Dr Patrick Prendergast, former provost of Trinity College, has been appointed as the first chairperson of the new Technological University for the South East.
The new university, which is made up of Institute of Technology Carlow and Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), will open its doors on May 1st.
It will have multi-regional campuses in Carlow, Waterford and Wexford.
Current students from the former IT Carlow and WIT who graduate in 2022 will receive university qualifications.
Dr Prendergast will sit on the TU’s governing board with Jim Bergin, chief executive of Glanbia, and Ruth Beadle, who holds a leadership role at pharmaceutical company Sanofi, which has a manufacturing facility in Waterford.
Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris announced Dr Prendergast’s appointment on Monday.
‘Red-letter day’
“After decades of debate, the Technological University for the South East is finally a reality,” he said. “I have formally granted designation status to the fifth technological university in the State.”
The new university will bring economic prosperity to the region, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said. “This is a red-letter day for the southeast.
“I think some of the new IDA jobs we secured for Waterford and Kilkenny in the past year were spurred by the assurance that this would happen,” he said.
“The new university will also lead to more indigenous businesses being founded in the region fostering more job creation,” he added.
Meanwhile an application has been lodged to use the 36-acre site of the former Waterford Crystal offices as part of the new technological university in the South East.
WIT has submitted a business case to the Higher Education Authority for funding to allow it to expand its campus onto the Cork Road site, where 1,000 people were once employed by the glass company.
If funding is granted negotiations could then begin with the owner of the site, which has been vacant since the plant there ceased operating in 2009.
Mr Harris confirmed on Monday that the application has been submitted by the college.
There are currently three TUs in the state. TU Dublin was the first one established back in 2019. DIT, IT Blanchardstown and IT Tallaght were merged to form TU Dublin.
Munster Technological University was created at the start of last year from Cork IT and IT Tralee.
In October of last year, Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest was established following the merger of Athlone and Limerick ITs.
In April, Galway-Mayo IT, IT Sligo and Letterkenny IT will be dissolved and Atlantic Technological University will be established in their stead.