Newly ratified South-East university to open in May

Further and Higher Education Minister Simon Harris visited Institute of Technology Carlow  in November, after announcing May 2022 for the establishment of the South-East Technological University in partnership with Waterford Institute of Technology.

A new technological university in the South-East of the country is expected to open its doors by the beginning of May.

On Monday, Simon Harris, the minister of further and higher education, formally granted designation status to the fifth technological university in the state.

The move will see a merger between the Institute of Technology Carlow and Waterford Institute of Technology to become the South-East Technological University (SETU).

The new TU will have campuses in Carlow, Waterford, Wexford, and Wicklow, and will see current students from IT Carlow and WIT graduating in 2022 with university qualifications.

Dr Patrick Prendergast, the former provost of Trinity College Dublin, has been appointed as the first chairperson of the SETU governing board.

He will be joined by Jim Bergin, chief executive of Glanbia, and Ruth Beadle, who holds a leadership role at Sanofi, which has a manufacturing facility in Waterford.

'Historic moment'

Mr Harris said the new TU was the first university presence in the region and "marks a truly historic moment in higher education for staff, students, regional stakeholders and local communities in the South-East." 

"I want to wish Dr Prendergast, Mr Bergin, and Ms Beadle the very best in their roles. Having an inaugural governing board with such vast and invaluable experience will be of huge benefit to the technological university as it embarks on this new journey." 

We will continue to invest in this new university, with new campuses in Wexford and Waterford, so that the footprint of the technological university will benefit the whole region."

IT Carlow and WIT jointly applied for TU designation last April under the TU Act 2018. Following this, there was a rigorous assessment process by an international advisory panel, the Higher Education Authority, and the Qualifications and Quality Assurance Authority of Ireland, according to the Department of Further and Higher Education.  This panel reported to Mr Harris before making his decision.

The institutes will now undertake an open public competition to identify a suitable candidate for the TU's first president.