Regional leaders, the TUS Senior Leadership Team and the Board of EURASHE (European Association of Institutions in Higher Education) engaged in a regionally-focused leadership forum at the TUS Moylish campus on Friday, March 8.
During its meeting, the Board reviewed the identity of EURASHE in light of changes to higher education systems, including the creation of Technological Universities in Ireland and the emergence of applied European University Alliances, including RUN-EU, co-ordinated by TUS. The board agreed to make proposals on how EURASHE brands itself in this new context, with proposals to be presented to the General Assembly in May prior to its Annual Conference to be held at St. Pölten University of Applied Science (Austria). St. Pölten, like TUS, also coordinates one of the European University Alliances.
The forum was opened by TUS President, Prof. Vincent Cunnane who focused on some exemplars of successful regional engagement, before a keynote address on Leadership in Regional Engagement from Prof. Eamonn Murphy, Midwest Regional Enterprise Plan Steering Group Chair and Managing Director Irish Centre for Business Excellence.
Catherine Duffy, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Northern Trust and Former Limerick Chamber President outlined the importance of collaboration and partnership, particularly between industry, universities and government. Barry O’Sullivan, Shannon Estuary Economic Task Group Chair and Former Site and EMEA Lead for J&J Vison spoke about the future of the planet and the need to move to beyond fossil fuels and how independence and interdependence were critical for successful regional engagement.
Dr. Joseph Ryan, CEO of THEA and Dr. Ruaidhri Neavyn of the HEA gave their perspectives on some of the recent developments in apprenticeships and how Ireland has responded along with the European Universities Initiative with a specific focus on the TUS-led RUN-EU.