A new centre named after businessman and former EU commissioner Dr Peter Sutherland has been set up in Trinity College to facilitate the study of global trade and international integration
The Sutherland Centre will house the Institute for International Integration Studies, which was opened yesterday by the Tánaiste, Ms Harney. Dr Sutherland, the chairman of BP and Goldman Sachs International, has donated €1.3 million towards the cost of establishing the centre.
Dr Sutherland and the college hope the new institute will become a world-renowned research centre for the study of global trade and international integration.
The Sutherland Centre will provide a "dedicated research space" for 50 researchers as well as conference facilities on the sixth floor of college's arts block. The American philanthropist Mr Chuck Feeney, the Higher Education Authority, the multi-national Coca-Cola corporation and German bank DePfa are also providing funds.
Dr Sutherland said he was delighted to be involved with the venture which he hoped would encourage rational debate and impartial analysis about the issues of global trade and integration.
"We have a particular responsibility in this regard to the developing world and to those less fortunate than ourselves. Trinity is addressing this urgent need, thus helping the citizens of Ireland, Europe and the world," he said.
The provost of Trinity College, Dr John Hegarty, said international integration or globalisation was a theme "that is as contentious as it is pervasive. Rational debate and informed decisions are too often prohibited by the heat of unsubstantiated arguments and misunderstandings."
He said the institute would look at the dynamics and characteristics of globalisation in "a calm, reflective and interdisciplinary environment".
"Progress in this area is vital for the improvement of policy making and the promotion of an informed public debate on the merits and demerits of European and global integration," he added.
Ms Harney said Dublin was the natural home for such an institute, since Ireland had been at the forefront of the integration process.
"The Irish economy is defined by extremely high levels of two- way international investment and migration flows. Politically, Ireland is deeply involved in the European integration process and its history of emigration means that it also has strong links with North America, Africa and Australia," she said.
The new centre will involve staff and resources from a range of Trinity's academic departments, including business, economics, history, law, political science and sociology.
The institute's director, Prof Philip Lane, said Trinity had an existing group of world-class researchers and the institute would bring them together. "The institute also intends to contribute to the emerging fields of global ethics and ethical globalisation," he said.
Researchers will also participate in international research collaborations with partners such as the London School of Economics, the London Business School, Tilburg University, the Centre for Financial Studies and the University of Rome and through international networks such as the European-wide Centre for Economic Policy Research.
The funds from the Higher Education Authority come from cycle 3 of the Higher Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions (PRTLI). As part of the programme's objective to promote collaboration between colleges, a team of international finance researchers from NUI Maynooth will be contributing to the activities of the institute and centre.