My wee girl goes off to university....what the UL?

I, like many other parents in the last week, have been literally packing a child off to a third level institution. For me, as a first time parent to this process, I have found the whole experience both exciting and a wee bit apprehensive, if the truth be told. After all we do not know if the course or the institution will suit our children and all we can really hope for is that we have made the right decision and the right choices.

My daughter’s first course choice has taken her to the University of Limerick. A university that in 2015 won The Irish Times “Best University” award and as there are only a handful of universities in Ireland I can only assume that this award is shared on a rotational basis.

Having achieved and surpassed the entry qualification points we attended the “induction” or “orientation” day at UL on Tuesday 1^st September. The well travelled road to Limerick is a shocker and a poor reflection on a major trunk route between two of Ireland’s Cities. Two hours after setting off from Waterford we arrived at the stunning UL campus. Thanks to an American philanthropist this has to be one of the most impressive campuses in Ireland. All still relatively new and shinny, with lots of open space, sports facilities to rival any university, and the added bonus of being able to watch the odd Munster player training!

As I was to spend the whole day at UL I took the time to walk, explore and view every corner of the campus. The first thing that struck me was that it was so inspirational to see so many fresh faced young adults starting their next educational journey. There were literally thousands of students orienteering themselves on this day.

I also started totting up the positive economic impact of a university city and from the accommodation figures alone I worked out that around €1.8 million was being spent on the accommodation in my daughters block. This did not take into account any cost of living expenses, travel, entertainment etc etc. The UL campus is plainly generating tens of millions for the university and the local economy and Waterford is missing out on this much need annual cash injection.

For those lucky enough to be able to go on to third level education, getting to university is a very big deal and something that both student and family should be very proud of. I know that it was a day I will be very proud of and yet in the back of my mind I was annoyed that my daughter did not have the chance or the opportunity to go to a university in Waterford City! I have after all been in Waterford City for nearly fifteen years and I had hoped that this issue would have been resolved by now.

Is it not ironic that the City that is promoted as “Ireland’s Oldest” still does NOT have a university of its own?

What have we been doing for the last 1100 years!

The more the day went on the more I had time to reflect on why Waterford City has not yet been designated a University City and why my daughter and so many others like her, have had to figuratively emigrate from their place of residence to attend a university. I feel that it is a shocking indictment that so many are forced to leave and yet we do not hear enough about this annual exodus from our City and County by our own young and talented people. Once gone many will never come back and yes there are economics at play as to where or not they come back but at the very least we need to create a society where they have a choice.

Since returning from the orientation day I have meet so many other parents who feel exactly the same way and I am aware that this ongoing issue has been around now for decades and not just a few years.

Surely, we have to get this issue sorted once and for all.

I am in the camp that says a university in Waterford City would be good for the City, the County and the south east region.

There can be absolutely NO doubt that a University City is perceived to be a much better place to live, invest and educate. And if the existing education institution is worth its salt then moving from a college or a tech or an institute of technology to university status will be a good thing and will be something we could all be proud of. What we do not want is a fudged solution and I fear that is what may well materialise unless we once and for all get our collective act together. It still seems that those people who will ultimately have the final say are working with the “wrong types of bricks” – see last week column and blog!

Yes, our WIT is an excellent technological institution but surely we will ALL be better off as a University City. I do hear people championing and defending institutes of technology and giving shining examples such MIT (in the USA). But let us face facts we are not the US and we will never be the US, so we will never see another MIT outside of MIT.

This ongoing saga has seen many boards of management come and go at WIT and we must hope that the current board will deliver for Waterford when others have not, and that the current board will learn the lessons from previous boards when we were lead to believe that “This was the way to go” then all of a sudden “No, we need to turn full circle and this is now the way to” and so on.

The bottom line is that the clock is very much tricking and the longer we leave this issue the further down the road the ultimate goal will be. My own son is now in third year of secondary school and I fear that he too will have to emigrate to attend a university.

The current government promised a university for Waterford in the current “Programme for Government” and I may be wrong but to deliver on that promise between now and a General Election in April of 2016 seems to be fantasy politics.

Too many generations are missing out, our economy is missing out, and our City is missing out. Surely, this is not rocket science!