Finding the new institute of technology in Blanchardstown, Dublin, can be a bit disconcerting, if you don't know the terrain. It is well signposted, though, and it's only when you get to the site entrance that you really start to worry.
Fortunately, I had been warned - the road is long, winding and devoid of buildings, until you get to the end. There, amid neatly landscaped grounds, paved roads pathways and car parks (it's part of a new IDA technology park), lies a low-slung white edifice - the advance building of the new college. Dr Mary Meaney has been there since the start - first as registrar, more recently as director. She's one of only a handful of women who have been appointed to top jobs in the sector. A native of Cappoquin, Co Waterford, she started out as a chemist in DCU and became assistant registrar there, before she made the move to Blanchardstown. For a temporary little arrangement, the college building looks a pretty swish affair. It boasts accommodation for administration and staff, three state-of-the-art lecture theatres, tutorial rooms, a high-tech library, plus language, computer and engineering labs. The college was set up last year with a specific mission - to increase third-level participation in north-west Dublin and to meet industrial skills requirements at both national and local levels. Although it's in the CAO system, the intake is almost entirely local. While the catchment area includes counties Meath and Kildare, 95 per cent of students come from the immediate area, Meaney says.
After only one year, Blanchardstown has a full-time enrolment of 500 and 200 part-time students. Meaney's aim is to achieve a 30 per cent non-standard participation rate within five years. Some 22 per cent of students are currently in this category - and have come, mostly, via the PLC route. The college also boasts a high proportion of mature students - particularly on the 18 months-long accelerated technician programmes. While Meaney has been "pleasantly surprised" by the interest local industry is showing in the college, the major challenge facing the new IT is the local infrastructure, she says. "Traffic management, the frequency and reliability of the Dublin Bus service and the introduction of cross-routes in Dublin are major issues for us," she says. The number 38 bus runs from the city centre to the institute, while the 39 runs to Blanchardstown and, for three hours each morning and evening, is met by a feeder bus. Live slightly off these routes, though, and you have to go into town and back out again if you want to use public transport.
Plans for the development of phase one of the campus are well under way. Tenders for the first four buildings, which will cater for 900 students, have been received and a decision is likely in the next few weeks, Meaney says. The £32 million development, which will include apprenticeships, teaching, library, administration and multipurpose blocks, is due for completion in June 2002. Till now, Blanchardstown has concentrated on three subject areas: business and languages, computing, and engineering. Now it is about to move into horticulture, where employment prospects are excellent. Next autumn, a three-year national diploma in horticulture will run in conjunction with the Salesian College, Warrenstown, Co Meath, and the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin. "We're hoping to register up to 80 students on the course," Meaney notes, adding that the course will be offered in both Blanchardstown and Warrenstown. "The course is aimed at school-leavers and mature students with an interest in horticulture. It is designed to help people set up in business and will include computing, business studies and personal development."
The college has also worked with IBM to develop custom-designed national certificate courses in mechatronics and computing for the company's employees. A more recent development is Blanchardstown's involvement in the Enterprise Platform Programme with DCU and Tallaght IT, which aims to encourage budding entrepreneurs, who want to set up their own businesses, by offering scholarships, space and expert support and resources for a twoyear period.
Although the new IT's mission is to meet the skills needs of industry - both locally and nationally - Meaney is acutely aware that employment alone should not be allowed to drive education. "It's up to the ITs to ensure that our programmes are valid in the educational sense. We shouldn't allow ourselves to be totally industry-driven," she says. "It's important that we look at the educational outcomes. Of course, they must meet the skills needs and allow graduates to avail of employment opportunities, but it's also important that we allow graduates to develop further, if they so wish - that's where education comes in."
Producing a well-rounded graduate is vital, Meaney says, and personal development is a component of many of Blanchardstown's programmes. "It's important not only to turn out competent language graduates, for example, they also need to be well-skilled in teamwork and be able to interact well with people. Similarly, there's no point in being excellent at computing if you can't communicate or explain your ideas to people." The college has a 69 per cent retention rate and everyone who has failed to complete has been interviewed. "The reasons are wide and varied - exam failure, people are on the wrong course or they take up jobs," she say. "The challenge for us is to offer programmes in a part-time and flexible way. The traditional distinction between full- and part-time is becoming blurred. If people want to take up jobs we have to ensure that they are not excluded from education.
"We want to be able to engage in education in the daytime, the evening and online. We get our staff allocation on the basis of full-time students, but I believe a number of posts should be allocated and resourced for a part-time student cohort."
