UCC should reach out to Derry – Burke

There is now a real opportunity for UCC to reach out to the Magee Campus of Ulster University and engage in a sustained period of research collaboration, a Fine Gael TD has said.

This follows the announcement by the Government that €40 million from the Shared Island Fund will be made available for a new North South Research Programme. The new research programme has three elements to it, bilateral researcher-researcher projects, supporting emerging hubs of excellence and strategic research engagement.

Cork North Central Deputy Burke said “This funding is very welcome. There is now a real opportunity for UCC to reach out to the Magee Campus of Ulster University and enter a strategic relationship partnership with them.

“A new medical school is opening at the Magee Campus of Ulster University this September and the college already has departments of biomedical sciences and life sciences. UCC also has strengths in each of these areas which would be a good match.

“With goodwill on both sides, a long-term strategic relationship could be established between UCC and Magee in medicine and life sciences. Over time this could include not just shared research projects, but also student exchange programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level. It might also include joint academic positions to be shared by both institutions.

“An academic partnership on this scale between Magee and UCC would certainly be of benefit to both institutions and would likely attract further public and private funding. There is no doubt that Derry feels short-changed as regards the provision of third level education. I have previously argued that there should be a new cross border university for the North West region with a main campus in Derry.”

Deputy Burke outlined how this initiative is part of the broader responsibility of all of us to build and maintain peace.

“UCC reaching out to Derry is not just about building academic and research partnerships. It is also about participating in the necessary and very important work of building North South relationships and thereby participating in the very important work of peace building on this island.

“The political situation in Northern Ireland is very fragile. Its internal politics are largely dysfunctional, largely operating on a zero-sum approach. Progress to an agreed future is slow and Brexit has brought a new and unwelcome instability to the region. One hundred years of partition and the decades of violence have seen both parts of the island drift apart. We in this State are free from the divisions that continue to dominate Northern Ireland politics.”

Deputy Burke concluded “We have the freedom to reach out in a generous way to both communities in Northern Ireland. The third level research programme just announced provides such an opportunity for UCC and other institutions to engage directly with corresponding institutions in Northern Ireland. I hope they will do so with great enthusiasm and generosity.”