Shanxi University continued its communication and cooperation with the University College Cork, also known as the National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC), at the Irish Embassy in Beijing on Dec 13.

The visiting delegation from Shanxi University was led by Vice President Yang Jun.

Patrick G. O'Shea (middle), who was appointed the fifteenth president of University College Cork, effective Feb 1, 2017, and Shanxi University’s Vice President Yang Jun (right) pose for a group photo. [Photo/sxu.edu.cn]

The two sides reviewed accomplishments mad over previous years and emphatically furthered their talks around academic collaboration, including faculty and student exchanges.

Dr Michael Murphy, the current president of UCC, said in his speech that he plans to continue the university’s exchanges with Shanxi University and other higher educational institutions throughout Shanxi province.

UCC’s President-to-be Patrick G. O'Shea, who presently serves as Vice President and Chief Research Officer at the University of Maryland, promised to pay a visit to Shanxi University soon after taking over the post at UCC. He spoke about the prospect of promoting their partnership on a more expansive scale. O'Shea will enter into a decade-long tenure at UCC.

Patrick G. O’Shea, who was born in Cork, Ireland, is an Irish-American scientist and academic. He holds a B.Sc. degree from the University College Cork, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Maryland, all in physics. His area of expertise is in electromagnetics, electron-accelerators, and free-electron lasers. His external leadership roles have included membership to many international and domestic professional organizations, including the American Physical Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Within his employment at the University of Maryland, O’Shea helped the institution make significant progress with its academic studies’ ranking around the globe. He is an advocate for interdisciplinary research and attaches much importance to humanities disciplines.

Logo of the University College Cork (UCC). The university, founded in 1845, is a long-established institution with a distinguished history. It is Ireland's first five star university and one of the leading research institutes in the country. [Photo/cn.bing.com]