaching
- Vice President for Global Engagement
- External Advisory Board
- UCC Organisational Structure
- Honorary Degrees Board
- Past Presidents
- President's Office
- Plans and Reports
- Recent News
2025
UNIC's first academic conference: Urban Resilience, Sustainability and the Future of Inclusive Post-Industrial Societies
UNIC's first academic conference took place on 6-9 May at the University of Malmö, Sweden, robustly addressing themes of urban resilience, sustainability, and the future of post-industrial societies. A parallel ‘UNIC General Assembly’ event brought together university leaders from across the alliance to engage in the future direction and success of the alliance. UCC representatives on the UNIC General Assembly were UCC President Prof. John O’Halloran, Vice President Global Engagement Prof. Ursula Kilkelly and Associate Vice President for European Relations and Public Affairs Dr Jean van Sinderen-Law.
17 participants from Cork presented at the conference, ranging from academic leaders to RePIC master's students, a PhD candidate, UNIC management staff, and a Cork city organisation representative. During one of the plenary sessions, UCC President, Prof. John O'Halloran articulated the role of the university in advancing environmental sustainability, and the urgent importance of this work.
Prof. John O'Halloran commented that "this first UNIC academic conference engaged ambitiously with the topics of sustainability and resilience, bringing together thought leaders and innovative practitioners. The conference cemented the meaningful academic work of the European University”.
UCC staff received two awards at the conference: Dr Breffní Lennon, Research Fellow at the Environmental Research Institute (ERI) and School of Engineering and Architecture, won the UNIC Best Paper Award for his paper on sustainability and citizen energy communities, co-written with Dr Niall Dunphy, Senior Research Fellow in the School of Engineering and Architecture/ERI. Prof. Owen McIntyre, Professor at the School of Law, won the UNIC Best CityLabs Award alongside Erasmus University Rotterdam’s Renée Knoop and Dr Alberto Quintavalla for their collaborative sustainability law showcase event held at UCC in 2024: ‘Perspectives on Sustainability’. Dr Breffní Lennon and Prof. Owen McIntyre both engaged with societal and city partners to deliver, reflecting UNIC’s priority on engaged research.
Not only did the conference advance scientific dialogue between academic peers and city and societal stakeholders on sustainability and urban resilience research and impact, but it also offered the opportunity for networking and consortium-building for further research and teaching projects. UCC’s research support service worked closely with attendees in advance of the conference to identify opportunities and multiple funding bids are currently being prepared for submission.
The next UNIC academic conference will be held at Koç University Istanbul, in March 2026 with a focus on the topics of superdiversity; health and wellbeing; and justice, security and institutions. A call for papers will be issued over the summer.
UNIC is co-funded by the European Union.