This document summarizes a presentation about creating a global university. It discusses how society is becoming more globalized and connected, and how graduates need intercultural competence to work in this environment. A global university is characterized by international students and faculty, overseas partnerships for student and faculty exchange, and research on global issues. These features provide experiences for developing intercultural skills. The presentation focuses on University College Dublin, which has many international students, programs abroad, and partnerships in Asia that help make it a global university and provide opportunities for intercultural learning.

1. Asia Matters
Asia Ireland Higher Education and
Global Talent Forum
9 July 2015
Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin
@asiamatters_biz #AsiaIrlTalent @asiabizweek
‘How Asia and Ireland Can Partner in Education to
Create Global Talent Clusters and Drive FDI’

2. 9 July 2015
Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin
In Pursuit of Excellence:
Creating a Global University
Prof. Andrew Deeks
President, University College Dublin

3. +
In pursuit of
excellence:
Creating a Global
University
Professor Andrew J Deeks
President
University College Dublin
(Ireland’s Global University)

4. +UCD Colleges
Outline
 Our global society
 Demands on our graduates
 The part of a Global University
 Global footprint
 Partnerships with Asia
 Conclusion

5. +UCD Colleges
Our Global Society
 Rise of the Multinationals
 Specialisation within countries
 Demise of domestic industries
 Improvements in the ease and cost of
communication and transportation

6. + Connectivity

7. + International Air Traffic

8. +UCD Colleges
Our Graduates
 Must be prepared to take their place in this global
society
 Must be able to work successfully across cultural,
political and geographical borders
 Must be able to able to exploit the opportunities that
arise from organisations and teams which are
culturally diverse

9. +UCD Colleges
Intercultural Competence
 Variously defined as ‘the ability to
communicate/interact effectively and appropriately
with people of other cultures’
 More completely ‘the ability to communicate, interact
and work effectively and appropriately with people of
other cultures, exploiting the opportunities that
diverse viewpoints and approaches brings’

10. +UCD Colleges
Developing Intercultural
Competence
 Mostly based on an individual's experiences while
interacting with other cultures.
 During interactions, the individual will experience
certain obstacles caused by differences in cultural
understanding between two people from different
cultures.
 Such experiences motivate the individual to acquire
skills that can help him/her to interact effectively with
people coming from a different cultural background.

11. +UCD Colleges
Dimensions of cultural difference
(Hofstede)
 Collectivism vs individualism
 Power distance
 Long term vs short term orientation
 Uncertainty avoidance
 Masculine vs feminine orientation
 Indulgence vs restraint

12. +UCD Colleges
The part of Global Universities
 Global universities are characterised by
 High percentage of international students
 High percentage of international faculty
 International partnerships which lead to the exchange
of students and faculty
 Research addressing global issues
 Such universities generate significant opportunities
for students to have the experiences which develop
intercultural competence

13. +
UCD
• Ireland’s largest university, ranked 139th globally by
QS
• ~32,000 Students
• Over 6,000 International students in Dublin
• Over 5,000 Students taught overseas
• 18% of Irish students spend some part of their studies
abroad
Overview

14. +UCD - HighlightsUCD Highlights
 First choice for Irish undergraduate students
 >30% of PhD students in Ireland
 >25% of Graduate students in Ireland
 #1 Irish university for research funding
 #1 Irish university for research publications
Overview

15. +
Overview
Global Research Connections

16. +UCD Colleges
Global footprint &
Asia partnerships
 Beijing-Dublin International College
 Penang Medical College, Malaysia
 Global Centres in China, India, Malaysia and the US, which are the
foundations for our UCD Global Network
 Degree programmes in co-operation with partners in China, Singapore,
Malaysia, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka
 UCD Confucius Institute for Ireland (in partnership with Renmin
University), one of Hanban’s 10 model Confucius Institutes
 Construction starting in September for the first purpose built Confucius
Institute building in the world joint funded by the Chinese Government
(with the Irish Government)
Overview

17. +UCD Colleges
Conclusions
 Our society is increasing global and increasingly
connected
 To fully benefit from and contribute to this global
society our graduates should possess intercultural
competence
 Such competence is generated through intercultural
interactions, and our Global Universities are ideally
placed to provide these opportunities
 Partnerships with Asia are a vital part of a Global
University, and these partnerships take a variety of
forms

18. +
Thank you for your attention.