Talk the talk

Professor Kieran Byrne, director of Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), talks to David Clerkin.

Please tell us about WIT’s business school.

The school has 1,885 students at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

We’ve had an MBA (Master of Business Administration) programme on offer for the last seven years, with other courses such as the MSc in financial services in place for the last four years. Demand for our courses is quite strong and the number of people coming to the MBA from non-traditional backgrounds is growing.

We’ve people coming from management level in the gardaí and the courts system, not just from banks and businesses.

What attracts students to the institute?

It’s cost-effective, accessible and a pleasant place to be. We’ve doubled student numbers in the last 10 years and have 6,700 full-time and around 3,500 part-time students.

The institute is strategically placed to provide a good mix. Many of our staff have a business background and bring a strong applied dimension with them, to go hand-in-hand with our people with theoretical skills.

We’re coming round to the view that intuitive or instinctive intelligence is key for areas like entrepreneurship.

Educational institutions won’t produce people with entrepreneurial skills from a traditional mindset.

How important is WIT to the south-east?

It’s the biggest institute outside Dublin and a critical part of the overall economic infrastructure of the south-east. The profile it has achieved reflects equally well on the south-east. We have the support of good stakeholders - an example of this is our Waterford Crystal Centre for Marketing Studies, where the chair is occupied by a scholar of international repute.

WIT is the anchor and stimulant for thinking and development in the region. Our South- East Enterprise Platform Programme is the springboard and policy unit for businesses in the area to submit proposals and use our research base.

What’s the institute particularly good at?

Companies look to our research centres to identify patterns in the market or to make international comparisons.

Our people provide consulting skills with a quick turnaround time and we’re also very strong on digital literacy. We developed a prototype swipe card system to create a cashless business environment for the institute. Staff and students can access buildings, pay in canteens and use vending machines based on one card.

Tell us about your international links.

International links are very important from a cultural viewpoint and to multiply perspectives available to our students.

They’re also important at a practical level as they provide an additional funding stream. We have links with groups in China and India. China is fascinating at the moment as they are close to establishing a free market.

They’re anxious for links to Europe and we have partnerships with colleges in Beijing and Shanghai. We also attract students from across Europe.