Ninth Level Ireland

“We are obsessed with the structure of our higher eduction system but other areas need reform first. Here’s a little puzzle. If Waterford Institute of Technology is not fit to be a university on its own, why does it become fit if you add a second college, Carlow IT, which is manifestly not as good an institution? …” (more)

[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, Irish Times, 19 February]

“Ireland risks being left behind in the ‘online education revolution’, according to the president of Dublin City University. Prof Brian MacCraith has made the case for a new ‘digital learning strategy’ as the world’s universities embrace new technologies …” (more)

[Seán Flynn, Irish Times, 11 February]

“The state and its agencies must stop their constant interference with a national success story, argues Ferdinand von Prondzynski …” (more)

[Times Higher Education, 24 January]

“… Yet from the oldest to the most forward-facing, Ireland’s universities and institutes of technology are all being shaken by a major reform programme that is likely to affect every institution, with many ceasing to exist in their present form …” (more)

[Matthew Reisz, Times Higher Education, 24 January]

“A survey of more than 400 companies has highlighted the difficulty facing graduates of some disciplines in securing jobs. Only 12% of employers surveyed by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) had recruited graduates from the areas of arts/humanities and social science in the past two years …” (more)

[Seán Flynn, Irish Times, 27 December]

“… a possible merger between the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) and University College Dublin. The move has been mooted since the Hunt Report was published. If the merger happened, oh would change the status of NCAD, the origins of which date back more than 265 years …” (more)

[Bernie Goldbach, Inside View from Ireland, 8 December]

“The country’s third-level institutions have been told to make cuts by the end of the year or risk having Education Minister Ruairi Quinn do it for them. Mr Quinn, said there was too much duplication of courses in the institutions …” (more)

[Evelyn Ring, Irish Examiner, 23 November]

“Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn yesterday warned university heads he would ‘not be waiting for the slowest camel to join the train’ when it comes to reform in the third-level sector. However, he said he did not envisage ‘forced mergers’ of any universities …” (more)

[Joanne Hunt, Irish Times, 23 November]

“Fianna Fáil has accused the Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn of piling even more pressure on students, while failing to provide any answers whatsoever to the third level funding crisis. The party’s Education Spokesperson Charlie McConalogue described as ‘disappointing and underwhelming’ Minister Quinn’s comments at a conference of third level officials in Dublin today …” (more)

[Fianna Fáil, 22 November]

“‘We will not be waiting for the slowest camel to join the train’, Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn warned the heads of Ireland’s third level institutions today …” (more)

[Joanne Hunt, Irish Times, 22 November]

“The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn TD, has today announced the establishment of a National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning at third level …” (more)

[Labour Party, 22 November]

“Introductory Remarks. Good morning – I want to thank you all for making time to be here and participating in this event. This is the second time that I have addressed, in a comprehensive way, my own views of the future direction of higher level education in Ireland …” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 22 November]

“Education Minister Ruairi Quinn will outline his first major blueprint for the shape and funding of the third-level sector this week following consideration of a number of major reports …” (more)

[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 19 November]

“… The review, to be carried out by an international panel of experts, is to identify how arts and media education can best be provided and promoted to an international audience. The work is part of the major transformation of Irish higher education currently being undertaken by the HEA in line with the National Strategy, otherwise known as the Hunt Report …” (more)

[Higher Education Authority, 31 October]

“Long the poor stepchildren of the nation’s higher education system, the Republic of Ireland’s institutes of technology are demanding some respect. After at least 10 years of trying, they may be close to gaining the status of universities – or at least ‘technological universities’ …” (more)

[Jon Marcus, Times Higher Education, 25 October]

“That UCD-TCD merger story really caught fire, but who are the big winners and the losers in the whole episode? And who buried the Van Vught report? First a recap …” (more)

[Irish Times, 2 October]

“Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn and three university presidents last night moved to distance themselves from a controversial report …” (more)

[Seán Flynn, Irish Times, 26 September]

“The decision by the Department of Education and the Higher Education Authority to delay publication of a report on the future landscape of the third-level sector underlines the very radical nature of what was proposed …” (more)

[Irish Times, 26 September]

“Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has shot down proposals from international experts for a merger of Trinity College and University College Dublin (UCD). Mr Quinn said a recommendation to amalgamate the country’s two top universities was ‘neither feasible nor desirable’ …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 26 September]

“The publication of a major report on higher education, which recommends the merger of University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin among a series of sweeping changes to the higher education system, has been delayed …” (more)

[Seán Flynn, Irish Times, 25 September]