The new Atlantic Technological University comprising GMIT, LYIT and IT Sligo, which will come into operation from this weekend, will contribute to the creation of thousands of jobs in the region, Higher Education Minister Simon Harris said this morning.
Writing in today’s Galway Advertiser, Minister Harris said that the opening of the Atlantic Technological University has the potential to grow thousands of jobs in the Galway area.
The new TU will span the West and North-West region offering almost 600 academic programmes for over 20,200 students supported by 2,215 staff.
It will have eight campuses in Galway City, Castlebar, Letterfrack, Sligo, Mountbellew Letterkenny and Killybegs.
“Galway is now one of Europe’s premier MedTech hubs with one of the highest concentrations of medical technology companies in Europe,” said Minister Harris.
“I strongly believe this can only grow if it works with higher education in the region. This has the potential to create thousands of jobs,” he said.
Minister Harris added that the new Technological University will be well positioned to increase the level of research underway in higher education in the West and to partner with industry to drive innovation.
He said that they already made progress on this in Galway when they very recently announced the purchase of the Galwegians site to expand the footprint of higher education in Galway.
“This site will offer exciting opportunities for further development for the new university. Additionally, we have established a Technological University Transformation Fund to support the establishment of the new institute and a new ring-fenced fund for research projects for Technological Universities,” he said.
Other research has shown that the ATU will contribute €700 million in economic output and support just over 3,100 jobs per year.
Full coverage inside on p18 and p26.
