Irish Universities News

Topics: Third Level

Sources: IUA - Irish Universities Association

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Irish Universities News

Collage photos of each of the 8 IUA university campuses

Welcome to the September edition of the IUA Bulletin.

In this edition we focus on our upcoming event ‘The Higher Education Funding Debate’ ahead of a General Election announcement. With Budget 2025 around the corner, we focus once again on the IUA Pre-Budget submission.

The Higher Education Funding Debate

Join us on September 25th at 11:00am in DCU for the The Higher Education Funding Debate. This debate provides an opportunity to hear from the higher education spokespeople of the main political parties as to how they propose to deal with the funding challenges for higher education and research over the next 5 years.

The IUA has partnered with the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce, Royal Irish Academy, THEA and USI to organise this event. Hosted by DCU, the debate will be moderated by Professor Gary Murphy, Professor of Politics in the DCU School of Law and Government.

Please register below to attend in-person or online:

Register for in-person

Register for online

The Higher Education Funding Debate invite, this graphic includes the title, date and time and includes partner logos of IUA, RIA, THEA, USI and British Irish Chamber of Commerce. Behind the text is a photo taken from behind of graduates in graduation cap and gown.

Counting down to #Budget25

The IUA member universities have urged Government to accelerate funding for higher education and to deliver on the commitment to close the €307m funding shortfall. An IUA delegation recently met with An Taoiseach and pointed out that most of the increased funding he provided as Minister has now been wiped out by pay inflation arising from government-sanctioned national agreements.

Pre-Budget submission cover includes a dark blue-green background with photos of eight IUA universities

Our Pre-Budget Submission calls for:

At least €120m in core funding to honour the Government’s Funding the Future commitment as well as provision for fully funded pay awards through a Supplementary Budget this year and in Budget 2025.
A major investment from the €2 billion National training Fund surplus to support universities and their students and to address critical national skills needs.

Read our Pre-Budget Submission

In other news…

Access College is attending Higher Options

The team will be on hand to provide personalised advice on both the HEAR and DARE schemes. If you, or a secondary school student you know would like advice on these schemes, visit the Access College stand to hear from both staff and students!

DARE HEAR graphic promoting The Higher Options. Graphic is yellow and green, and the text on the graphic includes the location, date and website accesscollege.ie

Want to know more about the scheme? You can now sign-up to the DARE HEAR mailing list to receive updates and information on events, tips on how to apply and important reminders for deadlines.

Sign-up to the DARE HEAR mailing list

In case you missed it…

Irish academics ‘optimistic’ about new research funder

Minister O’Donovan announced the establishment of Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland. The new agency amalgamates the activities and functions of the Irish Research Council (IRC) and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and will capitalise on the recognised strengths of these two agencies in driving world class research and innovation in Ireland.

Dr Lisa Keating’s, Director of Research and Innovation at the IUA, was interviewed by Times Higher Education about the potential of the new agency.

Read the full article

KTI Annual Knowledge Transfer Survey 2023.

IUA member universities had another very strong year of innovation and enterprise engagement, as seen in the Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) Annual Knowledge Transfer Survey 2023.

KTI Annual Knowledge survey 2023 cover image

Our 8 universities signed a total of 400 collaborative agreements with industry partners, generating over €46 million from industry collaborations, as well as creating 9 completely new start-ups. IUA member universities created 22 new spin out companies last year, addressing critical societal challenges, generating new jobs, economic and societal vitality. These results strengthen Ireland’s reputation globally as a major hub for international investment.

Read the Annual Knowledge Transfer Survey 2023

RPL Digital Badge

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) announced the return of the RPL Digital Badge this Autumn, a free, online course designed specifically for staff working in tertiary education. Offered by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching & Learning. Registration closes September 26th.