Paul and Martin took part in a panel presentation along with Professor Dominic Scott from the University of Millersville, Pennsylvania. The theme of their panel was the role of Catholic Higher education in the internationalisation of West Belfast. It focussed on the part played by St Mary’s as a Catholic college in promoting the international agenda both amongst its own students as well as in the West Belfast area in general. The session was well attended and it generated significant interest amongst American attendees at the conference.
In addition, Paul and Martin had a display stand at the conference to promote the St Mary’s Celtic Connections Summer School which will run between the 18th June and the 7th July 2012. International summer schools are a significant aspect of the American university experience and there is a great interest amongst the Irish-American community in exploring the history and culture of Ireland. The St Mary’s stand attracted much attention from American colleagues from a range of different institutions across the USA.