“As we approach the end of a very busy and demanding term we would like to extend our warmest greeting to all of our members for a happy and peaceful Christmas and a (much deserved!) restful holiday. Your support for our Union is hugely appreciated …” (more)
[IFUT, 12 December]
“A forthcoming city-wide strategic plan needs to prioritise future-proofing infrastructure to deal with development and expansion of third-level institutions and hospitals, a councillor has claimed. With Cork’s population set to rise from its current 210,000 to an estimated 360,000 by 2040, councillor Seán Martin …” (more)
[Robert McNamara, EchoLive, 13 December]
“University College Dublin (UCD) President Andrew Deeks has called for more ‘flexibility’ from the government when it comes to the hiring of staff, in order to allow Ireland’s universities to compete with others around Europe …” (more)
[Donal MacNamee, University Times, 13 December]
“Though a Conservative landslide was always on the cards, something about the 2019 election result has unsettled the higher education sector. The infamous Michael Gove quote about experts, and very visible remain advocacy during the 2016 referendum campaign, has positioned the sector outside of the mainstream of UK culture …” (more)
[David Kernohan, Wonkhe, 14 December]
“A petition of 12,000 signatures calling for an integrated education policy for the Irish language was presented by campaigners to the Minister for Education Joe McHugh in Dublin on Thursday. The #Gaeilge4All campaign is seeking a comprehensive strategy spanning all stages of the education cycle from pre-school to third-level …” (more)
[Éanna Ó Caollaí, Irish Times, 12 December]
“IFUT is author to one of the chapters in a new essay collection ‘Ensuring Good Future Jobs’, launched on 28th November 2019 at the National University of Ireland offices. Edited by TASC and the Carnegie UK Trust, the collection sets out how everyday challenges facing workers in Ireland need to be addressed as the essential foundation for enabling Better Future Jobs …” (more)
[IFUT, 12 December]
“If there really is a funding crisis in higher education, you wouldn’t know it to look around UCD’s sprawling campus at Belfield, south Dublin. Cranes on the skyline are a sign that thousands of new student beds are under construction on campus …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 11 December]
“A chara, – Now that the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland is to be given the status of a university, it is an ideal occasion to change the name to better reflect Ireland’s political status as an independent republic with no royal connections …” (more)
[Seanán Ó Coistín, Irish Times, 12 December]
“UCD is planning to enrol thousands of additional students and hire more than 500 academic staff over the coming years under expansion plans which, it says, will make it the largest third-level institution in Ireland. The university is projecting that its student numbers will grow by 25% over the next decade – up from about 25,000 to 32,000 – driven by a combination of domestic and international students …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 11 December]
“The ballot for industrial action which was set to be put to University of Limerick staff this week has been called off. The decision was announced to over 200 members of the university’s union, UL-Unite, at an emergency meeting this Tuesday …” (more)
[Rebecca Laffan, Limerick Leader, 11 December]
“The Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD and the Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD today announced €10 million funding in capital grants for the country’s 11 institutes of technology (IOT) and TU Dublin. The investment is being made under Project Ireland 2040 for the current academic year and the money will be used on small-scale and necessary infrastructure works and improvements …” (more)
[Department of Education and Skills, 11 December]
“One of Belgium’s leading universities has decided to close the Chinese state-funded Confucius Institute on its campus, following accusations that the former head professor conducted espionage for China. Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) confirmed that it would not extend its contract with the institute when the agreement expires next June, although it did not refer to the espionage claims …” (more)
[Stuart Lau, South China Morning Post, 11 December]
“The Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI) has been formally authorised to use the title of ‘university’ for the first time in 235 years. The institution is to describe itself as ‘RCSI university of medicine and health sciences’ in future …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 10 December]
“Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD and Minister of State with responsibility for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD today (10 December 2019) announced that the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI) has been authorised to use the title of university in Ireland …” (more)
[Department of Education and Skills, 10 December]
“Trinity College Dublin is the highest new entrant on the FT’s European business schools ranking for the year. This marks the first time TCD has returned to the prestigious table since 2007. It is in 60th place in the ‘rankings of rankings’, a list covering a wide number of academic programmes including MBAs …” (more)
[Charlie Taylor, Irish Times, 9 December]
“Dublin City University (DCU) has announced the appointment of Prof Dáire Keogh as its new president. Prof Keogh, who is currently deputy president of DCU and a professor of history, will succeed Prof Brian MacCraith whose term of office ends in July next year …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 6 December]
“Former president of Ireland Prof Mary McAleese has been inaugurated as the new chancellor of Trinity College Dublin. She succeeds another former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson, who was elected as first woman chancellor of TCD in 1998 and has held the post until now …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 6 December]
“I have been working for one of the large universities in Ireland for almost a decade, holding year-to-year hourly-teaching contracts, without summer pay, payment for meetings, and the extensive preparation required for delivering high-quality lectures …” (more)
[IFUT, 6 December]
“The President of UL has confirmed that the current restructuring plan of the university is now ‘paused’ and acknowledged that ‘mistakes were made’ in the formulation of the plan. In an email addressed to colleagues in relation to the restructuring plan of the university’s schools and departments, Dr Des Fitzgerald said …” (more)
[Ryan O’Rourke and Rebecca Laffan, Limerick Leader, 6 December]
“Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the implementation of the Code of Governance for Irish Universities 2019; the date by which the universities must apply the code; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 5 December]
