UK Ireland Alumni Reception
British Council Ireland and the British Embassy in Dublin hosted a second UK Ireland Alumni Reception on 26th March 2025 in the British Embassy in Dublin, Merrion Road, Dublin 4.
The event was a networking reception to celebrate the rich and long-standing relationship between Ireland and the UK in higher education and showcase notable individuals in Ireland who completed an aspect of their higher education in the UK, across a range of sectors - including politics, science, arts and culture, media, academia and business.
We heard from 2 keynote speakers during the reception. The first was Professor Catriona Jackman, Irish space physicist and academic, currently senior professor at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. Catriona spoke about her experience studying for her PhD in the UK at the University of Leicester as well as her career as a research associate and professor at Imperial College London, University College London and University of Southhampton in the UK.
Our second speaker was Declan Keeney, Professor (Chair) of Screen Technologies & Innovation at Ulster University & Director of the Ulster Screen Academy. Professor Keeney is Co-Founder & Interim CEO of Studio Ulster Ltd, a £72m ($91m) 75000ft2 commercial Virtual Production Studio complex with a dedicated UKRI AHRC funded CoSTAR R&D lab currently under construction at Belfast Harbour Studios in NI, one of the Belfast Region City Deal Pillar Innovation projects.
We were also joined by Catriona McCarthy, British Council Global Head, Student Mobility & Internationalisation of UK Education. Catriona, latterly of Ulster University and British Universities' International Liaison Association (BUILA), spoke on behalf of the British Council's work in this area as well as her own experience studying in the UK.
The reception also highlighted the British Council’s ‘Alumni UK’ programme. You can view photos from the evening here.
We hosted our inaugural reception in January 2024. Find out more about this below.
Inaugural UK Ireland Reception 2024
This reception was the first in Ireland and launched the British Council’s ‘Alumni UK’ programme in Ireland. Speakers on the night included British Ambassador to Ireland HMA Paul Johnston, Deputy CEO of British Council, Kate Ewart-Biggs, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Stirling, Professor Sir Gerry McCormac, advocate and change maker, Bukky Adebowale, activist and playwright, Dr. Rosaleen McDonagh, and author, activist and broadcaster, Emma Dabiri.
You can view photos from the event here.
