DkIT To Receive €4M To Support Major Boost in Computing & Engineering Undergraduate Opportunities for The Region

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The additional opportunities for students are being created thanks to Government investment of €24 million in the second round of funding under the Human Capital Initiative. DkIT is one of 22 higher education institutions to receive funding following a competitive call for the expansion of existing courses in key skills areas. The institute will receive up to €4,078,750 in funding to support the expansion of places available at Level 7 and Level 8 in computing and engineering.

Minister McHugh said: 

“This is the Human Capital Initiative and Government investment of more than €24 million at work – creating more and better opportunities for students on courses that help to answer challenges of the future.

“We know where the demands are for highly educated, qualified graduates. And this investment is responding directly to that need. There is a future focus to many of the courses, like robotics and intelligent devices, digital healthcare, building services and renewable energy.

“Government is looking to tomorrow; our education system is backing the vision; and our universities and colleges are answering the call to prepare students with better skills for a changing world of work. This investment is a key part of the Government’s strategy, under Future Jobs Ireland.”

Also speaking today, Minister Mitchell O’Connor said:

“At this time of year, when our Leaving Cert students are deciding which courses to select for their CAO applications I am delighted to be able to announce almost 3,000 additional places on 138 courses over the next two years.

“This generation will cope with more complex problems than any before them. Our students deserve the widest choice and the best opportunities to help prepare them for the future. I am determined that we will continue to develop our programmes and work with enterprise to ensure that our graduates are among the best prepared and equipped to meet our future challenges.”

DkIT President, Michael Mulvey, PhD added,

“Our region has a strong reputation for innovation and entrepreneurship in STEAM-related areas and it is vital that we continue to provide skills-focused higher education opportunities for students to meet the growing demand for qualified graduates among employers, which is particularly high in the Engineering and ICT sectors.

The additional funding will enable us to dramatically enhance our offering to prospective students across North Leinster South Ulster by introducing an additional 296 places on computing programmes and an additional 202 on engineering programmes. Capacity will increase across traditional pathways, as well as new programme areas such as Mathematics & Data Science, Augmented and Virtual Reality, Cloud and Data Centre Operations, among others.

We look forward to working closely with schools and guidance counsellors in our region to promote these fantastic opportunities to new CAO applicants next year.”

Today’s announcement was the latest in a series of positive news stories in relation to increased funding for DkIT. Over the past month, the institute has received approximately €5.5M in state investment to support new initiatives. These include €750,000 via the Capital Grant Scheme to support ongoing campus minor works, €200,000 via the HEA Impact Assessment Case Studies and Performance Fund to support the scaling of the DkIT Corporate Partnership Programme and €287,928 via the Government’s Regional Technology Clustering Fund to support the development of a Connected Health & Wellbeing Industry Cluster in the North East.

To find out more about the today's announcement, please click here.