University College Galway.

Galway city, though among the fastest growing cities in Western Europe in recent decades, remains a compact and intimate city of about 55, 000 people, set at mid-point on the western coast of Ireland, facing out onto the Atlantic. Galway is acknowledged – by Irish and overseas commentators alike – as an ideal University city. Its narrow medieval streets combine with dynamic new commercial and service outlets.

Its lively arts scene (the annual Galway Arts Festival being among the most exciting and highly regarded on the European festival calendar) owes much to the intimate and harmonious relationship between town and gown. In the arts, as in the industrial, commercial, social and sporting life of the region, the university has a pivotal role that is recognized and welcomed by civic and community leaders.

The Irish language is widely used with English in the city and, of course, in the predominantly Irish-speaking districts in Galway’s hinterland. But it is not uncommon to hear many languages spoken by visitors in the streets of Galway (including students from over 50 countries who attend courses in the university).

Respect for traditional culture combines with a confident embrace of the new frontiers of science and technology and new ideas in all branches of learning. It is this confident fusion between the old and the new, between the traditional and the radically different, which gives Galway its unique edge as a University city.

Galway has been an internationally renowned centre of higher education since the early 17^th century. University College Galway has celebrated its 150^th birthday. Its first name was Queen’s College Galway.

And while the College can look back on a history of great achievement by its staff and its students, it must also look forward to the needs of its future students. These will be mobile young Europeans and other citizens of the world who will rightly demand an environment in which their minds can develop and their intellects will be stretched to the full. They will demand that at the end of their period of study the qualifications earned will be recognized as being of high international standard.

These are all factors, which University College Galway bears in mind when recruiting its staff and planning its physical infrastructure. Thus, staff in each of its seven faculties has been expanded in recent years. New physical resources have been provided for the Library, Information Technology, Applied Languages, Business Studies, Marine Science, Clinical Science, Biotechnology and student housing.

University College Galway has a wide range of links with educational institutions throughout the world. Staff members participate in collaborative research and teaching projects and exchanges with colleagues in other countries. Many Galway graduates continue their studies at overseas institutions and each year the College enrols visiting students from many countries.