Written answers

Wednesday, 13 January 2016

Department of Education and Skills

Higher Education Institutions

Photo of Ciarán LynchCiarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

782. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the Technological Universities Bill addresses the concerns raised in correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46899/15]

Photo of Michael Healy-RaeMichael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

821. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views on the concerns of the Teachers Union of Ireland regarding the Technology Universities Bill 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1391/16]

Photo of Jan O'SullivanJan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 782 and 821 together.

The National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030, published in 2011, provides a framework for the development of the higher education sector to 2030. This Government has made considerable progress in implementing the recommendations set out in the Strategy, significantly advancing the goal of achieving a modernised, more flexible and responsive higher education system that is accountable for high quality performance across the full range of higher education activities.

With regard to the institute of technology sector, the Strategy recommended significant reforms to position the sector to meet national strategic objectives. In particular, the Strategy recommended consolidation within the sector and a pathway of evolution for those consolidated institutes of technology, to allow them to demonstrate significant progress against robust performance criteria and to apply to become technological universities.

The main purpose of the Technological Universities Bill, which was published in December 2015, is to give effect to the recommendations set out in the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 with regard to the IoT sector. In addition, the Bill provides for a number of important reforms to the governance and operation of the existing institutes of technology.

The Technological Universities Bill 2015 sets out the process for the establishment of technological universities. These technological universities will be distinctly different from traditional universities and institutes of technology by virtue of their mission. This differentiated mission includes a systematic focus on the preparation of graduates for complex professional roles in a changing technological world; the advancement of knowledge through research and scholarship and the dissemination of this knowledge to meet the needs of society and enterprise; and, the particular contribution the university will make to the needs of the region in which it is located. These institutions will be linked to industry, and will have an enormous impact on our capacity to create and retain jobs in regions such as the South-East and the North-West.

The Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection, and its Chair, Deputy Joanna Tuffy, undertook pre-legislative scrutiny on the General Scheme of the Bill in April of 2014. I am aware that the TUI participated in this process, and many of the Committee's recommendations have been taken into account during the drafting of the Technological Universities Bill.

As part of the implementation of the Strategy, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) published a four-stage process and criteria for applicant groups of institutes of technology wishing to apply to become technological universities. That document set out a process whereby individual institutions could make a strategic choice to align, merge and apply to become designated as technological universities. The procedure for application for designation as a technological university, as set out in the Technological Universities Bill 2015, is a reiteration of the fourth and final stage of the earlier published 'process and criteria for designation as a technological university'. The proposed consolidations now emerging within the institute of technology sector, and the development of technological universities as a result, will protect and enhance the distinctive career and enterprise focused missions of institutions in the traditional institute of technology sector while also enhancing their strength and scale. This improvement in scale will be particularly important in relation to the challenge that applicants for technological university status must address in improving their competitive position nationally and internationally.

Initially three consortiums of institutes of technology expressed an interest in merging and in applying to become technological universities as part of the Landscape Process undertaken by the HEA in 2012 and approved by the then Minister for Education and Skills.

Two of those consortiums have successfully passed stage 3 of the four-stage process which involved the assessment of their project plans by an international panel of experts. These are the TU4Dublin consortium, made up of Dublin Institute of Technology, Institute of Technology, Tallaght and the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown, and the Munster Technological University consortium, made up of Cork Institute of Technology and the Institute of Technology Tralee.

Both of these consortiums are working towards full mergers in 2016.

With regard to the Technological University for the South-East, consisting of Institute of Technology, Carlow (ITC) and Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) a preliminary facilitation process has been underway since September 2015 and there has been strong engagement in the process by both parties. This facilitation process involves a series of meetings, and is an important building block in terms of building trust between the parties and in developing a strong working connection. Not all of the facilitative meetings have been scheduled yet so as to allow the participants time to reflect and to complete any tasks required to move the process on.

In early 2015, the Connacht-Ulster Alliance, made up of Galway Mayo Institute of Technology, Sligo Institute of Technology, and Letterkenny Institute of Technology, also expressed an interest in merging and in applying to become a technological university. In October 2015 I approved this application to proceed to the next stage. In line with the process for designation as a TU, Stage 2 of this process involves the preparation of a plan by the Connacht-Ulster Alliance, to meet the criteria for designation as a Technological University.

As these proposals have progressed through the four stage process I have reiterated to the consortiums the importance of, and the need for, a process of consultation and engagement such as referred to in the correspondence the Deputy has received.

The mergers outlined above cannot proceed until the Technological Universities Bill has been enacted and the relevant provisions commenced. Therefore this Bill, in providing the legislative underpinning for those institutes of technology who have established partnerships and wish to merge, represents an essential milestone in the modernisation and reform agenda for higher education institutions.

I would also like to point out that institutes of technology which do not choose to follow the evolutionary path set out in the National Strategy for Higher Education, and in this Bill, will continue to make an important contribution to higher education and particularly to the development of their region.

The National Strategy recommended that the governance structures of all higher education institutions should be reformed to ensure that they are fit for purpose and have the expertise relevant to the governance of a modern higher education institution. This Bill therefore provides for new and modernised governance structures in the institutes of technology and for other reforms which will allow them to become more flexible and responsive to their environment.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.