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Institute of Technology Carlow Celebrates the Accomplishments of Over 200 Graduates from Wicklow County Campus
04/11/2019
Mr John Moore, Chair of the Governing Body, and Dr Patricia Mulcahy, President, of Institute of Technology Carlow, were joined at today’s ceremony by: Minister Andrew Doyle, Minister of State with special responsibility for Food, Forestry and Horticulture; Cllr. Irene Winters, Cathaoirleach of Wicklow County Council; Mr Tom Murphy, Director of Enterprise and Corporate Services at Wicklow County Council and Dr Joseph Collins, Head of Faculty for Lifelong Learning, Institute of Technology Carlow. Also in attendance at the ceremony were representatives from regional state agencies, businesses and community organisations, including representatives from the Midland Border East Skillnet and Wicklow County Childcare Committee, who continue to support the work of Wicklow County Campus.
Welcoming graduates, their guests and a broad range of Wicklow stakeholders, Mr John Moore commended learners and staff for their contribution to Wicklow County Campus and asked the assembled graduates to “remain in contact with the Institute and bring your expertise, insights and inspiration to future learners who choose Wicklow County Campus to further their careers.”
Mr. Moore commended Wicklow County Council for its vision and leadership in the development of Wicklow County Campus. “Wicklow County Campus graduates exemplify work-ready and highly competent graduates and the Campus is increasingly seen as a gateway for identifying and recruiting talent across the region”, he said.
Founded in 2005 in a collaborative partnership with Wicklow County Council, Wicklow County Campus has risen to become a centre of excellence in enterprise, education and innovation in County Wicklow, acting as a catalyst for economic development in the county. Some 1,400 higher education graduates have been conferred since the first conferring ceremony took place in 2009.
Minister of State Andrew Doyle acknowledged the continued success between Wicklow County Council and Institute of Technology Carlow. “Today marks the largest number of graduates to date at Wicklow County Campus – 211. I would like to congratulate them on their achievement and wish them every success in the future”, said Minister Doyle.
Cllr. Irene Winters, Cathaoirleach of Wicklow County Council commented, “On behalf of Wicklow County Council I wish to congratulate each and every graduate here today on their success. Today’s conferring also demonstrates the successful collaboration between Wicklow County Council and IT Carlow in the provision of further education, lifelong learning and enterprise development for County Wicklow”.
In her address to the conferees, Dr. Patricia Mulcahy, President of Institute of Technology Carlow said, “No other occasion in our academic calendar is more meaningful as the Conferring of Awards and Prizes. At moments like this, it is truly inspiring to see a community come together, having supported, taught, mentored and advised, to finally say, with one voice, congratulations to all our new graduates. This is a time characterised by a deep sense of achievement, your achievements, and it is a real pleasure to share this moment with you, your families, faculty members and a host of Wicklow collaborative partners, all of whom have played such important roles in your success to-date.
Dr. Mulcahy praised and thanked Wicklow County Council for its partnership in the development of Wicklow County Campus. “Your vision has provided the necessary platform for our partnership in higher education provision which has already directly benefited over 1400 graduates to-date in County Wicklow”, said Dr Mulcahy, “All of this provision is underpinned by strong strategic partnerships with industry, which in turn have allowed us to secure, through highly competitive processes, funding supports for Wicklow Campus learners, through national initiatives such as the HEA Springboard programme”.
“Because of this combination of factors, we are undoubtedly attracting learners of the highest calibre and ensuring the realisation of the vision for Wicklow County Campus as a thriving place for enterprise and entrepreneurs”, added Dr. Mulcahy.
Referring to the ongoing Technological University Project, Dr Mulcahy said “The Irish TU concept is distinctive in its embeddedness in local and regional economies and communities, at the same time, reaching out to bring beneficial international education and research practices back into our regions and country. We are committed to realising this concept for our regions, transversing the counties of the South-East region, and also the counties of Wicklow, Kildare and Laois in the Mid-East and Midlands regions. That is why we continue to prioritise and invest considerable time and resources in this project because we know that that this has the potential to further increase our contribution to the societies that we were created to serve.”