Professor Willie Donnelly:

What we are proposing here is to create a type of university that is quite common in Europe. A technological university is more applied and closer to industry. It is driven by innovation and impact. If we want to get technological universities right and create technological universities of international standing, it will cost us. It requires investment. One of the concerns I had in the discussion prior to when the Bill first appeared revolved around the idea that we could do it alone and that there was no cost incurred. If we really want a serious technological university infrastructure that can compete with the best internationally and be up there with the Technical University of Munich or Aalto University, it will require a new investment strategy, new structures and new governance so it is not just a continuation of what is there at the moment. It is building on the best of what is there but it is not a continuation of it and it will not solve the funding problem.