Pictured from left to right: President of the University of the District of Columbia, Dr Maurice Edington, and President of National College of Ireland, Professor Emma Stokes, at NCI’s Spencer Dock signing the Memorandum of Understanding.
On October 7th, 2026, a Memorandum of Understanding was made between National College of Ireland and the University of the District of Columbia in Washington DC. NCI warmly welcomed the President of the University of the District of Columbia, Dr Maurice Edington and First Lady Tonya Edington alongside distinguished visitors from Washington DC: Deputy Mayor Nina Albert, Councilmembers Brooke Pinto and Wendell Felder, Rashad Young from Howard University, and Michael Akin and Jamal Holtz from LINK Strategic Partners.
Memorandum of Understanding between NCI and UDC
Each party is a Higher Education Institution, and both are committed to widening educational opportunities, supporting participation in the workforce, and engaging with their local communities. The University of the District of Columbia is a public institution of higher education and independent agency of the District of Columbia, having its principal offices at 4200 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC, United States of America, and this trade mission brought together business, civic, education, and economic development leaders from the US capital.
Dr Maurice Edington, President of the University of the District of Columbia, said, “This exciting new partnership establishes a framework for expanding educational opportunities, student and faculty engagement, academic exchange, and innovation between our institutions. This milestone marks another important step toward realizing our vision of positioning UDC as a leading public urban university and the District of Columbia’s workforce and economic mobility engine.”
NCI and UDC wish to explore opportunities for student learning, academic collaboration, and exchange between Dublin and Washington, DC, and have agreed to enter this Memorandum of Understanding.
This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlines that NCI and UDC have agreed upon areas of intended cooperation, including COIL projects (Collaborative Online International Learning), short facility-led visits, student mobility, and possible academic pathways that will be subject to appropriate academic and operational approval. Further areas of collaboration include guest teaching, faculty and staff exchange, shared case studies, and a collaborative exploration of innovative fields such as responsible AI, cybersecurity, digital inclusion, and entrepreneurship.
This MOU highlights the blue sky thinking of both parties, with ideas being discussed about a possible Dublin–Washington Innovation Challenge involving students, faculty, and, where appropriate, employers or civic partners and/or an Exploration of a World Capitals Education Connections pilot, beginning with Dublin and Washington, DC, and potentially extending to other capital-city institutions by separate agreement.
National College of Ireland and the University of the District of Columbia intend to identify initial priorities and nominate academic and operational leads to develop a focused programme of work for the first twelve months of this agreement.
Professor Emma Stokes, President of NCI, said, “Today's signing is particularly fitting as both our institutions celebrate significant anniversaries: 175 years for UDC and 75 years for NCI. We also share a commitment to opening up access to education and responding to the needs of our inner-city communities. This partnership creates new possibilities for the students we serve and opportunities for collaboration amongst our academic and support staff. I hope the connection made today between NCI and UDC is only one success to come from the wider mission of the Washington delegation in Ireland.”
Building connections between NCI and UDC
This Memorandum of Understanding signing and visit to National College of Ireland was part of a five-day DC Chamber of Commerce trade mission to London and Dublin. This trade mission gave DC Chamber members the opportunity to meet with English and Irish business and industry leaders, connect with businesses to create business-to-business exchanges, and promote growth opportunities.
Chinyere J. Hubbard, DC Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, said, “This mission is about positioning DC businesses to compete, grow and lead on a global stage. “When we open doors to new markets and build relationships beyond our borders, we create pathways for investment, partnerships and revenue that strengthen our businesses and our economy here at home.”
Earlier this year in May, Dr Deirdre Giblin, Director of Development and External Engagement at NCI visited Washington with the Ireland Gateway to Europe group, hosted by Maureen Pace and John Drew of the World Trade Centre Washington. Michael Akin, President of LINK Strategic Partners, facilitated meetings with higher education institutions, opening the door to the relationship formalised at NCI on Oct 7th.
Dr Deirdre Giblin, Director of Development and External Engagement at NCI, said, “I wish to share many thanks to Michael and to the World Trade Centre teams in Washington and Dublin for helping bring us together within this wider trade mission. It has been a pleasure to help connect our two institutions.”
From an international development perspective, this is an exciting relationship that connects two institutions that are rooted in their cities and creates opportunities to collaborate around their academic strengths and community commitments.
NCI is located in Dublin’s inner city, placing the College close to both significant opportunity and persistent disadvantage. NCI works alongside major international employers while remaining deeply connected to the communities of Dublin’s North-East Inner City. This connection gives NCI a particular responsibility; to help people access opportunities and to ensure that changes in our economy and society create pathways for those who might otherwise be left behind.
The work of NCI spans higher education, apprenticeships, employer partnerships, and community engagement. Through the Early Learning Initiative, that engagement begins long before a young person considers college. Through initiatives such as AI Futures, NCI seeks to equip young adults with the knowledge, confidence, and support to participate in a changing world of work.
It is this sense of purpose that makes NCI’s relationship with UDC so compelling. UDC has a distinctive history with a clear commitment to serving Washington and its communities. Its urban land-grant mission brings education, research, and community service together, while its workforce and lifelong learning provision creates different routes into education and employment. Although these two institutions operate in different systems, NCI and UDC share important questions such as how do we widen access? How do we support students to succeed once they arrive? How do we connect learning with meaningful employment? And how do we ensure that our institutions contribute to the wellbeing and development of the cities around us? These questions provide NCI and UDC with the solid foundation that will allow both institutions to learn from one another.
National College of Ireland’s mission is to ‘change lives through education.’ Staff and faculty across the College are committed to making this mission a reality by continuously seeking new ways in which NCI’s reach can be widened. Having the opportunity to connect in Ireland and beyond allows NCI’s message to be spread further while broadening the College’s perspectives. Not only is it exciting to form a relationship such as this newly formalised connection with the University of the District of Columbia, but it is also a privilege to learn from other institutions in other parts of the globe and use those learnings to create opportunities and help students thrive.