Trinity launches Southeast Asian Studies and develops Cantonese teaching
Posted on: 27 October 2026
Provost Dr Linda Doyle said: “This initiative marks a significant expansion of our Trinity Centre for Asian Studies, creating new opportunities for research, language teaching and the development of our library collections."
Trinity College Dublin has launched Southeast Asian Studies and is developing Cantonese language teaching, marking a significant expansion of the Trinity Centre for Asian Studies. The launch took place in the Senior Common Room on Monday 19 October 2026.
The occasion was attended by Provost Dr Linda Doyle, the Ambassadors of Vietnam and Malaysia to Ireland, Consul Ajeet-Victor Panemanglor of the Embassy of the Philippines, and Phillip Henderson, CEO of the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Global, whose generous support has made both initiatives possible. Guests at the launch also enjoyed a gamelan performance by the National Concert Hall gamelan gadhon group, a traditional Indonesian ensemble of gongs, bells and xylophone-like instruments that together produce a wonderfully magical sound.
The Foundation’s generous support has contributed to the appointment of two new staff members to the Trinity Centre for Asian Studies, one in Southeast Asian Studies and one in Cantonese, as well as a fully funded four-year PhD studentship on issues of contemporary Southeast Asia around the theme of amphibious worlding(s). Dr Sirithorn Siriwan has been appointed as Assistant Professor of Southeast Asian Studies.
Dr Siriwan completed her PhD at Cornell University and her research on rice culture and ritual in northern Thailand won the 2025 Inter-Asia Cultural Studies (IACS) Dissertation Prize.
Dr Ka-Fai Yip has joined Trinity as Research Fellow in Cantonese, helping to develop Cantonese language teaching at the University. His research interests also encompass Mandarin and Vietnamese linguistics.
Speaking at the launch, Provost Dr Linda Doyle said: “This initiative marks a significant expansion of our Trinity Centre for Asian Studies, creating new opportunities for research, language teaching and the development of our library collections. I am deeply grateful to the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Global for its generous support and delighted to welcome Dr Sirithorn Siriwan and Dr Ka-Fai Yip to Trinity, along with all those who will undertake research in this field, as we build this exciting new area of study and engagement.”
Established in 2014, the Trinity Centre for Asian Studies has been working to broaden its geographical and disciplinary reach. Professor Nathan Hill, Director of the Centre, said: “Our ambition is to make Asian Studies at Trinity broader, deeper and more enduring. These appointments strengthen our work on Southeast Asia and Cantonese, and the PhD studentship will help us develop a new generation of scholars. The Foundation is also helping us build the library collections on which that future will depend.”
Further information
Trinity Centre for Asian Studies
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