Enabling Global Engagement at UCD

Ireland’s economic success is dependent on its ability to engage flexibly in a global environment. Currently Ireland hosts world or European headquarters for over one thousand multinational companies, including nine of the top ten global ICT companies and fifty percent of the world’s leading financial services firms, and is the second most attractive country globally, after Singapore, for foreign direct investment. Globally operating companies and institutions require globally aware and globally competent graduates – this imperative led to formalising UCD’s thinking in the area of globalisation and the launch of the UCD Global Engagement Strategy for the period 2016 – 2020. UCD’s vision for 2020 is to “bring the best of the world to Ireland and the best of Ireland, including its distinct cultures, to the world” and in so doing UCD, currently Ireland’s most global university, will become a world-leading global university. Five key strategic objectives have been identified: • internationalise the UCD experience ensuring that a global outlook will permeate the daily activities of all staff, students, faculty and alumn. • extend and develop strategic relationships thereby providing opportunities for faculty to partner in collaborative research and education, for students and staff to participate on mobility programmes and for worldwide alumni to engage with each other. • grow our global reputation for excellence in education, research, innovation and impact through coordinated engagement with institutions, government, non-government agencies and industry. • increase the global impact of our scholarship, research and innovation by effectively communicating the impact of our excellence in research and education to our key international audiences. • further develop an enabling environment for UCD’s global activities by internal improving policies and supports that enhance the efficient creation of a culturally diverse environment. Professor Paul Fanning, currently UCD Deputy Vice-President for Global Engagement, will identify some of the challenges arising from this strategy and also some of the measures taken to address them. These measures include the establishment of UCD Global Centres, the establishment of joint institutions and double degree programmes, and the implementation of institution wide policies to support staff and students in achieving our global engagement objectives. It is hoped that sharing these challenges, many of which are, or will be, faced by other international institutions intending to extend their activities more globally, will promote debate, and eventually smoother resolutions of them, to the benefit of all institutions operating in an increasingly global environment.