Tomorrow 45 heads of BioMedical programmes in universities in Britain and Northern Ireland and their Irish counterparts will gather in Cork for the first meeting in Ireland of their representative body, Heads of University BioMedical Science Programmes.
The meeting will be hosted by the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and UCC. Co-operation between the two institutions has become one of the underlying successes of higher education in Cork.
Dr Shea Fanning, head of biological sciences at CIT, and a graduate of UCC, has been appointed director of the BioMedical science three-year degree course, which is situated on both campuses.
No other example of cross-institutional co-operation exists in Ireland, he said. "This level of co-operation sends out a clear signal that a meeting of minds has occurred and that we enjoy a mutual respect. It has taken a long time to develop but now it's there.
"UCC's tradition goes back hundreds of years while the CIT as we know it today is merely years old. The important thing is that we are working together on an equal footing to contribute in a unique way to third-level education and that both institutions are very firmly behind the concept."
The joint degree programme is administered by the BioMedical Sciences Steering Committee which incorporates the department of BioMedical Science at the CIT as well as the faculties of medicine and science at UCC. The committee meets every 12 weeks to evaluate the NUI-recognised programme.
One of the interesting features is how the younger institution will protect its identity working so closely with UCC, the big brother in the arrangement. Dr Fanning concedes that in the sometimes rarefied atmosphere of academe, territory is jealously guarded, but there is a recognition, he adds, that both sides are bringing something special to the course.
"We both have special strengths. I think it is recognised that the CIT has established training in laboratory skills to a very high standard while UCC brings a special academic feature to the course.
"The point is that students who complete the degree course are better prepared than students from any other institution in these islands. Independent examiners have regularly made that point," Dr Fanning said.
The meeting of policy-makers from the British and Irish institutions will convene tomorrow at the Crawford Municipal Art Gallery in Cork and then move to the Boole Library at UCC. It will be addressed by the Minister for Health and Children, Mr Martin, on Thursday. The session concludes the following day.