Tech university application decisions to be made by November

Decisions should be made by November on whether technological university applications can be made by two planned mergings of colleges in the south-west and in Dublin.

The Higher Education Authority has appointed international experts to evaluate the plans already submitted by the prospective applicants: Cork and Tralee institutes of technology, which plan to become Munster Technological University; and the Dublin Technological University Alliance, comprised of a proposed amalgamation of Dublin, Blanchardstown and Tallaght institutes.

This is just an interim step on the path to possible designation as a technological university, the strict criteria for which were set out by the HEA in 2012 on foot of the sector recommended for development in the 2011 20-year government strategy on higher education.