Africa, Ireland and UCD: Working together to address global sustainability challenges
Thursday, 22 May, 2025
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Africa, Ireland and UCD: Working together to address global sustainability challenges
22 May 12:00 - 17:30 followed by reception, (opens in a new window)UCD O'Brien Centre for Science.
Hosted by UCD Earth Institute and UCD Office of Global Engagement.
UCD’s Africa Engagement Strategy 2023-2028 was published last year, establishing Africa as a priority region and committing the university to deepening its research, scholarship and innovation engagement with the continent. This ambition will be achieved through the development of meaningful and equitable relationships with scholars and institutions from across the continent of Africa, as well as leveraging the broad range of existing partnerships.
UCD is among the Irish Higher Education Institutions most actively engaged with Africa and with African partners, based on student population, educational initiatives, and research collaborations. However, this engagement is often siloed within different academic disciplines, limiting a more cohesive approach that fully reflects Africa’s global significance and the potential for impactful research partnerships.
In this context, interdisciplinary sustainability, climate and environmental research that tackles urgent global and interconnected challenges is a critical priority. The aims of this event are to connect researchers across UCD who engage with Africa in these areas, engage with the wider political, policy and funding context for these activities, and to build capacity for future initiatives. We hope that the legacy of the event will be a UCD network for sustainability research in Africa and an agenda for future collaborations and partnerships in this area.
Structure of event:
Session 1 will showcase environmental, climate and sustainability researchers across multiple disciplines in UCD who work with African partners or whose research is centred on African contexts. It will create a space to share research and explore intersections, synergies and opportunities to collaborate.
Session 2 will provide researcher and funder insights to the recent Research Ireland / Irish Aid funding for collaborative, transdisciplinary projects.
Session 3 is a final keynote panel session and will address the policy and external context as well as the benefits, challenges and priorities for collaborations around sustainability, climate and environment research between Irish and African research partners, in the context of UCD's research partnerships in Africa and the recent UCD Africa Engagement Strategy.
Registration
This event is open to everyone however the first two sessions (12:30-16:00) may be of more interest to an internal UCD audience. The final session is a keynote panel discussion (16:00-17:30) aimed at a general audience.
To register for any or all of the three sessions, please complete this (opens in a new window)Google form.
If you have any questions, please email (opens in a new window)caitriona.devery@ucd.ie
Outline programme
Location: (opens in a new window)UCD O'Brien Centre for Science
| 12:00 |
Registration (1st Floor, Science East - via main entrance) |
| 12:00-13:00 |
Lunch + research poster display (4th Floor, Science East) |
| 13:00-14:40 |
Welcome from Earth Institute Director, Professor Eoin O’Neill Session 1: Showcase of UCD environmental, climate and sustainability research in / related to Africa Short presentations highlighting the breadth of environmental, climate and sustainability research across multiple disciplines in UCD with African partners or centred on African contexts, exploring intersections, synergies and opportunities to collaborate. Location: H1.51, O'Brien Centre for Science Chaired by: Dr Diretnan Dikwal-Bot (UCD School of English, Drama and Film) and Dr Tensay Meles (UCD School of Architecture, Planning & Environmental Policy) |
| 14:40-14:55 |
Comfort break / tea + coffee on 4th Floor |
| 14:55-15:55 |
Session 2: Funding for sustainability research collaborations in Africa - Research Ireland / Irish Aid projects This session will provide funder, researcher and community perspectives on Research Ireland / Irish Aid funding for collaborative, transdisciplinary projects, including SDG Challenge and COALESCE calls. Speakers: Dr Maysoun Mustafa, (Research Ireland Challenge Call lead) (opens in a new window)WECOAdapt project - Dr Liana Ricci (UCD School of Architecture, Planning & Environmental Policy), Professor Gabriel Kassenga (Ardhi University, Tanzania), Dr Given Mhina (Ardhi University, Tanzania), Dr Tim Ndezi, (Centre for Community Initiatives (CCI), Tanzania) SANKOFA project - Dr Adwoa Serwaa Ofori (UCD School of Agriculture & Food Science), Professor Miriam Kalanda-Joshua (University of Malawi). Chair: Dr Caitriona Dowd (UCD School of Politics and International Relations) Location: H1.51, O'Brien Centre for Science |
| 15:55-16:05 |
Comfort break / move to O'Connor Theatre |
| 16:05-16:20 |
Welcome & Earth Institute overview: Prof Eoin O’Neill, Earth Institute Director Location: O'Connor Theatre, O'Brien Centre for Science |
| 16:20-17:20 |
Session 3: Keynote panel - Africa, Ireland and UCD: Working together to address global sustainability challenges This session will address the external and policy context as well as the benefits, challenges and priorities for collaborations around sustainability, climate and environment research between Irish and African research partners, in the context of UCD's research partnerships in Africa and the recent UCD Africa Engagement Strategy. Panellists:
Location: O'Connor Theatre, O'Brien Centre for Science. |
| 17:20-17:30 |
Concluding remarks Professor Dolores O’Riordan, UCD Vice President for Global Engagement Location: O'Connor Theatre, O'Brien Centre for Science. |
| 17:30 |
Reception Location: 4th Floor, Science East |
Full programme with contributor biographies (to be added)
Event co-hosted by UCD Earth Institute and UCD Global Engagement, supported by Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.