The crest of WIT

Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) is a state funded university-level educational institution situated in Waterford, Ireland.The institute opened in 1970 as a regional technical college and adopted its present name in 1998. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 52. ... A Regional Technical College (RTC) is a type of college in Ireland now replaced by an Institute of Technology (IT). ...

History

The institute was founded in 1970 as Regional Technical College, Waterford with an initial intake of just 200 students. In the past there had been two third-level level institutions in the city, St John’s Seminary and De La Salle Brothers teacher training college, but both had closed. Waterford politicians made strenuous but unsuccessful efforts to locate a university in Waterford at the time of the formation of the Queen's University of Ireland in the 1840s. The cause was led by Thomas Wyse, Waterford’s then Member of Parliament, who was perhaps chosen unwisely as he was not influential in Parliament, having strong Napoleonic links (he married a niece of Napoleon I of France), being a Catholic and leaning towards an independent Ireland. Galway, a much smaller city at the time, won out over Waterford, perhaps because of the necessity for geographical dispersion or to bolster the Irish language. Wyse wrote in the round on the matter in his text "Education reform or the necessity of a national system of education" (London, 1836). The Queens University of Ireland was established formally by Royal Charter on September 3, 1850 as the degree awarding university of the Queens Colleges of Belfast, Cork, and Galway that were established in 1845 to afford a university education to members of all religious denominations in Ireland. ... Sir Thomas Wyse (1791–April 16, 1862), an Irish politician, belonged to a family claiming descent from a Devon man, Andrew Wyse, who is said to have crossed over to Ireland during the reign of Henry II and obtained lands near Waterford, of which city thirty-three members of... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 53. ... Irish () is a Goidelic language spoken in Ireland. ...

Once founded, the regional technical college grew very quickly as a result of the strong regional need for tertiary education. In 1998 the college adopted its present name by order of the Minister for Education Niamh Bhreathnach, with Dublin Institute of Technology being the only other institute with the institute of technology title at the time in Ireland. Following a change of government and enormous political pressure on behalf of other regional technical colleges, especially Cork Regional Technical College, all other regional technical colleges were renamed institutes of technology by Minister for Education Micheál Martin. Later the institute became autonomous and it now awards its own bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees, which were previously awarded by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council. Niamh Bhreathnach (born 1945), was a senior Irish politician. ... The Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) was established officially in 1992 under the Dublin Institute of Technology Act but had been previously set up in 1978 on an ad-hoc basis. ... Cork Institute of Technology (CIT), formerly Regional Technical College, Cork, is a college located in Cork, Ireland opened in 1973. ... Micheál Martin (born August 1, 1960) is a senior Irish Fianna Fáil politician. ... The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) is the legal successor to the National Council for Educational Awards and awards higher education awards in Ireland in the extra-university system since 2001. ...

Recent developments

The institute now has a student population of approximately 10,000 full-time and part-time learners studying in the humanities, computing, science and technology, education, health care, engineering, architecture, and business. The institute has a staff of 1,000. The institute has developed on four campuses in the city of Waterford. The main campus on the Cork Road was originally established in 1970 and has had many buildings and facilities added over the years. The latest of these are a state-of-the art Library, Health Care Education Building and Information Technology Centre. In late 2005 the Minister for Education and Science Mary Hannafin announced four new buildings (an Engineering & Science Building, an Architecture Building, a Business & Enterprise Building and a Tourism & Leisure Building) as part of a €1.2 billion investment in higher education. These may well be the last buildings located on the main campus. The second largest campus is at College Street and comprises some very historical buildings purchased from the Good Shepherd Order of Nuns and a beautiful Pugin-designed chapel which is used for concerts and ceremonies. In September 2005, the institute opened a new campus at the edge of the city at Carriganore to house a Research and Innovation Centre, and this campus will over time become the college's main campus. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... People named Pugin include: Augustus Charles Pugin (1768/9 to 1832): French born English artist and architectural draftsman Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-1852): son of the above, architect and advocate of the gothic style Edward Welby Pugin (1834-1875): eldest son of the above and also an architect This...

A significant portion of the institute's students live in halls of residence, which adds to the levels of participation in the social and cultural life of the college. Like many other Irish universities and institutes, the institute has an increasingly international student body. The institute has had strong links with many European universities for many years and has more recently grown its links with American and Asian universities. Halls of residence in British English (commonly referred to as halls, and to a lesser extent hall) are a type of residential accommodation for large numbers of students, similar to dormitories in the United States. ...

In October 2005 the institute was selected by the The Sunday Times newspaper as the "Institute of Technology of the Year" in Ireland. The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International which is in turn owned by News Corporation. ...

The quest for university status

There are growing calls for a university to be located in the south-east of Ireland, and the most pragmatic way of achieving that is widely regarded as upgrading and investing in the institute. Whilst the region has very strong natural assets such as a good port with easy access to European markets, improving infrastructure, high quality agricultural land and a proximity to both Cork and Dublin, during the 1990s the region has underperformed economically. This underperformance has been attributed, in part, to the lower level of participation in third level education in the south-east region (19.7% of the region's population have a degree compared with the national average of 26%). Representation of a university class, 1350s. ...

In recognition of the needs of the institute's stakeholders (such as the Waterford Chamber of Commerce, the management of many local subsidiaries of multinationals and IDA Ireland), the institute formally applied in 2006 for university status in accordance with the Universities Act, 1997 [1], and the process of examining the case for redesignation has commenced. Dr Jim Port has been appointed to carry out a "preliminary assessment" of the institute's case[2]. Chambers of commerce are business advocacy groups which are usually not associated with government. ... IDA Ireland is the agency responsible for industrial development in Ireland. ...

A decision is expected by Easter 2007 on the fate of WIT's quest for university status.

Renaming WIT

If successful, it is likely that the proposed name University of the South East may be dropped in favour of University of Waterford, which would provide the institution with a much-enhanced global identity rather than a purely regional one (ie, 'South East' of where ?), whilst the 'University of the South East' is deemed too cumbersome and overly vague in an international sense and only of any meaning within Ireland itself, with no international scope. The University of the South East, Waterford, is even more cumbersome.

Considering the entire institution is in Waterford City, to call it a university of the south east region would also be inaccurate. No other Irish university requires this regional designation, eg, University College Cork is not the University of the South West, nor is the University of Limerick called the University of the West. Indeed the University of Limerick is a recent major success story where part of its success lies in its straightforward naming strategy, giving it a strong sense of identity in a competitive 'international' marketplace. Naming the institution the University of Waterford would act to enhance both the global image of the city and university alike.

Most regions are usually dependent upon the success of their core cities in attracting both national and international investment, as this is where the bulk of the skilled population resides, together with the region's best overall infrastructure. Likewise, a city is more likely to be internationally recogised than the region within which it lies. Waterford is already blessed with international fame for its crystal glass production and thus already has some global recognition and a 'place on the map'.

Organisation

Schools and Departments of the institute

• School of Business
  • Dept. of Accountancy & Finance
  • Dept. of Management & Organisation
  • Graduate Business Studies
• School of Education
  • Adult and Continuing Education
  • Literacy Development Centre
• School of Engineering
  • Dept. of Architecture
  • Dept. of Construction & Civil Engineering
  • Dept. of Engineering Technology
  • Dept. of Trade Studies
• School of Health Sciences
  • Dept. of Health, Sport & Exercise Studies
  • Dept. of Nursing
• School of Humanities
  • Dept. of Languages, Tourism & Hospitality
  • Dept. of Creative Arts
  • Dept. of Applied Arts
• School of Science
  • Dept. of Chemical & Life Sciences
  • Dept. of Computing, Mathematics & Physics

Research within the institute

The institute is a research centre within Ireland; amongst the research institutes of the institute are:

• Advanced Automotive Electronics & Control Group
• Advanced Manufacturing Technology Research Group
• Art/Design History & Practice Research Centre
• Centre for Automotive Research
• Centre for Film Studies and Comparative Studies in Literature
• Centre for Health Behaviour Research
• Centre for Management Research in Health Care
• Centre for Newfoundland and Labrador Studies
• Centre for Social and Family Research
• Creative Multimedia Centre
• eLearning Technology Group
• Environmental Sensing Research Group
• Estuarine Research Group
• Flexible Wireless Research Group
• Forestry Vegetation & Alternative Management Systems (FORVAMS) Research Group
• Information Systems, Organisations and Learning Research Group
• Macular Piglet Research Group
• Materials Characterisation and Processing Group
• Metal Complexation Research Group
• Microelectronics and Systems Research Group
• Molecular Ecology Research Group
• Nanotechnology Group
• Optics Research Group
• Semiconductor Research Group (SRG) & Solid State Research Laboratories (SSL)
• Separation Science Research Group
• Smart Card Operations Research Enterprise Group
• Surface Science Research Group
• Telecommunications Software and Systems Group
• Waterford Crystal Marketing Studies Group

List of notable former students

• Martin Cullen (TD & Government Minister)
• David T Croke (Professor of Biochemistry, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland)
• Setanta Ó hAilpín (GAA & Australian Football League player)
• Louise Heraghty (98FM)
• Philip Lynch (businessman, CEO of IAWS Group)
• Tom Mulcahy (Former CEO AIB Group; Former Chairman Aer Lingus)
• John Paul Phelan (Senator and currently the youngest member of the house of the Oireachtas)
• John Ronan (Property developer & joint founder of Treasury Holdings)
• Henry Shefflin (GAA player)

Martin Cullen (born 2 November 1954) is a senior Irish Fianna Fáil politician. ... The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a Dublin-based private medical institution, situated on St. ... Setanta Ó hAilpín (born March 18, 1983) is an Irish sportsman. ... Dublins 98FM is an Independent Local Radio station in Dublin, Ireland, operated by Radio Two Thousand Limited, a subsidiary of Denis OBriens Communicorp Limited, under a sound broadcasting contract from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland. ... IAWS Group, plc is an international Food and Agribusiness group. ... Allied Irish Banks plc (AIB),(ISE: ALBK) , (LSE: ALBK) , (NYSE: AIB), (Ireland not to be mistaken for Anglo Irish Bank. ... Aer Lingus is the national airline of Ireland. ... John Paul Phelan (born September 27, 1978) is an Irish politician and member of the 22nd Seanad Éireann for Fine Gael. ... Henry Shefflin (born 1 November 1979) is an Irish sportsman. ...

See also

• Education in the Republic of Ireland
• List of Irish third-level educational institutions

The Republic of Irelands education system is quite similar to that of most other western countries. ... This is a list of colleges and universities in the Republic of Ireland, some colleges are constituent colleges of universities. ...

External links

• Official WIT website
• Telecommunications Software and Systems Group (TSSG) website
• University of the South East Petition