Image: © George Dolgikh/Stock.adobe.com
Ireland’s technological universities are getting more support, with the recently established ATU and SETU getting the biggest share of funding.
Ireland’s five technological universities (TUs) have been allocate a total of €23.47m of funding by the Irish Government.
The funding will be used in key areas such as digital infrastructure, building capacity in research, and in improving governance and systems integration.
The new funding was announced today (11 November) by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris, TD.
The largest amount of funding, €5.27m, is going to Atlantic Technological University (ATU), Ireland’s TU for the north-west which officially opened its doors last April.
South East Technological University (SETU) received €5.25m. This TU opened last May and involved the amalgamation of the Institute of Technology Carlow and Waterford Institute of Technology.
“Over the past year Atlantic Technological University and South East Technological University have been established and are taking their place at the heart of our higher education landscape,” Harris said.
Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest was awarded €4.5m. This TU replaced the Athlone and Limerick Institutes of Technology last year. TU Dublin received €5m from the latest funding, while Munster Technological University (MTU), which was established in January 2021, has received a €3.45m funding boost.
Harris said the latest funding is part of the Technological University Transformation Fund (TUTF), which has seen €60m already invested “in making our TUs a reality”.
“The funding today will help build on that important work and ensure TUs have the capacity to grow,” Harris said.
The TUTF originated as part of Budget 2020, with the launch of a multi-annual transformation fund of €90m for TUs over three years. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) is responsible for the fund’s implementation,
Last year, the HEA provided €25.67m in transformation funding to Ireland’s TUs. This built on the €34.33m already allocated to in 2020.
“The successful establishment of five TUs attests to the transformational development of the technological sector and the positive impact of the TUTF,” HEA CEO Dr Alan Wall said.
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