Third-level name changes are all the rage these days. We're getting used to calling the former RTCs Institutes of Technology - and St Patrick's, Maynooth, and UCG have become NUI Maynooth and NUI Galway. Now the National College of Industrial Relations (NCIR) has weighed in with a new name.

The Ranelagh, Dublin, college restyled itself the National College of Ireland (NCI) - The college for a learning society, during the summer and boasts a brand new logo. The NCI says that its new dark blue and ochre logo is inspired by the fact that its programmes represent a ladder of opportunity which enables people of all ages to access the type of education best suited to their needs. The NCI's core values, the college says, are access, opportunity and excellence.

Established nearly 50 years ago, NCI provides a wide range of programmes from pre-certificate to postgraduate level for over 3,600 students. With a main campus in Dublin and over 40 off-campus centres around the country, NCI has grown and diversified to meet the needs of business and the community.

According to Professor Joyce O'Connor, president of NCI, key positions in business and political leadership still revolve around a "golden circle" of the traditional educational elite - a circle she sees NCI playing a pivotal role in breaking. If you're not male, did not get a degree in business or engineering in college as a full-time student or achieve an accountancy qualification, your chance of becoming a business or political leader stands at 430:1, O'Connor estimates.

"This points to the need for a college such as NCI, whose very mission is to open educational access and opportunity to as diverse a group of people as possible Our view is that no matter what stage of life you are at or what corner of Ireland you come from, what educational background or what family, work or other commitments you have, if you want it, you should be able to have access to excellent education that is relevant to your needs," she says.