Mr. Paul Hannigan:

On behalf of the Technological Higher Education Association, THEA, I thank the committee for the invitation to meet today. While this is an issue of general concern, it has been exercising those of us located in Border regions more than others. My current role is head of college of Atlantic Technological University, ATU, Donegal, but I also have cross-university responsibility for cross-Border relations. In a past life, I worked in Dundalk Institute of Technology for ten years and I was born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, four miles from the Fermanagh border. The Border has always been part of my life.

I was one of the stakeholders that Deputy Conway-Walsh spoke to in preparation of the committee's paper and was happy to share my experiences. In preparing for this meeting, in addition to the committee report I have consulted An Analysis of Existing Statistics on Student Flows between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in Higher Education, published by the HEA, the then Department of Education and Skills and the Department for the Economy in December 2018. While this report is somewhat dated, taken along with the committee report and recent data from the CAO it shows that increasing cross-Border student mobility remains a significant challenge.

The perspective from a Border region is important in this discussion, particularly from a location where tertiary education providers are located in close proximity to the Border. The Border has disconnected such providers from their natural hinterlands. It is evident that educational participation is an area where cross-Border mobility is inhibited, with other sectors such as employment, retail, health and leisure having a significant cross-Border dimension. In my college the percentage of staff with Northern Ireland addresses dwarfs the percentage of Northern Ireland students enrolled with us. We can be assured that barriers to cross-Border student mobility are real given that the people in Border communities have found them difficult to navigate.

I congratulate the committee on this comprehensive report and its achievement in distilling a complex matter in a concise and understandable document. The 11 recommendations, if addressed, will help ensure that student choices are less influenced by which side of the Border a student is born on and is schooled.

Other elements that are important to consider include the recognition of further education and vocational awards in a cross-Border context. The real complexity in the qualifications frameworks in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is found below the level of the traditional university degree. Achieving clarity in mutual recognition of these awards is critical in ensuring progression pathways are navigable on a cross-Border basis. These further education and vocational awards are central to the upskilling and reskilling of employees for Industry 4.0 roles and the new skills needed to address the climate challenge.

In the north-west city region of Letterkenny, Derry and Strabane, the four tertiary education partners - the Atlantic Technological University, ATU; Ulster University, UU; North West Regional College, NWRC; and Donegal ETB - have established the north-west tertiary education cluster, NWTEC. One of the objectives of this cluster is to remove both the real and perceived barriers to cross-Border student mobility. The cluster is also actively involved with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the shared island unit in delivering on commitments made in the New Decade, New Approach, NDNA, agreement. Meeting the commitments under NDNA will require a significant investment across the region in addition to the UU Magee campus.

Through the NWTEC collaboration we have been working with stakeholders to better meet the needs of our cross-Border region. It is important that tertiary education partners supporting stakeholders, including enterprises in the region, have access to the funds that will break down the historical disadvantage in these Border communities. I ask the committee to recognise the lead role that the NWTEC has had in promoting cross-Border tertiary education collaboration and its potential to improve the levels of cross-Border mobility for students. The cluster has received helpful early-stage funding from the HEA and the Department but now requires longer term support to continue this work and funding to expand its research capacity.

In February 2021, the NWTEC established a smart industry board, SIB, aimed at giving a strong voice to industry in the region while ensuring it is not duplicating but adding to the work of stakeholders on both sides of the Border. The SIB was established to complement the work of existing regional groups, including the Derry City and Strabane District Council’s education and skills delivery partnership. The SIB will achieve its aims by being driven by industry representatives from both sides of the Border; identifying current and future needs informing education, research and training provision; comprising industry representatives, tertiary education providers, local authorities and skills forums on both sides of the Border; initially addressing demands from the industry sectors of ICT, engineering and tourism as reflected in the board’s membership; and being a vehicle for supporting the promotion of the north-west city region as an attractive place to work, live, learn and invest.

ATU Donegal hosted a successful smart north-west conference on 7 October 2022 on behalf of NWTEC to showcase and share the collaboration taking place in the north-west city region and foster greater cross-Border collaboration to drive regional economic growth. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, outlined Irish Government plans for a unified tertiary education system and commitments to supporting education collaboration on an all-island basis. The Minister in his address to the conference was supportive of the key role that the NWTEC has played in cross-Border collaboration. He set out five priorities for his Department in terms of the all-island agenda: cross-Border apprenticeships; medical education on a cross-Border basis; all-island research centres; ATU providing new impetus to achieving more on cross-Border collaboration; and delivering on commitments made under NDNA. Among these priorities, the Minister directly challenged ATU, given the unique region it serves and the history of cross-Border collaboration of its constituent colleges, to bring a new impetus to cross-Border engagement.

I welcome the establishment of the new national tertiary office, which will be important in supporting collaboration between further education, FE, and higher education, HE, and the provision of degree programmes where learners commence in FE and finish their degree in HE.

This offers a glimpse of a model that could be extended for cross-Border awards and reflects a further development of a collaboration that ATU and NWCR have for early childhood health and education programmes. I also wish to congratulate Dr. Fiona Maloney on her appointment this week as the inaugural director of the national tertiary office and her extensive experience of the sector makes her well-placed to succeed in breaking down barriers between FE and HE.