UMass Boston has entered into a partnership with the city of Derry in the Northern Ireland aimed at boosting collaboration between the Dorchester campus and the Irish city in coming years. 

UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco and Derry Mayor and Councillor Lilian Senoi Barr signed a Memorandum of Understanding during a brief ceremony in the UMass Campus Center on April 25. 

The collaboration will involve research, economic development, and student opportunities. Several local officials, including City Councillors John FitzGerald and Erin Murphy, state Sen. Nick Collins, and Joseph Kennedy III, the former US Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, witnessed the signing.

“Today, we are delighted to continue forging a partnership between Boston’s only public research university and Derry and Strabane,” said Suárez-Orozco. “One that will benefit both our cities, one that will strengthen the ties between the great city of Boston and the great city of Derry, a city that has so much to teach the world about the urgent challenges of our time.” 

Suárez-Orozco, who recently visited Derry, hopes the partnership will be another step forward in “serving citizens of our cities and cultivating the social, cultural, economic, scientific, and intellectual ties between Boston and Derry.” 

Senoi Barr, who was in Boston for a weeklong visit, added: “Our presence is a clear statement of intent. It is a reflection of our shared commitment to growing educational and research ties in our regions. It’s also about building a bridge of innovation, opportunity, and respect.” 

She referred to the memorandum as not just a piece of paper, but rather a promise “to work together on climate resilience, ethical uses of artificial intelligence, restorative justice, and perhaps most importantly, to expand opportunities for students, researchers, and communities on all sides of the Atlantic.”

FitzGerald, who represents District 3 on the City Council, said the agreement “gives me a little bit of confidence because what I see is other governments partnering with higher ed institutions.

“It's a beautiful thing to know there are other governments in the world working with our fine institutions here in Dorchester. It gives me hope we’re still continuing on the right path despite everything.”