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Friday, September 23, 2005
WIT best positioned to lead university drive
FRESH calls have come for a regional university to be developed in the South East with Waterford Institute of Technology at its core.
They emanated from a Higher Education conference at Kilkenny Castle last week Fergus Cronin, chairman, Kilkenny Industrial Development Company (KIDCO) told delegates at Emerging Models of Higher Education – New Futures that it was clear to him and all involved with KIDCO that investment in third and fourth level education was a clear driver when fostering new enterprise and inward investment.
Referring to a report by Kevin Bonnar (former Secretary General of the Department of Enterprise & Employment) which identified education as the key to future prosperity for Kilkenny and the South East, Mr Cronin said, “We have looked closely at the various models and possibilities and it is now clear that the only viable option is regional and I am fully convinced that the Waterford Institute is best positioned to lead the university drive.
“KIDCO’s primary objective now is securing investment in education and I should stress that the economic argument made clearly in the recent Goodbody Report is not the only one with a significant social dividend to be yielded from retaining more talented school-leavers within the region and attracting additional undergraduate and postgraduate students in from other regions and overseas.
“There can be no doubt though that the work of State agencies such as Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland would be made far easier with full third and fourth level education provision in place.
We want and need a regional university led by the Waterford Institute which is currently operating as a university in all but name.” Mr Cronin added. “A physical presence for this university in Kilkenny would be important with a concentration of resources on areas of existing excellence. It is apparent that political will is the key.”
Addressing the same conference, Prof Kieran R Byrne, Director, Waterford Institute of Technology acknowledged that the Goodbody Report prepared for Waterford Chamber of Commerce had again reiterated how the South East lags behind using a broad range of economic indicators.
“We must now accept that university designation is the key to acquiring a competitive edge for this region and tackling the disparities which exist.
The type of university we strive for in this region is also important however and it is clear that it must be led innovatively and serve a diverse age cohort as well as avoiding elitism and being inclusive rather than exclusive in admission policies and in contact with the community from whom it draws support.”
For his part, Professor John Davies, Dean of the Graduate School at Anglia Polytechnic University, set out some of the key benefits to regions where universities are located.
These, he said, include a positive effect on regional development; supporting social and political cohesion; contributing to educational development; improving access, participation and equity in higher education; decentralisation in action; tie in with EU-wide focus on strengthening regions; engines for improvement of the built environment and encouraging greater social and community interaction.
Drawing on 35 years industry experience prior to becoming Dean of the Sawyer School of Management at Suffolk University in Massachusetts, William O’Neill said the importance of a comprehensive higher education provision in attracting and retaining inward investment could not be overemphasised. He also spoke of the importance of developing strong networks to use alumni and the business community as resources. “The university’s vision should match the community’s own and this can only be achieved by fully reaching out and interacting well with stakeholders. You must be facilitators rather than going it alone.”
Dr Svava Bjarnason, Director of Research & Strategy at the Association of Commonwealth Universities and Director of the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education told the conference – attended by 80 public representatives, local government officials, academics and business leaders from across the southeast – that the concept of borderless higher education is increasingly important in the context of e-learning and the growth of in-house learning in large corporations.
Speaking of the importance of the Waterford Institute becoming stronger and continuing to meet regional and national needs, Dr Bjarnason also said that alternative lifelong learning pathways are vital to achieving true inclusivity and partnership in education.
The UK-based Canadian academic also spoke of the challenge of meeting competing expectations including the need to be entrepreneurial yet caring; competitive and collegial; traditional and innovative; local and international; conservative yet radical; critical but supportive and autonomous yet accountable. Bahram Bekhradnia, Director of the Higher Education Policy Institute and a Visiting Professor at the University of Bath told delegates about some of the multiple and changing purposes of higher education.
“We must strive to create and transmit knowledge through research and teaching while also acting as an engine for economic growth in its own right.
Preparation of the workforce for a ‘knowledge economy’ is also vital while there is a community service role, a regional development function and a need to drive social mobility and cohesion.” He also addressed the impact of performance based funding on research at universities in the U.K.
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