Don’t forget importance of the arts, warns UCC President

The importance of the arts to the economy and the country generally must not be underestimated when the distribution of third-level funding is being decided, the president of University College Cork says.

Patrick O’Shea was speaking at the announcement of a €60,000 annual investment by UCC in a collaboration with Cork Opera House that will expand training for future performers and arts organisation leaders.

Discussions have recently begun about a new approach to higher education funding — one element of which will see greater funding given to courses with science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) elements. While these tend to have higher running costs due to lab and equipment, a key factor in the increased weighting is the economic impact due to employer demand for Stem graduates.