From Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
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The Minister Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, today (Monday, 5 July 2021) invited expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced candidates for consideration for nomination as chairperson or ordinary members of the first governing body of Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest (TUS: Midlands Midwest).
You can apply for the positions by submitting your CV and a detailed cover letter to boardvacancies@dfheris.gov.ie . Please read the detailed information booklet before applying. The closing date for applications is Friday, 23 July 2021.
The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science is filling these vacancies . Applications will be assessed before the minister is provided with a shortlist of candidates who are considered suitable. The minister will make his selection from this shorlist.
In advertising for these positions, Minister Harris highlighted their importance importance, saying that:
"They will ensure that the new technological university can start to immediately deliver on its statutory functions in providing research-informed teaching and learning excellence at all levels of the National Framework of Qualifications, deepening research capacity, retaining and creating the optimum skills base and fostering regional development and socio-economic progression for the benefit of students, staff, business and enterprise and the wider communities of the Midlands and Midwest."
This is the third technological university (TU) created in the state, and the first cross-regional TU. The new university will increase higher education access, grow regional development and give students, staff, business and enterprise, and local communities more opportunities.
This new, bigger, and farther-reaching higher education institution will serve the communities of counties including Westmeath, Limerick, Tipperary, Clare and Offaly. Through its support for industry and communities, the TU will make its regions more attractive for indigenous small businesses and foreign investment, by linking to opportunities in knowledge creation and innovation. This in turn will contribute to viable and vibrant communities. These communities can offer an economically and socially-desirable regional counterbalance in the Irish heartlands. With its urban hubs and regional campuses, the new TU can provide a key strategic corridor between rural communities, towns and cities.
TUS: Midlands Midwest will provide higher educational programmes across all levels of the National Framework of Qualifications, from apprenticeships to doctoral-level qualifications, across 6 campuses. TUS: Midlands Midwest will play a central role in the strategic development of the Midlands and Midwest regions, and ensure a global outlook and a civic-oriented value system.
These positions are not paid. Travel and subsistence allowances will be paid in respect of journeys taken to attend meetings of the governing body or to transact its business.
Appointments to the first governing body will be for two years. This is in line with the provisions of Section 55 (5)(a) of the Technological University Act 2018 .