WIT Engineering Building

imacman

Hi
Was on the engineering corridor today and I saw the plans for the new engineering building up on the wall. It looks really cool ,anyone else hear anything about it and when its going to happen

invara

When we have a new government; one that does not do everything in its powers to hold WIT back. So not any time soon.

taytobreath

those drawings are only dreams, delusional dreams

imacman

Meanwhile Carlow moves on with a massive building and upgrade program and WIT is still running on an austerity measures

invara

Worse... these are not austerity measures they are old fashioned school yard bullying of WIT by the HEA. They force us to pull the plug on a building mid-way through and orchestrate the PAC to investigate us for it. We understand that they do not want WIT to become a university and were upset by our 2005 application....... meanwhile other state funded higher education institutions build houses on campus for their presidents, buy flights for their President's children, fill rooms full of portraits of their Presidents... or take an ethical stand by divesting the universities shares in oil and arms companies!

fizzypish

LOL. They were talking about that building 4 years ago. Should just have put tarmac down for extra parking.

Sully

The Engineering building stalled as we hit recession. I'm not sure what the plan is or if it will get off the ground anytime soon.

WIT moved onto focusing on other projects and I assume the bailout talk is about the Sports Campus. They are being given €12m to finish it by the government as it ran over budget and was delayed so this should get it finished.

I presume this is separate from the Conference Center they were building which, I think, also got a helping hand from the government to finish it.

Sully

invara wrote: »

Worse... these are not austerity measures they are old fashioned school yard bullying of WIT by the HEA. They force us to pull the plug on a building mid-way through and orchestrate the PAC to investigate us for it. We understand that they do not want WIT to become a university and were upset by our 2005 application....... meanwhile other state funded higher education institutions build houses on campus for their presidents, buy flights for their President's children, fill rooms full of portraits of their Presidents... or take an ethical stand by divesting the universities shares in oil and arms companies!

In fairness I can remembered politically aware students asking questions about the setup so it's no real shock changes are being made.

The college didn't invite their own president to stay on when it became public about spending within the office and they were left red faced so bit of pot kettle. That was to end up in courts to try get money back and questions were asked as to how and who knew.

Different governments in 2005 to today and different financial circumstances. But I do feel there is huge resistance in certain sectors to block new full Universities but suggesting we were punished is daft.

No government will give WIT University status we want so it's time to move on from that dream. The promise has drifted and it's not a talking point anymore locally by parties or their representatives.

invara

Sully wrote: »

The college didn't invite their own president to stay on when it became public about spending within the office and they were left red faced so bit of pot kettle. That was to end up in courts to try get money back and questions were asked as to how and who knew.

Different governments in 2005 to today and different financial circumstances. But I do feel there is huge resistance in certain sectors to block new full Universities but suggesting we were punished is daft.

No government will give WIT University status we want so it's time to move on from that dream. The promise has drifted and it's not a talking point anymore locally by parties or their representatives.

Three quick points on this. First Minister Quinn called for WIT's President not to be reappointed. It is unprecedented in the history of the state for an independent seat of learning to be interfered with in this way by the minister responsible. The board would have no choice. This was the start of an enormous and sustained campaign of bullying on WIT leaders- a campaign that saw five senior leaders thrown out of office (Kieran Byrne, Ruardhi Neavyn, Tony McFeely, Donnie Ormonde and Redmond O'Donoghue... all basically decent people) and several expensive, distracting and ugly investigations (by accountants and more latterly by political hangers on- Quigley and Kelly). When you read all these guys reports what is amazing is that they can find no wrong doing, it is very hard to see this as anything other than a course of bullying.

Two the south east has fallen further behind and so the university investment is needed now more than ever (look at the persistence of high unemployment, lower rates of unemployment that point to high emigration, low ed attainment and low standard of living in the SE). We are still a very rich country. Turning WIT into a university will cost about €40m per annum- within the context of the overall spend on Higher Ed this must be one of the best value deals on offer. The existing universities are dead set against the creation of a university in Waterford and they are very powerful. They see it as strategic and not financial.

Finally, its important not to lose heart. It took UL 40 years to come into being, a very nasty fight in the end. The important thing is not to stop dreaming. If this shower will not deliver, my job is to keep shouting at them, keep searching for a politician that will deliver . Maynooth university was created by one politician, in power for three weeks, who got moving before anyone even knew something was up. I will continue to fight for resources for my students and the future young people of the south east because it is the right thing to do. In fact, to give into the poverty that will continue without a fully funded, proper university is unconscionable.

Sorry about the late night rant.

imacman

The new Engineering, Computing and General Teaching building for WIT was officially announced this morning.The 12,800 square metres (massive)building is the largest of eleven new building projects announced for the Institutes of Technology sector
https://www.education.ie/en/Press-Events/Press-Releases/2018-press-releases/PR18-06-05A.html

invara

imacman wrote: »

The new Engineering, Computing and General Teaching building for WIT was officially announced this morning.The 12,800 square metres (massive)building is the largest of eleven new building projects announced for the Institutes of Technology sector
https://www.education.ie/en/Press-Events/Press-Releases/2018-press-releases/PR18-06-05A.html

Another world-class press release from the dept of ed. How many more times can they announce this vapourware (2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, twice in 2016, again twice in 2017). Wow they are cynical. Delivery date is 2022 at the earliest ..... read the press-release and you can see whoever wrote it lost heart mid-way and started to talk about doing an economic analysis, and the cranes start to slip out of view. Meanwhile dumper trucks of EIB money landing into universites without any goverance, CBAs... just blank cheques.