“In this blog, I present an assessment of Ireland’s national competitiveness and an overview of policy measures to secure its competitive advantage ..” (more)
[Research on Higher Education in Ireland, 13 September]
“Ever since von Humboldt sold the Prussian Government on the idea that research universities were a tool with which to increase national power, they’ve been publicly funded to pursue precisely those ends. The definition of ‘national power’, and the role universities are asked to play in developing it, has of course varied over time and by region …” (more)
[Alex Usher, HESA, 14 October]
“In this blog I recently drew attention to comments made in University College Dublin by the new chair of the Higher Education Authority, Mr John Hennessy, on the topic of what universities should adopt from the private sector. The HEA has now drawn attention to his speech on their website …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 18 May]
“In yesterday’s Irish Times there was a review of a report by 17 leading business and public figures. The report, entitled ‘Blueprint for Ireland’s recovery’, claims that Ireland must become the most competitive euro zone country by 2016 … One of the report’s proposals is to rationalise the third level sector so as to ensure that Ireland has a single university of world standing …” (more)
[University in Crisis, 16 March]
“The National Competitiveness Council (NCC) has called for a ‘radical’ increase in third-level places, the immediate implementation of a property tax and more action to support the growth of exports. In its annual assessment of the economy, the NCC, which advises the Government on economic competitiveness, said a greater focus on education and exports was urgently required …” (more)
[Laura Slattery, Irish Times, 15 January]
“… The policy prescriptions are familiar: reduce energy, waste and professional services charges; enhance the skills of the employed and the unemployed; drive competition in non-traded sectors; foster innovation and RD programmes; develop world-class broadband; and correct the public finances and channel credit to viable businesses. The new element here is the focus on reskilling and training …” (more)
[Pat McArdle, Irish Times, 15 January]
“The NCC publishes a two-volume Annual Competitiveness Report annually. Volume Two, Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge – Creating a Better Future focuses on the national competitiveness issues of most importance to enable our main existing and emerging exporting sectors to compete successfully and identifies the policy recommendations required to address them …” (more)
[National Competitiveness Council, 14 January]
“The European head of Intel has warned that the government must continue investing in education in order for Ireland to remain a competitive location for multinational investment. Christian Morales, general manager of Intel’s operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa, said the company would continue to invest in Ireland as long as it could find staff with the right engineering qualifications …” (more)
[Dick O’Brien, Sunday Business Post, 29 November]
“Tomorrow morning I shall be attending a meeting of Ireland’s National Competitiveness Council, of which I am a member. This is a government appointed body with a membership that is drawn from industry, trade unions, economics and other experts – as well as some senior civil servants in attendance. The Council advises the government on issues related to Ireland’s competitiveness. Perhaps I can underscore its significance by pointing out that it was pointing to a serious potential problem with Ireland’s economy long before anyone else was: by 2006 it was noting that we had ceased to base our economic growth on exports and were relying instead on domestic consumption and construction, and that this was unsustainable …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 7 May]
