The President of LIT has expressed confidence that Ennis will reap benefits from becoming a University town by 2021.
The institute of technology has submitted a joint application with Athlone IT to Government today to become a technological university.
LIT’s campus on Bindon Street, one of six campuses under the institution’s umbrella, will become a part of the Technical University if it comes to fruition.
The LIT-AIT consortium formally commenced in October last year and was granted €5 million last month by the Higher Education Authority, to assist it with creating and developing a technological university.
A formal application to allow for this change has been made to Government today and if it gets the green light, it would mean that Ennis would become a university town, due to LIT’s presence on Bindon Street.
The TU, which is expected to open next September, will comprise a student population of up to 15,000 and a staff complement of around 1,200 people, across six campuses in Ennis, Athlone, Clonmel, Limerick and Thurles.
The plan has received the backing of academic unions in both institutes of technology, and today’s application has been formally welcomed by the Minister responsible, Simon Harris.
An economic impact study commissioned by the LIT-AIT consortium has found that the combined impact of the two institutions on the Irish economy is close to €420 million euro.
It also found that it will support more than 800 jobs, in addition to staff employed by the university.
Minister of State for Further Education, Limerick TD Niall Collins, believes it’ll be a major boost for the region.
