THREE INSTITUTES of technology in Dublin are to make a joint bid for redesignation as a new-style “technological university”.
Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), Institute of Technology Blanchardstown (ITB) and Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT) say the new “Technological University of Dublin” will “break new ground’’ in the higher education sector in Ireland.
The move could draw a cool response from the Department of Education, which does not accept the case for more universities.
The move means the Government is now under pressure from colleges in both Dublin and Waterford for redesignation. Public representatives in the southeast say a redesignation of Waterford Institute of Technology could help reinvigorate the local economy.
Last year, the Hunt report on higher education ruled out the establishment of any new universities but held out the prospect of some institutes of technology being redesignated as technological universities, provided strict criteria are met.
In recent years there has been criticism the institutes – formerly regional technical colleges – have moved away from their original mission of supporting industry. All now offer an extensive range of arts and humanities courses.
The Hunt report said the field of learning in any new technological universities must be “closely related to labour market skill needs with a particular focus on programmes in science, engineering and technology, and including an emphasis on workplace learning”.
Last night, former chair of the Higher Education Authority Michael Kelly, who heads the new Dublin Alliance, said a new technological university would offer an exciting prospect for students, employers and the wider community in the Dublin region. “It provides a clear opportunity to enrich the quality of teaching and learning, research and discovery, and civic and corporate engagement. Together the members of the Dublin Alliance represent 13 per cent of all Irish higher education. Our belief is that, in developing the alliance, the whole can become significantly greater than the sum of its parts.”
The Dublin Alliance said the concept of a technological university, with a different mission from traditional universities, is well established in other jurisdictions.
In a joint statement, the presidents of the three member institutions – Prof Brian Norton (DIT), Dr Mary Meaney (ITB) and Pat McLaughlin (ITT) – said the new university would “complement and collaborate with the existing university sector; it will be practice-led, strongly informed by research and engaged on many levels with society and with industry”.