September 1, 2006: Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and the National University of Ireland, Galway have agreed a new strategic collaborative research partnership in the humanities and bioengineering. The TCD Provost, Dr John Hegarty, and NUI Galway's President, Dr Iognáid Ó Muircheartaigh, together signed the bilateral agreement this week, which will enable their respective institutions to build collaborative and complementary strengths.

The primary focus of this initial collaboration concerns research in the arts, humanities and areas of social studies. It paves the way for the creation of an East-West Arts and Humanities Research Corridor in Ireland, linking Trinity's Long Room Hub initiative with the Moore Institute for Research in the Humanities and Social Studies at NUI Galway. The other element of the agreement builds upon existing bioengineering partnerships between the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science (NCBES) at NUI Galway and the Trinity Centre for Bioengineering.

Speaking on behalf of NUI Galway, Dr Ó Muircheartaigh stated that: "At a time when significant investment has been made by the State in research, both universities agree that we should work together to maximise efficiency at fourth level to deliver added-value in these key research areas. Furthermore, I hope that that this initiative will serve as a platform with which relevant research clusters in other Irish universities will establish links."

Commenting on the significance of the agreement, TCD's Provost, Dr John Hegarty said: "This is the second strategic agreement in a series of key bilateral collaborative partnerships which Trinity College is advancing with other institutions in Ireland. I am particularly pleased to see the balance between the humanities and the sciences in this agreement. The role of the humanities in our society cannot be overstated."

In addition to collaboration in these specific research areas, Trinity College and NUI Galway will work to develop and implement further complementary research strategies and graduate school programmes.