Munster Technological University


Munster Technological University or MTU is a planned technological university, which is proposed to begin operations in Cork and Tralee in Ireland in, the result of a merger between two institutes of technology, Cork Institute of Technology and IT Tralee. Its creation was announced in May 2020. It is expected to accommodate more than 18,000 students and over 2,000 members of staff.
It is due to be Ireland's second technical university, after Technological University Dublin.

Facilities

The Munster Technical University is planned to have six campuses, the former IT Tralee campuses in Dromtacker and Clash in County Kerry, and CIT's Bishopstown, Cork School of Music, and Crawford College of Art and Design locations, as well as the National Maritime College of Ireland facility in Ringaskiddy.

Bishopstown campus

The main CIT campus, of approximately eighty acres, is situated in Bishopstown in the western suburbs of Cork city. It has theatres, lecture rooms, laboratories, drawing studios, a library, computer suites, open access computing centre and research units. Recreational facilities for the expected student population include a running track, tennis courts, all-weather pitch, a gymnasium and grass playing pitches, while an indoor swimming pool is located nearby. The CIT campus has won awards for its architectural design and aesthetics.
A new sports facility building is planned for the campus, with works proposed to begin sometime in.

Dromtacker campus

, IT Tralee had plans to grow the Dromtacker campus, so that the smaller Clash campus could be closed.

History

Early plans for a technical university in the region included a three-way merger with Waterford IT which was examined in 2012.
In building a proposal, the two institutions sought to offer a multi-campus institution spanning across Cork and Kerry, creating a second university in the region, and third in the province of Munster. A formal application for T.U. status was lodged in February 2019.
In May 2019, staff of CIT and IT Tralee rejected the merger, and an international advisory panel visited the campuses.
In 2019, Cork Institute of Technology refused to take on IT Tralee's financial debts.
In May 2020, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced the formal approval of the technological university, to potentially begin operations in January 2021. The merger was welcomed by industry body Ibec.