Glanbia Ireland CEO appointed to new TU governing body

CEO of Glanbia Ireland Jim Bergin has been appointed to the governing body of the new technological university (TU) for the southeast region.

This new TU is an amalgamation of Waterford Institute of Technology (IT) and Carlow IT. It will be formally established in May.

In a social media post, Bergin said: “I’m delighted to have been appointed by Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris to the first governing body of the new TU [for the southeast].

“It’s an exciting time and truly historic moment for the southeast region and the culmination of many decades of work by the educational bodies in Waterford and Carlow to deliver a multi-campus university.”

Bergin also noted that Minister Harris confirmed that the new university will begin operating on May 1.

“I’m looking forward to working alongside the dedicated teams committed to enabling higher education access to more people and families for the benefit of the southeast region,” the Glanbia Ireland CEO added.

It was also confirmed this week that the first chairperson of the new TU will be Dr. Patrick Prendergast, a former provost of Trinity College Dublin.

The ‘Technology University – South East’ will be a multi-campus unitary university with campuses in counties Waterford, Carlow, Wexford, Wicklow and Kilkenny.

It will comprise around 2,000 staff and over 18,000 learners, with an expected 6,000 graduates per year.

The expected annual income of the TU will be over €200 million, including earned research income of around €30 million.

The TU will also have a “deep collaboration with industry, enterprise and civic society”.

Government policy on higher education is to have a smaller number of third-level institutions around the country, but to increase the number of learners they each cater for.

For that reason, ITs around the country will be amalgamated into larger TUs in various regions.

Other TUs in Ireland (some of which are up and running, while others are planned) include: