The first technological university in Ireland is set to open in January 2019, after getting the go-ahead from the Government.

The TU4Dublin consortium is made up of the Dublin Institute of Technology, Institute of Technology Blanchardstown and Institute of Technology Tallaght.

The new university will be named Technological University Dublin, known as TU Dublin, and be located on three campuses at Grangegorman, Blanchardstown and Tallaght.

It will be the first technological university in Ireland established under the Technological Universities Act, which was enacted in March this year.

A draft order is to be placed before the Houses of the Oireachtas for approval in the forthcoming legislative term, which will see the DIT, ITB and ITT dissolved and the new Technological University Dublin established.

It is part of the Government's plan to drive regional economic growth and development under Ireland Project 2040, and to make Ireland the best education and training service in Europe by 2026.

In addition, the Government has also announced further funding of €4.4m towards the continuing development of TU Dublin.

This funding tranche is being provided by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) under their 2018 higher education landscape restructuring funding call.

This will bring the total exchequer funding contribution to this flagship project alone to almost €9.3m to date.

"Potential to be ground-breaking"

Image: Stephanie Grogan

Speaking at the launch Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: "This is an historic day for the future of higher education in Ireland.

"Project Ireland 2040 prioritises the expansion and consolidation of Higher Education facilities, to boost economic development across the country.

"Technological universities are central to delivering on this core objective and will stimulate a more balanced growth of population and employment across Ireland.

"The ambition is simple: to drive regional development and provide more opportunities for individuals, enterprise and the community."

"Making higher education accessible to all is the best way of making Ireland a country of equal opportunities.

"Dublin’s new Technical University will promote an entrepreneurial ethos and provide accessible opportunities to those who are economically or socially disadvantaged.

"It will be the only university in Ireland offering programmes from Level 6 to Level 10, from apprenticeships to doctorates, serving students from right across Dublin and the wider region."

Education Minister Richard Bruton added: "TU Dublin has the potential to be ground-breaking by providing a new, flexible teaching and learning framework to students that is informed by research and offers opportunities for students to pursue diverse programmes across the range of levels on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).

"This is an opportunity to build a new higher education system that is inclusive and reflects the educational demands and economic needs of Ireland."