Minister for Foreign Affairs Opens New Trinity Centre for Asian Studies
Posted on: 07 October 2015
The Trinity Centre for Asian Studies was launched today by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan. The new teaching and research centre at Trinity College Dublin aims to advance Japanese, Korean and Chinese Studies and to promote Ireland as a new knowledge centre in comparative studies of East Asia and Europe.
Trinity Centre for Asian Studies is a teaching and multi-disciplinary research centre that brings together Trinity’s existing capacities in Korean, Japanese and Chinese Studies.
Coinciding with its official opening, the flagship centre has commenced a new Masters in Chinese Studies programme, providing an important new approach to Chinese Studies in Ireland.
The opening of the Trinity Centre for Asian Studies at Trinity and the new Masters in Chinese Studies are important developments in promoting partnerships with China. Engaging with Chinese Studies as an academic subject means learning about China’s civilisation, its role as an economic and political powerhouse, and its trade, investment and diplomacy.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan said: “I am delighted today to formally launch the Trinity Centre for Asian Studies. This Government is committed to strengthening our links with Asia, and one area where Ireland and our Asian partners clearly share strong values is the importance we attach to education. There are many locations across Asia where our impressive tradition in education s well known thanks to years of work by both Irish missionaries, and more recently, by Irish people who have spent time teaching in Asia. The new Centre and the Masters in Chinese Studies are very welcome developments which highlight Trinity’s ongoing commitment to engagement with Asia. I look forward to seeing the work of this Centre in the future which I’m sure will benefit the development of educational links between Ireland and Asia.”
A team of professors have been recruited in Political Science, History and Linguistics to teach the programme.
The new Masters has also been enabled through a philanthropic donation by Dr Sam Lam, a Trinity alumnus from Hong Kong. Dr Lam, a medical graduate, presented the donation to the Provost, Dr Patrick Prendergast, during a previous visit by the Provost to Hong Kong. Two new scholarships for students enrolled in the Masters in Chinese Studies were also announced, supported by Trinity alumni with business connections in Hong Kong and China.
Provost & President, Dr Patrick Prendergast said: “Today’s launch of the Trinity Centre for Asian Studies builds on existing links, establishing new partnerships and educational programmes for students and staff. Engagement with Asia forms a core part of Trinity’s global strategy; fourteen partnerships have been formed with key Chinese, Japanese and Korean Higher Education Institutions in the past few years and a Trinity Office in Shanghai has been opened. More importantly, numbers of Asian students coming to Trinity continue to increase, and are encouraged by a diverse and rewarding student experience.”
The Director of the Trinity Centre for Asian Studies, Professor Lorna Carson said: “We see Asian Studies as a vital part of a modern Trinity education – a unique and vibrant part of their educational experience which equips its students to be global citizens. We are delighted that our staff and students in Korean, Japanese and Chinese Studies are now located in our new multidisciplinary centre. In particular, Trinity’s new Masters in Chinese Studies offers a very special opportunity for our students to gain expertise in key aspects of contemporary Chinese society, history, politics as well as to hone their language skills.”
In addition to the Masters in Chinese Studies, the Centre’s nine Mandarin courses, and five Korean and Japanese courses, respectively, are fully subscribed, reflective of the popularity of learning Asian languages in Trinity.
About the Trinity Centre for Asian Studies
The Trinity Centre for Asian Studies, a new teaching and research centre at Trinity College, provides a structure for scholarship in Chinese, Korean and Japanese Studies as well as other regionally-based area studies and pan-Asian research. Its activities focus on contemporary history, society and culture, language, diaspora and comparative studies. It provides opportunities for doctoral research in Asian Studies, and offers a two-year M.Phil in Chinese Studies as well as undergraduate modules on contemporary Asia. Its language programmes provide Trinity students and the general public with opportunities to learn Korean, Mandarin and Japanese at a range of proficiency levels.
The Trinity Centre for Asian Studies organises regular public lectures, seminars and outreach activities, and its academic staff are committed to developing both excellence and impact in their research. Its programmes have received support from the Japan Foundation, the Korea Foundation, the Academy of Korean Studies as well as philanthropic donations in Chinese Studies. It has been awarded funding by the European Commission to research identity formation in young mobile populations in Europe and China along with Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou.