IT Tallaght celebrates its future in regional growth and commitment

By Mary Dennehy

IT TALLAGHT’S growth and commitment to its region was celebrated last Friday, when the Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton TD, officially opened a new 2,000 sq m building – which marked a €3.5m investment by the local college.

Due to a need for additional classroom space, the institute purchased and re-fitted Premier House which, located beside The Square shopping centre, is a new off-campus building, within a five-minute walk of the main grounds in Tallaght village.

The 2,000 sq m building includes lecture theatres, computer laboratories, classrooms, a student coffee dock and staff services – additions which reflect the college’s growth and its aim to enhance both student facilities and the courses on offer.

According to IT Tallaght, the investment into Premier House affirms the institute’s ongoing and future commitment to specifically increase and expand the provision of higher education in the South County Dublin region, including the surrounding counties of Wicklow and Kildare – with 92 per cent of current students coming from the greater Dublin region.

It is also another step in the Institute’s strategic ambition to establish a Technological University in Dublin with their partners, the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown and the Dublin Institute of Technology.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of Premier House, IT Tallaght President, Thomas Stone said that he is “confident the return to the State and the people of the region will be multiples of the investment of €3.5m in the years to come, through the well-recognised, life-enhancing benefits of higher education for our graduates, as well as an enriched society, economy and country.”

Minister Bruton said: “The Government’s Action Plan for Education aims to make Ireland the best education and training system in Europe within a decade.

“I am very pleased that my department has been in a position to support these new state-of-the-art facilities at Premier House.

“Students in Tallaght IT will benefit from this investment, and have the opportunity to learn in new and improved teaching spaces and modern educational facilities built to a very high standard.”

While visiting the college, Minister Bruton also opened a new state-of-the-art laboratory in photovoltaic technology on the IT Tallaght campus.

The new laboratory is a collaboration between the School of Engineering and industry partner, Nines Engineering, a project which further reinforces the Institute’s commitment to support industrial development and employment in the region.