Ireland’s leading academic institution, Trinity College Dublin, is planning to establish a new Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at the university. This decision was made after a strategic alliance was reached between Trinity College Dublin and Al Maktoum College of Higher Education.
The Al Maktoum College that is based in Dundee, Scotland, is financed by the Dubai based Al Maktoum Foundation. The Al Maktoum Foundation would be also lending its support to the new Al Maktoum Centre for Middle Eastern Studies. It is presumed that the new Centre would be making major offering for the growth of Middle Eastern Studies in Ireland.
The new centre known as the Al Maktoum Centre for Middle Eastern Studies will operate within Trinity’s School of Languages, Literature and Cultural Studies, within its Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Under the terms of the agreement, the announcement stated that, four new professors would be recruited for the in Middle Eastern Studies, with the vision and purpose of advocating Middle Eastern Studies within Ireland and globally.
Trinity College Dublin has been ranked as the leading university in Ireland, the 48th best in Europe, and the 120th in the world.
Commenting on the opening of the Centre, Mirza Al Sayegh, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Al Maktoum College and of the Al Maktoum Foundation, stated that they are very proud to assist this drive and with the partnership of Trinity College Dublin, having its global reputation for excellence in research and education. It continues a long pledge of the Maktoum family’s investment in both education and in Ireland.
Dr Patrick Prendergast, the President and Provost of Trinity College, stated that this thoughtful gift from the Al Maktoum Foundation comes at a crucial moment in the history of Trinity College’s relationship with the Middle East, its peoples and its cultures. He stated that this big gift comes at a time when society in Ireland must seize the chance to enhance the role which all can play in a pluralistic society.
Trinity College has had a long engagement with the cultures and societies of the Middle East that dates back for over 250 years. The first Professor of Oriental Studies was chosen in 1762, while the Professorship of Arabic Studies was set up in 1855. Today, the Near and Middle Eastern Studies stream at the College provides a degree in Middle Eastern and Islamic Civilizations as well as offering teaching in Arabic. Students at Trinity studying Arabic spend a year at a university in the Middle East.
The most recent development is the creation of a unique new degree course in Middle Eastern and European Languages and Cultures which commenced in 2017.
The strategic alliance between Trinity College and the Al Maktoum College of Higher Education, offers a first step towards an even closer and long-lasting academic association between the UAE and Trinity College.
