Egalitarian World Initiative Management Group
The UCD Egalitarian World Initiative (EWI) has succeeded in winning a three year Marie Curie Transfer of Knowledge programme worth almost €1million. Its aim is to make UCD a world leader in research, teaching and outreach on equality, social justice and human rights.
“The Marie Curie project will have a profound effect on the life of the university, on Irish society and ultimately on Europe”, said Kathleen Lynch, Professor of Equality Studies in the School of Social Justice, current hosts of the EWI programme.
Not only did the proposal get the A grade award (one of only 10 projects across all disciplines in Ireland to achieve this) it was also ranked second overall, of the social sciences applications from Europe.
Achieving such an award in the first application is highly unusual, and the formal evaluation of the proposal by independent experts concluded that ‘The project could lead to the creation of a powerhouse for developing a strong intellectual infrastructure for a more social Europe’.
With a network of over 80 UCD staff from all five Colleges, the EWI is an inter-disciplinary, university-wide initiative. The Marie Curie project will work through the EWI to enhance institutional capacity in egalitarian theory, practice and equality-sensitive research methodologies and policy practices.
The knowledge transfer is based on the mobility of researchers who will come into UCD and go out from UCD to other centres of excellence. The six designated partners include Oxford and Cambridge Universities as well as the Universities of Kent, Brighton, Leeds and Pisa.
The EWI is an open and evolving network, and interested UCD staff are welcome to join at any stage. Further information may be obtained from the EWI co-ordinator, Dr Pauline Faughnan, by emailing: pauline.faughnan@ucd.ie
