Ms Josephine Feehily:

I thank the Chairman and committee members for the opportunity to be here this morning for a broad-ranging discussion with them. As the committee knows, the technological university sector is very new, albeit that it builds on a very strong and valuable tradition of technical and technological education in Ireland. The chairs of the governing bodies that members see before them are also very new. Our institutions are only coming into being and while our perspectives and state of knowledge of the sector that we have joined and of the universities whose governing bodies we chair vary, it is fair to say we are at an early stage of development.

That said, we will give the committee as much insight as we can from the perspective of governing bodies. We know members have previously had executive perspectives from presidents and other senior team members. We considered it might be helpful to the committee to minimise overlap, at least in our opening remarks, and to give some breadth to the discussion. Therefore, my colleagues and I will focus on different aspects of the committee’s agenda.

I want to talk about the future. The joint committee’s invitation referenced the future in a number of agenda items. The future of the technological university sector is bright and exciting. It is a future with incredible potential. Realising that potential is essential if the vision and intention of policymakers and legislators are to be accomplished, not just for higher education but including the vision, policies and outcomes for social and economic development in Ireland and for the competitiveness of this country. It is also essential if the expectations of the communities we serve are to be met. I include in that a very broad and diverse range of communities: students; potential students and their families; lifelong learners; work-based learners; disadvantaged communities; the business community; and others. In becoming technological universities, TUs, we have made commitments to those communities to be responsive and agile.

A technological university is different. It is not just an institute of technology writ large with a fancy new nameplate, although it does, of course, bring with it the values, traditions and commitment to community of those institutes. A technological university’s academic standing is different from an institute of technology, IoT, and that has to be nourished and sustained. Its legislative underpinnings and governance are different and are about to change again if the Oireachtas passes the Higher Education Authority Bill 2022, which is currently before the Houses. In practical terms, the size and scale of the management and administrative challenge is very different, with multiple campuses that cross county and regional boundaries.

To take that step up and to achieve its potential, including the vision a technological university sets for itself, its staff and its students, requires a depth and breadth of change way beyond branding. A technological university needs to build the capacity to effect that change speedily and dynamically while still doing the day job very well - teaching, researching, developing programmes and delivering. That capacity building needs resources is self-evident and funding will be discussed further by my colleague, Mr. Deenihan, but there is more to capacity than funding. My remarks on capacity are about the application of funding and the focus of effort.

I understand a soon-to-be-published OECD report will propose an approach to an employment contract and career path for academic staff. It is also expected to address organisation structures. We look forward to receiving it. It will be an important contribution to capacity building. The Minister, Deputy Harris, spoke recently about reducing the ratio of students to academic staff and that will be important.

Making the essential contribution to national competitiveness which we consider is possible, including to apprenticeships and research, also needs capacity in the form of people, space and facilities including digitisation.

Sometimes with the best will in the world we approach change as if it will just happen because we say so, but it will not. Change that will stick is hard work. It requires a dedicated focus, commitment, persistence, energy and resources. It needs human resource capacity and investment in the softer, less visible aspects of an organisation. In any sector, in addition to added value and growth, a merger brings new experiences and new challenges. What kind of management and governance structures are appropriate for a dispersed organisation? What are the risks? How can we keep tradition while avoiding silos? How can we ensure that the TU is more than the sum of its parts? How can we build confidence across the whole organisation and define and create a new culture, in my case a TUS culture?

From the perspective of the governing body, these are questions that need to be kept on the table in our oversight and governance role alongside steering and overseeing the delivery of our statutory mandate. Over the next six to 12 months or so, each technological university will be preparing a strategic plan for the years ahead which will require capacity in all its dimensions to be addressed to drive the implementation of those strategies and Government policies.