Dublin City University (DCU) is, perhaps, the Irish third-level college most associated with the hi-tech sector.
The college has blazed a trail in computer and related areas, although it has suffered from the downturn in the sector. CAO applications were down by about 7 per cent this year, as cautious students and their parents opted out of the volatile computer sector. Demand for places in engineering at DCU has also fallen.
That said, the recent Intel announcement of a further expansion in the Republic will revive confidence in the hi-tech sector- and demand for DCU places.
In other areas the college, under the leadership of its president, Dr Ferdinand von Prondzynski, is thriving. Its courses in international relations and law and governance are both contemporary and popular.
The somewhat dour image of the college is also being addressed with a new aquatic centre set to open shortly.
In the coming years, DCU is set to build on its success by reaching out to non-school leavers.
It plans a range of innovative and flexible courses for mature students. Many of these will be scheduled for evening and at the weekend.
The feeder lists published today shows that the State's largest grind school, the Institute of Education, emerging as the main provider of students. Another grind school, Bruce College Dublin (recently acquired by the Institute) also features strongly.
Otherwise the list is dominated by students from the college's hinterland. The vast majority of these are non fee-paying.
Many northside schools which feature strongly on the UCD and Trinity feeder school lists are also prominent in the DCU list. These include Portmarnock Community School; Manor House School, Raheny; Maryfield College, Drumcondra; and Mount Temple Comprehensive School, Malahide Road.
