An Taoiseach, the Minister for Education and Skills, the Minister for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and the Minister of State for Higher Education have announced that the application by DIT, I.T. Blanchardstown and I.T. Tallaght (known as the TU4Dublin Consortium) for designation as a technological university has been successful.
The new university, which is expected to come into being in January 2019, will be known as Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) and will be the first technological university in Ireland. The Government also announced further funding of €4.4 million towards the continued development of TU Dublin.
The TU4Dublin Consortium has been working towards this designation since 2012 but the Technological Universities Act 2018, which allows for the designation of two or more institutes of technology as a technological university only came into force in March 2018. A draft order will need to be presented to the Oireachtas for approval to appoint the day on which TU Dublin will be formally established.
In order to achieve technological university status, the TU4 Dublin Consortium was required to undergo a complicated application process to prove that they met the criteria for designation as a technological university. The creation of a new type of higher education institution is part of the Government’s plan to increase regional economic growth under Ireland Project 2040 with the aim to have the best education and training service in Europe by 2026.
An Taoiseach stated that TU Dublin “has the potential to be ground–breaking by providing a new, flexible teaching and learning framework to students”. The announcement by the Government of the establishment of TU Dublin marks an important day for the education sector in Ireland.
Our own Chairperson, Imelda Reynolds, has been closely involved in the TU designation process both as a member of DIT’s Governing Body and the Joint Governing Bodies Strategy Steering Group, and we are delighted to welcome this very significant development.
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