IRELAND’S first Technological University (TU Dublin) is set to open on three campuses shared by Grangegorman, Blanchardstown and Tallaght.
The TU4Dublin consortium comprises Dublin Institute of Technology, Institute of Technology Blanchardstown and the Institute of Technology Tallaght.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton were joined by the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Pascal Donohoe and the Minister of State for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, at the announcement last week that the application for Technological University status from TU4Dublin has been granted.
Professor Tom Collins, chair of the three institute’s governing bodies, said they were delighted to receive confirmation that they are to become Ireland’s first Technological University (TU Dublin) in 2019.
“This is the historic culmination of seven years of hard work and commitment on the part of our three institutes,” he said. “The process of engaging with the independent international panel that visited Dublin in May gave us the opportunity to highlight the potential for TU Dublin to be ground-breaking by providing a pioneering and practice-based, research-informed learning framework to students.
“We are extremely pleased that the panel’s final report, combined with the Higher Education Authority’s (HEA) recommendation, has resulted in a decision by the Minister for Education and Skills to grant us designation as Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin).”
The development of the Grangegorman campus has accelerated with construction underway on two major PPP projects that will accommodate 10,000 students by September 2020. The students will include those currently studying in DIT buildings in Kevin Street, Rathmines and Cathal Brugha Street.
Development will continue on the Blanchardstown campus with the opening of a new, dedicated student services building in early 2019. A 4,000 m2 teaching building will also be built as part of the Government’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme for the higher education sector.
The project in Blanchardstown is aimed at driving regional development to meet many of the skills needs that have been identified by the National Skills Council.
Meanwhile, the Tallaght campus will continue to expand its academic programmes and research activity, as well as community and enterprise supports to the South Dublin County Region as part of Technological University Dublin. Two new building projects are currently in progress on the 41-acre campus with planned completion dates in 2021. The first is a 5,200 m2 multi-disciplinary building also to be built as part of the Government’s PPP programme, combining teaching space, hospitality and culinary arts as well as engineering and apprenticeship activities. The second sports science and health and recreation building will includeoutdoor sporting facilities.
Dr Diarmuid O’Callaghan, President of Institute of Technology Blanchardstown, said: “Technological Universities are an established feature of many international educational systems in Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Canada and New Zealand.”