UCC's 'bank of ideas' to train new generation of executives

An historic former bank has been reborn as a bank of ideas, the president of UCC Patrick O'Shea said today at the official opening of its new city-based centre for executive education.

The university also confirmed that it has narrowed to a handful of locations its search for another city centre location to house its expanding business school, which is on course to have 4,000 students just four years after it was established.

The comments came at the formal unveiling of UCC's new Centre for Executive Education based in the landmark former Cork Savings Bank building on Lapps Quay.

Designed by architects T and K Deane in 1839 and built for the Cork Savings Bank for £11,000 (some €40m today) and opened in 1842, the protected structure is an important part of Cork's architectural heritage.

The listed property, which was acquired by UCC from Cork City Council in 2016, has undergone extensive refurbishment, including a new extension to the rear of the building, and the addition of new meeting and lecture rooms.

Its former main banking hall has been converted into a large function room, which will be available for use for civic functions.

It is now home to the Cork University Business School (CUBS) and Irish Management Institute (IMI) progammes - combining the largest business school in Ireland with the country's top leadership and executive education institute.

It will run a series of both open and custom-courses aimed mainly at chief executives. But it will also offer executive MBAs, short courses and international master classes.

Tanaiste Simon Coveney said the building represents the ambition and commitment of UCC in leading Ireland’s future business and executive education.

In bringing together CUBS and IMI, professionals across a wide range of sectors will benefit enormously from the synergies and vision represented by this magnificent building which has had a long history of banking, and will now continue to enrich people’s lives and our business environment," he said.

Professor Ursula Kilkelly, Head of UCC's College of Business and Law, said the investment in the building is UCC's first step into the business community with IMI, and reflects the university's commitment to ensure the availability of world-class business education from undergraduate to leadership level to Cork and the region.

Dean of UCC's business school, Prof Thia Hennessy, said the business school has seen a 15% increase in student numbers in just four years, has quadrupled its number of international students, has hired 16 professors, and is on course to have 4,000 students soon.

The MD of Twitter's Dublin operation, Sinead McSweeney, who is also a board member of IMI, was a keynote speaker at today's event.

She said she remembered several nights during her first year in UCC sprinting passed the building at a few minutes to 11pm to catch the last bus home to Midleton in East Cork.

It's important that it's within sprinting distance of the bus and train station," she joked.

But she said Cork must be open to change and to doing things differently if it is to continue attracting foreign direct investment.

"This school will help to create a new generation of leader to enhance opportunities for foreign direct investment," she said.