Professor Maurice Boland, Principal of the UCD College of Agriculture, Food Science, & Veterinary Medicine has been appointed as the Director of the UCD/Teagasc National Agricultural Research, Education and Innovation Partnership with immediate effect.
Professor Boland is Professor of Animal Husbandry at UCD and has had a long and distinguished academic career, where he has served as the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, the Head of the School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine and is currently Principal of the UCD College of Agriculture, Food Science & Veterinary Medicine. Professor Boland’s research interests have focused on animal reproduction where he was instrumental in developing the non-surgical embryo transfer technique in cattle that is now widely used worldwide. His research programmes have involved extensive collaboration, both within UCD and at a national and international level. Professor Boland was a former member of the UCD Governing Authority and was elected to the Senate of the National University of Ireland (NUI) in 2007.
On his appointment as Director of the UCD/Teagasc Partnership, Professor Boland stated that one of his key goals was to work with the academic and research staff in both organisations to establish the Partnership as a vehicle for the delivery of world-class, collaborative, basic and applied agricultural research and education. He sees the Partnership as the ideal platform to allow both UCD and Teagasc to collaborate in securing competitive national and international research funding.
Mr Michael Berkery Chairman of the UCD/Teagasc Partnership Strategy and Management Board welcomed Professor Boland’s appointment, stating “The appointment of an academic of the calibre of Professor Maurice Boland as Partnership Director is a clear indication of the importance that both UCD and Teagasc attach to the development of the National Agricultural Research, Education and Innovation Partnership. His appointment will help the Partnership achieve the ambitious goals set for it by both organisations.”
About the National Agricultural Research, Education and Innovation Partnership
The National Agricultural Research, Education and Innovation Partnership between UCD and Teagasc will enhance the scientific and technical leadership of both organisations and underpin the international competitiveness, growth and sustainable development of the agricultural sector. It will provide world-class education for agricultural students and deliver excellent basic and applied research programmes in key areas of relevance to the development of Irish agriculture.
The Partnership’s core strategy will focus on the establishment, in close collaboration with industry, of a National Agricultural Research, Education and Innovation Programme linked to the strategies of both organisations. At the core of the National programme will be an agreed programme of agricultural research; a shared strategy for post-graduate training, including a provision for greater involvement by Teagasc personnel in undergraduate and post-graduate teaching, while also enabling more substantial engagement by UCD personnel in Teagasc research programmes and technology transfer activities.
