The consortium of Cork Institute of Technology and Institute of Technology Tralee will be officially established as Munster Technological University in January 2021.
Dr Brendan O’Donnell, President of Institute of Technology Tralee, and Dr Barry O’Connor, President of Cork Institute of Technology.
The announcement of the new Technological University in the south-west of Ireland was made on 26 May 2020 by An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh, and Minister of State Mary Mitchell O’Connor.
Bob Savage, Chair of CIT’s Governing Body, welcomed the announcement:
“This is a monumental day in the histories of both CIT and ITT… Our collective staff, students, and stakeholders have been instrumental in bringing us to this day. Together, we look forward to the future and the creation of MTU in 2021; a new University for a new era.”
Lionel Alexander, Chair of IT Tralee’s Governing Body, spoke of future ambition:
“… MTU will be the first regionally-based Technological University in Ireland. Our ambition is to have a lasting positive impact economically, socially and culturally on the South-West region and beyond; and our values will guide our relationships with students, with staff, our partners and the wider community of stakeholders”.
Dr Brendan O’Donnell, President of IT Tralee, signalled MTU’s aim and ability to become a strong driver of economic growth for the region:
“… MTU will play a leadership role in the strategic development of the South-West region as we work towards national and global recovery… As a new university, MTU will develop and enhance curricula and research opportunities through stakeholder engagement ensuring that the changing demands of regional enterprise, the professions, and the community are realised.”
Dr Barry O’Connor, President of CIT, highlighted the European dimension:
“… MTU will focus on serving the Munster and South-Western region specifically but in a national and European context. Technological universities have long been a feature of European higher education. MTU will partner with established European TUs to bring the benefits of this network to enhance our current delivery of teaching, research, and community/enterprise engagement for the betterment of society as a whole. This is an exciting time for all of our students and staff across the MTU”.
Aaron Buckley and Petrina Comerford, Presidents of CIT and ITT Student Unions, spoke about wider opportunities created for students:
“In these uncertain times, we believe MTU, as a leading centre for practice‑led and research‑informed education, will lead to a wider world of opportunities for all its students. It will achieve this by fostering a culture for success while preserving the warm, welcoming, entrepreneurial, innovative, people‑oriented culture and community CIT and ITT are known for.”
Helen Leahy, Senior Regional Policy Executive, Ibec, spoke about the boost to economic growth in the region:
“Businesses have a long history of collaboration with CIT and IT Tralee and we now look forward to working with a new TU that can support enterprise needs in the South West. The MTU will require significant public investment if it is to reach the scale needed to attract top academic talent and compete in the challenging international research environment. It is therefore vital that the Government maintains its commitment to the €90m TU Transformation Fund, to ensure they become embedded in the education system to support economic and social growth”.
Munster Technological University
Munster Technological University (MTU) will be a multi-campus technological university, contributing to the region through the provision of academic programmes that support student development and opportunities, education, and research.
Partnering with industry and community, MTU will invest in the future with state‑of‑the‑art research, education, enterprise, cultural, and sports facilities. MTU will have an extensive regional footprint with six campuses across the South‑West region in Cork and Kerry.
Munster Technological University will be formally established on 1st January 2021.