The University of Kentucky has been a partner university of Maynooth University since 2015, with a successful student exchange programme, and good collaboration between our departments of Anthropology and Geography in particular. The purpose of the visit was to strengthen our existing partnership, while also exploring opportunities to develop new collaborative initiatives, including staff exchange and research collaboration.
Director of International Partnerships & Mobility Claire Doran and Associate Dean for Internationalisation in the Faculty of Social Sciences Dr. Emmanuel Kypraios were hosted by Prof. Sue Roberts (Associate Provost for Internationalization) and Dr. Tim Barnes (Executive Director of International Partnerships & Research), who put together a fantastic itinerary for us during their visit. The MU delegates had a campus tour, allowing them to get to know the campus and its excellent facilities, and had successful meetings with the Education Abroad & Exchanges team, and faculty from the Gatton College of Business, College of Design, College of Arts & Sciences, college of Education, College of Law, and Dept. of Anthropology.
They also met with Kay Sargent, Executive Director of the Lexington Sister Cities Commission, which is twinned with Co. Kildare, Mary Quinn Ramer, President of VisitLEX, and with MU student, Ross Howard, who is currently on exchange at UK, having a great experience and being an excellent ambassador for MU abroad.
Visiting UGA came at exactly the right time, as Maynooth University is currently in the process of establishing a student exchange partnership with UGA. The purpose of this visit was to put the foundations in place for this exchange partnership, explore other opportunities for collaboration, from staff exchange to research collaboration, and learn about UGA’s student support initiatives and services.
Claire Doran and Dr. Emmanuel Kypraios were hosted by Dr. Yana Cornish (Director of Global Education) and the Office of Global Engagement. They had an excellent student-led campus tour upon arrival, and enjoyed learning about the excellent supports provided by International Student Life (ISL) and the Office for Student Success and Achievement (ISSA). Informative and wide-ranging meetings with the Associate Provost for Global Engagement, Director of Global Education, and Director of International Initiatives, and with faculty from the College of Pharmacy and the School of Politics & International Affairs, were also on the agenda. The Dept. of Geography hosted the delegation for a meeting, as well as holding in-class presentations to kick-start our exchange agreement.
Asked about the week-long US Partner visit, Claire Doran declared:
"We were grateful for the excellent hospitality, had productive and informative meetings, and really look forward to developing these partnerships further".
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| Claire Doran and Dr. Emmanuel Kypraios outside the UK Student Center | Dr. Emmanuel Kypraios and Claire Doran at the UGA Center for Continuing Education |