The Shannon Suir Institute of Technology

ONE OF THE EMBERS still glowing after one of the most brutal budgets in Irish history is Tipperary Institute. The Minister for Education gave the 10-year-old institution a lifeline in exchange for producing a scoping document that could pull both Tipperary Institute and the Limerick Institute of Technology into one overall organisation. I would call it the Shannon Suir Institute of Technology. This process will restructure some Tipperary workloads into a clearer focus on teaching and learning, reducing a government-sanctioned outreach component that emerged during the Celtic Tiger to a shell of itself. In an era of austerity, the focus of all Government-funded edcuation efforts must be measured against credible benchmarks such as "enrollments" and "graduates." These are clear targets, measured against transparent metrics such as CAO applicants, numbers present for work experience, and graduates. Well-defined targets such as these have become talking points in the hallways and canteens of both campuses of Tipperary Institute.

I can see some immediate benefits for the Irish Exchequer by sharing services and expertise inside a new dynamic organisation whose catchment area spans the Shannon and the Suir. With proper scoping, it should be possible to acheive savings in payroll, IT services, library assets, portable mobile gear, video channels, online iTunes university content, and course development. I have some ideas about these areas.

• I believe LIT and TI staff should begin connecting at lightweight industry events, such as Limerick OpenCoffee, Enterprise Ireland Ideagen meetings, FP7 mailing list discussions, and in break-out groups that are meant to return Dell workers to employment.
• I believe all currently running degree programmes in both campuses should have associate externs attached to the programmes so efficiencies can be discerned quickly at the module level and so guest lecturing time can be offered virtually through both campus' virtual conferencing.
• The Shannon Suir Institute of Technology would be a natural home for the Robocode competition, rotating between Thurles and Limerick each year.

I don't know if these ideas meet the sanity check of those scoping out the future of Tipperary Institute but they are worth considering by anyone thinking about making a more efficient third level education system for the Irish taxpayer. Along the way, I know there is an extended community watching and commenting on how those in Limerick and Tipperary define their roles in higher education.

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See tweets related to Budget 2010 (#budget10).

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