NUI Maynooth was once associated with traditional Ireland. Today, it is pushing to be at the cutting edge of research and innovation, writes Seán Flynn, Education Editor

A generation ago, St Patrick's College - where the office of NUI Maynooth's president is located - was the biggest seminary in the State, accommodating hundreds of candidates for the priesthood. These days, only scattered remnants of the old ecclesiastical era remain, mostly around the old building, near the front gate. Otherwise, Maynooth is very much the modern Irish university with state-of-the-art facilities and a new €100 million campus to the north of the old college. It was also the first Irish university to open an office in Beijing.

The transformation of Maynooth has been one of the success stories of the Irish third-level sector. The college, under former president Séamus Smyth and its current head, Prof John Hughes, has moved out of the shadows to become one of the shining stars of the sector.

Over the past five years, applications to the college have soared. The number of Irish students selecting NUI Maynooth as their first preference has increased by almost 80 per cent since 1997.

Better still, Maynooth has worked to attract students from families where there is no history of third-level eduction. The inspirational work of college admissions officer and assistant registrar John McGinnity has been a major factor here. New links have been forged with schools and pupils all across Tallaght and west Dublin. Special transport has been arranged.

Today, one in four of Maynooth's student population comes from what are called "non traditional" backgrounds. They come to a college that has always been regarded as student-friendly. More than 1,000 students live on the campus. The most recent assessment by international experts said of the college: "It is obvious that people know each other, enjoy being on the Maynooth campus and are positive about their university and its future."

Since his appointment two years ago, Hughes has been working to build on progress already made. A native of Belfast, Hughes was educated by the Christian Brothers. After working in Queen's and at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, he became professor of information systems at the University of Ulster (UU) more than a decade ago. He held a number of senior posts at UU, including vice-president for research.

He has two major goals for the university. First, to place it at the centre of social economic and cultural life across the entire North Kildare/Meath/Dublin west region. Second, to establish Maynooth as a leading research base and to provide excellence in teaching.

Given his research background, Hughes is determined Maynooth should raise its game in this area. But it is no easy task; some 70 per cent of academics work in arts and humanities.

Progress is being made. Links with Intel and Hewlett Packard, two major local employers, are already well established. In June, Maynooth founded a new Innovation Value Institute (IVI) in a joint initiative with Intel.

This new research and education foundation will provide support to the IT sector. The college says it symbolises its determination to advance focused research and address the needs of industrial partners.

Other ambitious plans are on the drawing board including a South Meath Area Research and Technology Park (Smart) on the nearby Carton Estate, which already has a five-star hotel and golfing complex. The Smart centre will house a research centre, sports stadium and student accommodation.

The university is investing heavily in sport. This year, will see the introduction of scholarships in rugby (linked with Barnhall Rugby Football Club), swimming (linked with the National Aquatic Centre) and golf (in conjunction with Carton House and the Golf Union of Ireland).

The college is also introducing a range of new programmes to reflect student demand, at a time when points for many traditional courses are tumbling.The new degree programmes include equine business (reflecting Kildare's links with the bloodstock industry), business and management, multi-media, anthropology and product design (marketing and technology).

There is a strong sense all around the campus of a college on the move. Hughes is not an objective witness, of course, but there is real enthusiasm when he talks of Maynooth as the "ideal university".

According to Hughes, Maynooth "is an innovative and dynamic place but it is also collegiate and student-friendly." The students seem to agree.

Maynooth: what's going on?

* Maynooth had one of the worst drop-out rates in the Irish university sector. Today it has one of the lowest.

* Every lecturer looks after or mentors 10 students.

* The college, perhaps more than any other Irish university, prides itself on being "student -friendly".

* Maynooth was at the centre of the poaching row in the summer when UCD sought, unsuccessfully, to recruit research staff.

* Maynooth recently recruited the professor of biological science from UCD.

* The chairman of its governing body is Dan Flinter, the former chief executive of Enterprise Ireland.