UL signals clear plans for graduate-only medical school

THE head of the University of Limerick has put down a clear marker for the Minister for Education as her department draws up plans for a new graduate-only school of medicine.

UL insists the new faculty should be located on a greenfield site at the Limerick campus and not attached to the existing schools of medicine in Dublin, Cork or Galway.

The new medical school will be open to candidates who already hold a third-level degree. It is being established to attract more mature students into medicine in order to stem the high drop out rate in the profession.

In an address to graduates at UL, the college president, Prof Roger Downer stressed the need to embrace change in Irish universities.

He said UL had always been at the cutting edge when it came to embracing change and new concepts, in what is seen as a clear signal to Education Minister Mary Hanafin that UL believes it is best positioned to make a success of the graduate-entry medical faculty.

Prof Downer said he wanted to assure the Government that UL will continue to develop and adjust to new realities.

But he emphasised this is not something new at UL.

He said: “We were the pioneers of co-operative education in Ireland and introduced modularised programmes and customised course selection long before other universities. We are ahead of the field in the way in which our Office of Teaching and Learning assists learners to achieve their potential.

“We pioneered innovative programmes to improve access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and to assist students with physical problems.

“In the last three years, we have introduced new programmes in Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Architecture and the suite of courses offered across the board is reviewed and changed annually to ensure that our students are provided with what they need.”

He said UL has built up enormously effective collaborations with industry both in programmes to up-skill the workforce and in collaborative research and enterprise.

“And we continue to expand and develop the physical infrastructure of our campus in unprecedented fashion,” he said.

“Therefore, while I appreciate the Government’s recognition of the importance of the university sector in our nation’s future and its commitment to ensure the change agenda is funded, they should not think we have been ignoring this essential process. Rather, we have been pursuing an aggressive programme of responsible change for several years and will continue to do so.”

This week 980 graduates were awarded degrees from the University of Limerick in a range of disciplines including business, education, engineering, humanities, informatics and electronics, science and interdisciplinary courses.