Technological University for the South East


Technological University for the South East or TUSE is a proposed technological university in the south east region of the Republic of Ireland. It is a planned amalgamation of two existing institutes of technology in the region - Waterford IT and IT Carlow. Waterford is the only Irish city which does not have a university.

Background

Waterford Institute of Technology opened in 1970 as a Regional Technical College and adopted its present name on May 7, 1997. It first made an unsuccessful application to become a university in 2006, under the Universities Act 1997. Institute of Technology, Carlow was founded in 1960. The proposal is supported by the southern region's, Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy.

Timeline

has been planning a joint application with Waterford IT for the formation of a technological university for the south east region since the mid-2010s. A vision document, "Technological University for the South East" was published in 2015, and a memorandum of understanding was signed in 2017.
In May 2018, a spokesperson for the Higher Education Authority expressed a belief that a formal application will be made in Autumn 2018, with an approval expected in spring 2019. At the launch of TU Dublin in July 2018, the Taoiseach expressed regret that this TUSE bid had not progressed sufficiently following the "Technological Universities Act 2018".
The TUSE bid was due to be submitted in September 2018.
In November 2018 Dr. Patricia Mulcahy, President of IT Carlow described the goal for TUSE as "a leading European technological university recognised for regional connectedness and global impact".
Plans were being compiled in February 2019, and were awaiting financial clarification in May 2019
Staff of Carlow IT rejected the proposal in June 2019.
In 2019 the Department of Education and Skills rejected requests to cover budget deficits in WIT.

Proposal details

The TU would make use of WIT's five campuses, and IT Carlow's two, including one in Wexford town.