IT SLIGO have made a formal submission to the Higher Education Authority for university status on Wednesday (yesterday).
The Sligo institute come under the Connacht-Ulster Alliance (CUA) along with Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) and Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LIT).
The submission by the CUA of an expression of interest is the first of four stages that the three institutes will take on the road to becoming a Technological University.
In a joint statement, the presidents of the three institutes said “the Technological University for the West/North-West will have a focus on building a vibrant and sustainable economic, social and cultural multi-campus environment which will generate and retain graduate talent capable of growing the economic base in the region”.
Coupled with the benefits to IT Sligo and the other institutes, the presidents feel that it will also have benefits economically for the North-West region.
The enhancement of the three institutes and flexibility of education through online courses are seen as two of the main corner stones of the CUA university proposal.
As well as that, the proposed university hopes to attract business networks and development clusters and attract foreign investment to Sligo, Donegal and the North Galway/ Mayo area.
The president of IT Sligo Vincent Cunnane made presentation to members of Sligo County Council about the proposed Technological University. The full report is on page 25 of this paper.
