Cross-border Irish university ‘merits serious discussion’

A federal tertiary education institution spanning both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland should be considered by politicians, according to a report by cross-border academics.

The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) report reiterates previous calls made in a deal put forward by the UK and Irish governments to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland.

Ireland’s leading body of experts notes the high levels of historic underinvestment in the north-west region of the island of Ireland across both jurisdictions – in both higher education and infrastructure generally.

With more than 80 per cent of places based in Belfast, it also highlights the “skewed” distribution of students across Northern Ireland.

The paper welcomes the recent announcement that Stormont had launched a task force to double the size of Ulster University’s Derry campus to 10,000 students and the establishment of the North-West Tertiary Education Cluster (NWTEC) to promote collaboration.

However, it warns that insufficient infrastructure development is standing in the way of realising the full economic, social and cultural benefits provided by higher education.

The RIA says one potential model for developing higher education could be an expanded NWTEC, but a “more ambitious option” would be the development of a federal cross-border tertiary education institution made up of the existing institutions and campuses based in the greater north-west.

“Such an institution would have an overall governance structure involving coordinated oversight of planning across the region to promote strategic collaboration and development,” says the report.

“In such a scenario, each jurisdiction would continue to be responsible for the funding of its respective colleges and campuses.”

It says the proposal “merits serious discussion” and calls for a feasibility study examining the options available to be commissioned by the Irish and UK governments and the Northern Ireland Executive as an important next step.

The RIA also says Northern Ireland’s higher education student expansion is limited by the imposition of the maximum student number cap, which needs to be addressed to tackle brain drain.

A coherent strategy for the north-west, underpinned by the requisite levels of investment and oversight, is immediately needed for the region, concludes the paper.

“The potential for the north-west to be a region with strong economic growth and a broad and diversely educated workforce exists, but a concerted effort to unlock this potential will need to be driven by the governments and assisted by all relevant stakeholders,” it says.

A spokesperson for the Derry University Group told Times Higher Education that the report was the most significant intervention in the Derry university sector – and potentially also its economic sector – in a generation.

“If enacted as it should be, this blueprint will transform both sides of the border in the north-west,” they added.

“This report should and hopefully will be the cornerstone of every economic discussion and development plan for the next decade.”

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com