The Minister for Education and Science, Micheal Martin, officially launched the Cork Institute of Technology at a ceremony in the college yesterday .
The Minister also officially launched the crest of the new college, which has more than 5,000 full-time students on three separate campuses.
The announcement that the former Cork RTC was to be redesignated as an Institute of Technology was made late last year, following a long campaign by the college after the earlier redesignation of Waterford RTC as Waterford Institute of Technology.
The change in the college's status and the availability of high-calibre graduates has been cited by college authorities as a contributory factor in the decision of healthcare company Boston Scientific to locate its new factory, with 1,000 new jobs, in Cork, and in the expansion of the Cork-based electronics company EMC.
CIT will shortly commence an international review process as part of the institute's move towards awarding its own qualifications. The college is also planning a new IT centre, a new student centre and new administrative facilities as part of a £46 million development programme.
