Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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328. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills what the mission of new technological universities is proposed to be and how this differs from both a traditional university and from an institute of technology. [10549/16]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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330. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the institutes of technology which have formally submitted an expression of interest to the Higher Education Authority in applying for designation as a technological university. [10553/16]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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331. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the institutes of technology which meet or are close to meeting the institutional profile criteria, the staff profile criteria or the student profile criteria for potential designation as a technological university [10554/16]

Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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343. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the development of a technological university for the south east including a definite time line for its progress; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10700/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take questions 328, 330, 331 and 343 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. 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.

Mission of Technological Universities: These institutions 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 applied 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.

The development of technological universities has the potential to deliver greater opportunity to students in these regions, to staff working in the institutions, and to the broader local economy and society.

I would also like to underline that this is much more than a rebranding exercise – the institutions concerned are required to achieve high standards across a range of areas before being designated as technological universities. These include standards relating to the qualifications of staff, the quality of research output, the proportion of students engaged in lifelong learning, and other relevant issues.

The mission and vision for each proposed technological university is developed by the consortia, in consultation with stakeholders including staff and students, and is contained in the implementation plans subsequently developed.

Consortiums who have applied:As part of the implementation of the Strategy, the Higher Education Authority in 2012 published a four-stage process and criteria for applicant groups of institutes of technology wishing to apply to become technological universities.

The designation process consists of four stages as follows –

- an expression of interest,

- the preparation of a plan to meet the criteria,

- an evaluation of the plan, and

- an application for designation.

There are currently four consortia engaged with the process to become designated as TUs. These are TU4Dublin (Dublin Institute of Technology, Institute of Technology Tallaght, Institute of Technology Blanchardstown), Technological University for the South-East (TUSE – consisting of Waterford Institute of Technology and Institute of Technology Carlow), Munster Technological University (MTU – consisting of Cork Institute of Technology and Institute of Technology Tralee) and the Connacht Ulster Alliance (CUA – consisting of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Institute of Technology Sligo and Letterkenny Institute of Technology).

Status of Consortia:At the end of 2014, two consortia successfully passed stage 3 of the four-stage process. These are the TU4Dublin consortium and the Munster Technological University consortium.

In early 2015 the Connacht-Ulster Alliance also expressed an interest in merging and in applying to become a technological university. This application was approved to proceed to the next stage. In line with the process for designation as a Technological University, 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.

With regard to the Technological University for the South-East, consisting of Institute of Technology, Carlow (ITC) and Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), following the publication of the Kelly report, a preliminary facilitation process which was underway since September 2015, has recently been completed and a Report of the process was received by my Department on 13 May 2016. There was strong engagement in the process by both parties. This facilitation process has been an important building block in terms of building trust between the parties and in developing a strong working relationship between the Presidents and Chairs of both institutions. As part of this process, the Presidents of the two institutions, have jointly developed an initial work-plan to support the development of a joint TU proposal.

In addition to this both Institutions made a joint presentation and submission to the Higher Education Authority last week, seeking funding to underpin the next phase of engagement. This was part of the latest call issued by the Higher Education Authority regarding the restructuring of the higher education landscape. The call sought submissions for funding support in respect of the costs arising from mergers as part of the implementation of the National Strategy for Higher Education.