IT Sligo welcomes new funding for third level
Institute of Technology, Sligo has welcomed the government’s announcement of €6.3 million in funding to support developments in the higher education landscape.
The new allocation, announced by the Minister of State for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor T.D. last Tuesday, will continue to support the four consortia of Institutes of Technology currently engaged with the process seeking to become designated as technological universities. They are: • Connacht Ulster Alliance (CUA), consisting of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Institute of Technology Sligo, and Letterkenny Institute of Technology
• Munster Technological University (MTU), consisting of Cork Institute of Technology and Institute of Technology Tralee
• TU4Dublin, consisting of Dublin Institute of Technology, Institute of Technology Tallaght and Institute of Technology Blanchardstown
• Technological University for the South-East (TUSE), consisting of Waterford Institute of Technology and Institute of Technology Carlow.
Of the new €6.3 in funding for 2017-18, €1.2 million is being allocated to the Connacht-Ulster Alliance.
The CUA is working collaboratively with internal and external groups, the Higher Education Authority and the Department for Education and Skills to realise the vision of a TU for the West/North West that will make a fundamental contribution to achieving balanced national development and to widening access and equity in Irish higher education.
This objective is strongly supported by employers, public representatives and state agencies involved in the economic development of the region.
In 2018, the CUA will use the funding to establish dedicated working groups to develop a distinctive TU vision and mission for the West/North West, to work towards achieving the TU criteria as outlined in the TU Bill currently going through the houses of the Oireachtas and to increase the range of collaborative projects across the consortium.
Dr Brendan McCormack, President of IT Sligo said: “IT Sligo’s stated ambition is to become a Technological University (TU) for the North West. The development of a TU will be transformative for the region as a whole, providing our communities with exciting new opportunities and an educational platform on which the next generation can build brighter and more sustainable futures in the region.”
Minister Mitchell O’Connor said: “The landscape of Irish higher education is significantly evolving. The Government continues to back this progressive evolution in higher education by all available means not least in a practical funding manner. The latest funding allocation includes €4 million in ring-fenced funding secured in Budget 2017 for the development of technological universities and further significant funding has been secured in this regard in Budget 2018.”