Trinity College Participates on Trade Mission to the Russian Federation Promoting Educational and Cultural Links with Russian Institutions
Posted on: 10 September 2010
A delegation from Trinity College Dublin, promoting educational and cultural links with Russian institutions, took part in the Enterprise Ireland trade mission to the Russian Federation this week (September 6th-11th) which coincided with the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese’s State visit to the country.
One of the projects promoted during the visit was the establishment of Ireland’s first Russian Cultural Centre. Trinity College Dublin, the Dublin City Public Libraries and the Dublin City Council are very close to finalising negotiations with the ‘Russian World’ (Russkiy mir) Foundation to open the first Russian Cultural Centre in Ireland. This jointly funded initiative will provide a Russian-language resource centre, a range of language classes from beginners to advanced, and a cultural outreach programme for the general public. In the course of the trade mission, TCD’s Vice-Provost/ Chief Academic Officer, Professor Patrick Prendergast, accompanied by College Registrar, Professor Juergen Barkhoff and Head of School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies, Dr Sarah Smyth, invited representatives from Russkiy mir to visit Dublin to agree an appropriate venue in one of Dublin’s library premises.
Trinity College Dublin (Centre for Literary Translation, Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies, Oscar Wilde Centre for Irish Writing), the Irish Literature Exchange, Dublin City Public Libraries and the Dublin City Council in collaboration with the Gorky Literary Institute in Moscow also launched the biennial publication of a journal to showcase contemporary Irish literature in translation into Russian and an annual Fellowship in Literary Translation.
The Fellowship in Literary Translation will be for a citizen of the Russian Federation and is intended for translators of English or Irish into any of the languages of the Russian Federation. As part of the fellowship, the translator will reside in Trinity for a semester and will be provided with a stipend and a workspace in the university’s Institute for Arts and Humanities, the Trinity Long Room Hub. The selected candidate will also provide master classes and contribute to the life of the university and city of Dublin through readings and lectures to the public and student body.
During the visit, the Vice Provost/ Chief Academic Officer, Professor Patrick Prendergast, signed a student exchange agreement with Moscow State University (MSU). Both Trinity College and the Russian university have been collaborating for a number of years and the agreement goes to further strengthen Trinity’s relationship with one of the leading universities in Russia. It enables Trinity students from the Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies to study at the university, and similarly, Russian students from MSU can study a range of subjects at Trinity across the university’s faculties.
At a meeting in Moscow State University the Vice-Provost/ Chief Academic Officer, Professor Prendergast also met and addressed the first group of seven or eight students studying Irish as their primary foreign language. The School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies presented the Philology Faculty with Irish language textbooks. The delegation also copper fastened an agreement whereby TCD and Moscow State University administer the Russian State Language tests in Ireland on an annual or biennial basis.
The Minister for Trade and Commerce Mr Billy Kelleher, who is leading the Enterprise Ireland trade mission, welcomed these important educational and cultural initiatives stating: “Ireland-Russia education relationships are growing. Significant numbers of Russian students come to study in Ireland every year and we are confident that this number will continue to grow in the coming years.”
“Ireland-Russia Education partnerships, such as Trinity College Dublin’s agreements with Moscow State University greatly enhance the global image and understanding of Ireland and contribute to an accumulation of capital that is not just economic, but political and cultural. It also, reciprocally, provides a means of enhancing the quality of learning, teaching and research in Ireland.”
“The participation of Trinity College Dublin as well as the other leading Irish and Russian institutions on this trade mission is a most encouraging indication of the significant potential for increasing and deepening the Ireland-Russia education relationship.”
Commenting on the significance of the links with Russia, the Vice-Provost/ Chief Academic Officer, Professor Patrick Prendergast added: “Together with Dublin City Council and the Irish Literature Exchange, we are forging significant links with the Russian Federation. For Trinity which is the only university in Ireland with a Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies, these are very important agreements which will provide major stimulus and a vibrant literary exchange also involving our Centre for Literary Translation and Oscar Wilde Centre for Irish Writing.”
During the visit, a book of drawings, titled A collection of Russian Architectural Drawings in the Library of Trinity College Dublin, depicting the palaces, gardens, churches and monasteries of St Petersburg was presented to President McAleese. The book’s content focuses on drawings that were recently discovered in the Trinity College library and date from the mid 18th century. Using the expertise of individuals from both within TCD and abroad, the book provides a detailed historical insight into the development of St Petersburg’s buildings and the links that existed between Russia and Europe in the late 1740’s. These drawings also help to expand and correct our existing knowledge of both the trade and cultural links that existed between Europe and Russia at that time. The publication, which was commissioned by Trinity College, was published in Russia with the support of the Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity’s arts and humanities research institute.
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