Friday, July 20, 2012

Mary Immaculate sign up with university in USA

MARY Immaculate College have signed a new partnership agreement with DeSales University in Pennsylvania that will allow students - and potentially staff - to participate in exchange programmes.

The new agreement, which takes effect immediately, sees both institutions agree to swap students each semester for study abroad programmes, and will explore the potential for faculty and staff exchanges in the future.

Professor Michael Hayes, president of MIC, said he was “delighted” to have signed the parternship with DeSales, a medium-sized, private Catholic university with a Salesian mission.

“This will provide a wonderful opportunity for both our students and staff to have an international experience as students and as faculty,” said Prof Hayes.

“This agreement also provides Mary Immaculate College with an additional platform for international collaboration on research projects in the area of education and the liberal arts,” he added.

The MIC boss explained further that the ethos of both institutions was similar “in terms of supporting students on their journeys in an atmosphere of intellectual freedom and dignity”.

It is thought that the opportunity to study at DeSales will be particularly appealing to MIC’s Bachelor of Arts students when deciding where to go on their off-campus placements.

Fr O’Connor said that he was very pleased with DeSales’s new partnership with the Limerick institution which would, he explained, help “to facilitate semester-long exchanges for students”.

“Nothing educates us better than spending time in important common projects while living together. It is our wish that students and faculty will profit from this partnership,” he added.

A group from the Pennsylvania institution recently visited MIC, touring the recently re-developed campus.