Image: ADTR/Shuttersock
The new LIT building will welcome its first students in September 2019.
The initial phase of the Irish mid-west’s first engineering-focused higher-education campus, costing €11.6m, has begun at the Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) site in Coonagh, Co Limerick.
The LIT campus at Coonagh, which will include an internet of things (IoT) engineering and manufacturing centre of excellence, was first revealed in 2016 after planning permission was secured.
‘Ultimately, LIT’s campus at Coonagh will provide the research and educational support to the industry that much of the region’s economic growth is predicated on’
– PROF VINCENT CUNNANE
The college will now work to deliver the project with the objective of having the first cohort of students in Coonagh on the campus by September 2019.
The first phase of construction has already begun on the brownfield site on the north side of the city and comprises the full fit-out of more than 5,000 sq m of previously unused space with state-of-the-art teaching, learning and research facilities. This will provide for an additional 542 places on LIT’s engineering courses, an expansion which is considered essential to support industry demand in the region.
The work at Coonagh marks the beginning of a €150m planned physical development investment across LIT’s six campuses: Moylish, Limerick; Clare Street, Limerick; Thurles, Tipperary; Clonmel, Tipperary; Ennis, Clare; and Coonagh.
This is the start of Limerick’s Knowledge Corridor
Artist’s impression of the Coonagh Campus. Image: LIT
The building will provide for the education and practical training of industry-ready personnel through its undergraduate and postgraduate courses, flexible training, and traditional and new apprenticeships, including the much-acclaimed degree apprenticeships.
“The Coonagh campus will be the first major piece of infrastructure on the Northern Distributor Road, essentially the start of Limerick’s Knowledge Corridor – a piece of infrastructure that will play a major role in helping to sustain the economic development of the mid-west into the future,” said LIT president Prof Vincent Cunnane.
“At LIT, we are working closely with local industry to ensure Coonagh will also be the first port of call for business leaders and companies seeking out graduates with specific skillsets, upskilling employees and assisting with research that will ensure this region remains at the forefront of mechanical and electrical engineering development for decades to come.
“Ultimately, LIT’s campus at Coonagh will provide the research and educational support to the industry that much of the region’s economic growth is predicated on, while strengthening LIT’s role as an economic generator at the heart of Ireland’s fastest-growing regional economy,” said Cunnane.
