Since 2011s Hunt Report there has been a lot of quiet but furious work happening in meeting rooms across DIT, IT Tallaght and IT Blanchardstown – building on histories, combining ideas and imaginations, and while there is still a long road ahead this is an important milestone in the creation of a new type of university. Mary Mitchell, Minister for Education thanked each elected officer from across the three insitutions individually at todays launch for their hard work.The DITSU team were on hand to reenforce the importance of todays announcement.
President Pierre Yimbog said ‘For many years students have been told that they would graduate from a university. Some may have lost hope that it would ever be a reality. but the three Institutes and the three Students’ Union’s have continued to work hard to reach this moment, and its great to share with the TUDSU Working. For students who may have thought university wasn’t a realistic expecatation for them, TU Dublin will show them that there is another way and will everyone the opportunity to access the best educational experience possible in state of the art campuses with degrees that will be internationally recognisable’.
Rebecca Gorman, Vice President for Education added ‘I am delighted that the years of hard work done by staff, students and the Students’ Unions of the three Institutes has paid off. It is an exciting time and we cannot wait to see what benefits this will bring to our students in the future.’
Jess Morris, Vice President for Events said ‘We are all extremely excited to see what’s in store for the future of the first ever Technological University in Ireland. It is an absolute privilege to be able to stand behind all the incredible work done by all three Students’ Unions and all three Institutes which have brought them to this exciting part in the process. This is a pivotal moment for education and student life in Ireland and has the potential to create a new type of learning and social experience for student’s and generations to come.’
The legal framework to establish TU Dublin was made possible by the enactment of the Technological Universities Act 2018 in March. Following its application for designation as a TU last April, the Technological University Dublin Alliance submission was evaluated in May by an independent international panel. As part of their evaluation process, the panel met with students and staff from DIT, IT Blanchardstown and IT Tallaght, as well as a wide range of community and industry partners. In a follow-up report to the HEA, the panel confirmed that the application for TU status met the specified criteria for designation. The panel’s report was considered by the HEA, which made a formal recommendation to the Minister for Education and Skills, resulting in his decision to award designation.
With establishment confirmed for early next year, the first graduates of Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) will receive awards from the new university in 2019. CAO and lifelong applicants who accept a place in DIT, IT Blanchardstown or IT Tallaght this August, as well as our continuing students, can look forward to receiving their parchments from the new University.
