The Killybegs campus of ATU Donegal is set to benefit from extra investment in the delivery of education in regional areas.
“It shouldn’t be that all roads lead to the big city when it comes to education,” said Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris as he launched a €4.5 million fund in Donegal yesterday.
Atlantic Technological University was allocated €2,660,000 of the fund to support the cost of delivering services in remote locations.
“Dispersed campuses often have higher costs associated with delivering education. This funding ensures that regional higher education campuses like those in Thurles or Killybegs are supported in recognition of the fact they are regionally dispersed,” the Minister said.
“With this extra investment we are guaranteeing that the same level and quality of education and service is being provided in regional campuses as anywhere else.
“Crucially this new funding delivers more balanced regional development, a key Government objective, with high quality and state of the art campuses.
“It shouldn’t be that all roads lead to the big city when it comes to education.”
The added costs identified by regional institutions include:
- the cost of the delivery of core campus services across multiple sites;
- travel costs between campuses; and
- unique demographic profiles that can result in smaller classes and lower staff student ratios than is the case in larger population centres.
The Minister also announced the creation of a new Strategic Support Fund of €1.2m. This is a continuation of an existing support fund which can be deployed to support vulnerable institutions.
Simon Harris, TD., Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science during visit to ATU, Killybegs with staff and local public representatives. Photo Clive Wasson
Minister Harris TD was given a tour of ATU’s Killybegs campus on Monday, showcasing projects that promise to reshape Donegal’s marine and educational landscape.
He was also shown plans of the new Ocean Innovation Centre, an initiative poised to become a flagship rural regeneration stimulus. Designed to catalyse substantial change, this centre is set to develop into a vibrant blue economy hub, fostering enterprise, innovation, applied research, commercialisation, and learning. Currently in the sketch design stage, the project aims to submit planning permission in the coming months.
The project is being part-funded by ATU in collaboration with the Department of Rural and Community Development through the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF). The project has received substantial support for the design stages.
Speaking during his visit to ATU’s Killybegs based campus, Minister Simon Harris said: “It’s been inspiring to visit both the Killybegs and Letterkenny ATU campuses today where innovation and hard graft are coming together to create something very special in higher education. From plans to create a ground-breaking Ocean Innovation Hub, as well as the development a much-needed electrical apprenticeship facility, and the ongoing upgrade of all the facilities in Killybegs, it is clear that the region has embraced the opportunities that having its own university can bring. I was also fortunate to see what can be done in the area of renewable energy with the new biomass heat centre at the Letterkenny campus. ATU is showing once again that it is at the cutting-edge of innovation and creativity, while also considering and addressing the needs of the entire country.”
During his visit Minister Simon Harris was also shown the commencement of the Electrical Apprenticeship Expansion project, a vital addition to the Higher Education Authority’s Apprenticeship Expansion program 2023. The project is a strategic move to address the evolving needs of Ireland’s workforce. The initiative includes the conversion of the Tourism building into an Electrical apprenticeship facility, accommodating 18 additional blocks of phase 4 & 6 Apprenticeships. With funding from the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation, and Science, the works are scheduled to be completed by August 2024.
In conjunction with the Electrical Apprenticeship Expansion works, Phase 3c Refurbishment Works were unveiled during Minister Harris’s visit. This program aims to upgrade existing buildings on the ATU Killybegs Campus to meet modern standards, maximising capacity and utilisation. Supported by HEA/DFHERIS funding through phases 1, 2 & 3a, the ongoing refurbishment includes works on the Main Building, Millennium Building, Tourism Building, and wider site improvements.
On the final leg of his tour of the campus, Karl Bonner, cluster manager, gave Minister Harris an update on the Killybegs Marine Cluster, one of twelve clusters on the island of Ireland established as part of Enterprise Ireland’s National Cluster Programme and is the only Cluster dedicated to the Blue Economy.
Minister Simon Harris TD’s visit to ATU’s Killybegs campus was followed by a visit to the Letterkenny campus where he officially launched the university’s new Biomass centre.