Discussion paper calls for consideration of cross-border oversight body for Derry university expansion

‘Finding common ground, building community: strengthening and stimulating tertiary regional collaboration in the north-west of the island of Ireland’ was published by the RIA this week.

Funded by the Government of Ireland-Irish Research Council New Foundations scheme and the Shared Island Unit it builds upon previous work by the RIA’s Higher Education Futures Taskforce.

Authored by Professor Gerry McKenna, Senior Vice-President of the Royal Irish Academy, Sinéad Riordan and Jennifer Kenneally it highlights ‘the historical lack of investment across both jurisdictions in the greater north-west of the island of Ireland’ as well as well-diagnosed infrastructure deficits in transport, particularly road, rail and air.

It points to the establishment of a new taskforce to oversee an action plan for the expansion of Magee, the New Decade, New Approach (NDNA) commitment to increase the student cohort in Derry to 10,000, the establishment of the North-West Tertiary Education Cluster (NWTEC), the foundation of the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) and the development of the Magee medical school as recent positive developments.

But it strongly criticises the lop-sided distribution of university places in the North.

“The distribution of HE provision in Northern Ireland, with over 80 per cent of places being based in the capital city, Belfast, is in sharp contrast to that found in the other jurisdictions in these islands. Northern Ireland, unlike the other jurisdictions, has no independent oversight of HE or tertiary education provision.

"It is difficult to envisage a HE oversight body supporting the current geographically skewed distribution of HE places or concluding that such concentration would be in the interests of economic and cultural development or social cohesion.

"It has been argued, based on analyses of regional HE strategies across a range of countries, that a regional representative body helps to ensure the retention of a regional mission and reinforces diversity and resilience,” the discussion paper states.

The paper makes a strong call for a cross-border oversight body to oversee the distribution of university provision.

“The future development of the greater north-west requires effective cross-border planning of tertiary education with enhanced concurrent and coordinated funding from both jurisdictions.

"Although this could conceivably be achieved by expansion of the NWTEC with independent oversight, the development of a federal crossborder tertiary education institution merits serious consideration.

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"A federal cross-border tertiary education institution would be made up of existing constituent institutions but with an overall governance structure involving coordinated oversight of planning across the region, promoting collaboration and eliminating wasteful and unnecessary duplication.

"In such a scenario, each jurisdiction would continue to be responsible for the funding of its colleges and campuses,” the paper concludes.

The authors acknowledge it has not been possible with the ‘limited resources’ of the project to explore in detail potential models for the future development of HE in the NW.

It thus recommends a feasibility study commissioned by the Irish and UK governments and the NI Executive as ‘an important next step’.

"What has been made clear by this project is the immediate need for a coherent strategy for the north-west that is underpinned by the requisite levels of investment and oversight,” the discussion paper argues.

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