University for South East is WIT priority
THE creation of a Technological University in the South East remains a priority for WIT, its President Professor Willie Donnelly told graduates at a series of conferring ceremonies last week.
‘Our priority in the coming year will be to continue the engagement with Carlow IT and the regional stakeholders to deliver a University in the South East in the near future,’ said Professor Donnelly at the graduations, which included 339 students from County Wexford.
‘ The workplace that you are about to enter is a very exciting environment. The application of science and technologies are transforming traditional industries and creating new industries, Professor Donnelly told the graduates.
He said that the high technology sector is looking towards graduates in arts and humanities to increase their level of cretaivity and innovation in the design of new products and services.
Professor Donnelly noted the importance of a multicultural society in Ireland’s advancement. ‘Our student community includes students from 70 countries. Thanks to this we are a more intellectually open, creative and innovative educational community,’ he said, adding it was time to reimagine the south east region as Ireland’s innovation region at the heart of the multicultural globally connected knowledge economy.
WIT, he said, is playing a role in a new type of graduate whocan manage their own career path through entrepreneurship, creativity and the institute’s connectivity with industry.
The professor also commented that the presence of a university in a region is one of the major drivers of economic growth.