Co-operation between Irish universities North and South is set to grow, thanks to the work of the Conference of Heads of Rectors in Ireland (CURI).

This organisation was set up in 1992 to bring together the nine universities on the island of Ireland. Until then, North/South contact between the universities had been slight. Earlier this year, CURI recruited its first full-time director, Francis McGeough, to its Dublin office. The Belfast Agreement has provided a new impetus for co-operation, he says. "Once the peace is sorted out, there are huge possibilities for people to come together. There's a huge amount of goodwill to develop contacts across the island." Research is likely to be top of the agenda. A workshop held last month in UCC gave up to 80 academics from the nine universities the opportunity to examine collaborative research opportunities.

This workshop was followed by a meeting of the graduate business schools. An issue for the business schools, he says, is their lack of profile. They are not seen as players in national economic planning in either jurisdiction; "they need to raise their profile by engaging in research that would benefit business organisations." It is intended that other faculties - law and science for example - will also hold joint meetings in the future. "There's a view in the Republic that because of the research-assessment exercises which are undertaken in universities in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, institutions are limited in their ability to get involved in collaborative research with universities down here. That's not true. Northern Universities are keen to engage in worthwhile projects."