Technological university for Tipperary a huge boost for third level education in the county

Third level education in Tipperary is set to receive a huge boost with the establishment of a technological university.

The moves follows a new collaboration between Limerick IT and Athlone IT and will cover areas already served by the two colleges.

LIT's two campuses in Clonmel and Thurles will be key parts of the new plan that is set to bring university-level technological courses to the county for the first time.

It will represent a huge increase in student numbers in both towns and deliver courses leading to Honours, Masters and Phd degrees.

The technological university will bring increased development to the area in terms of foreign direct investment and the establishment of new small to medium enterprises.

Speaking in Clonmel at the weekend, LIT's Dr Liam Browne said the university would work with local companies and stakeholders to grow the economy at regional level but ultimately with a national outlook and eventually on an international scale.

“This is hugely significant and will make a major impact on the county. It will up the ante for students  and for business in the region”, Dr Browne said on a visit to Clonmel for the annual County Tipperary Business Awards that LIT partners with Tipperary Chamber.

Tipperary IT's merger with Limerick IT had been significant in adding scale to the county's third level offering but Dr Browne said more needed to be done to grow universities and support students.

“We need to grow the student base so that they can really deliver to industry”, he said.

The Limerick-Athlone initiative will benefit from funding of €90 million made available by the government for the development of technological universities over the next three years.  

The approach is one that has been taken elsewhere in Europe with considerable success in the formation of new universities.

Dr Browne said that Tipperary is ideally suited to benefit from the new initiative – in Clonmel where students travel from all over the country for programmes in creative digital media, and in Thurles where there is an emphasis on sports development, social sciences and in a new collaboration with Lisheen Mines.