Prince Charles met with Ulster University Vice Chancellor Professor Paddy Nixon, senior staff members and community ambassadors before Dr Karise Hutchinson, Provost of the Coleraine campus led the Prince on a whistlestop tour of the campus to showcase just some of the excellence and innovation in teaching and research at Ulster University.
The Prince of Wales met with a number of academics who introduced their research including current research into land surface changes on Mars, projects on discovering and protecting WWI shipwreck heritage in the Irish Sea and current mental health projects including research into veterans and sport and mental health.
As Northern Ireland’s civic university, Ulster University is an integral part of the community in Coleraine. With a new £5.1 million sports complex opened last year, sport is a key area of community engagement. During his visit, The Prince of Wales met with representatives from local disability sports partners including football, tennis, wheelchair basketball and judo to hear how they are benefitting from the state-of-the-art facilities.
The visit concluded with The Prince of Wales planting a tree outside the Riverside theatre to commemorate the visit and the 50th anniversary of the Coleraine campus.
Professor Paddy Nixon, Vice-Chancellor said:
“It is an honour to welcome HRH The Prince of Wales to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Coleraine campus. This is an exciting time for Ulster University as we reflect on our history of excellence, innovation and breaking boundaries, as well as present our ambitious plans for the future.
Today’s visit was an opportunity to showcase the depth and breadth of our research but also our role in the local community. As we look ahead to the next 50 years, we will continue to focus on applying and translating the knowledge generated in our lecture theatres and research laboratories to secure long lasting economic and social prosperity for this region and beyond.”