WIT received a special commendation at the THE Awards (Times Higher Education Awards) held on Thursday in London.
The commendation was given to the Waterford college in the Widening Participation and Outreach Category, for the achievements of Calmast STEM Engagement Centre in organising Maths Week Ireland, which happens every October across the 32 counties.
THE Awards are widely known as the 'Oscars of Higher Education' due to the level of prestige they carry.
WIT was up against the UK colleges of Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Cardiff University, University of Dundee, University of Nottingham, and winner Manchester Metropolitan University.
About THE Awards
These are the 17th annual THE Awards, and this is the first time that the awards have been open to Higher education institutions in Ireland. There are 20 categories in total, covering a wide range of university activity across leadership and management, administration, and academia.
Reaction at WIT to being recognised at THE Awards
WIT President Prof Willie Donnelly said,
We are delighted and extremely proud to be acknowledged in the Times Higher Awards. That our commendation is in the area of outreach and widening participation is especially pleasing. The nomination recognises the excellence of our outreach activity through the work of Calmast which has been promoting STEM for many years locally, regionally and nationally.
Maths Week coordinator Eoin Gill noted that over 600 nominations were received across the 20 categories. “Maths Week was founded at WIT and quickly spread across all higher education, north and south, growing to be the biggest such festival in the world. It is also eagerly embraced by schools, teachers and pupils with over 350,000 participating last year."
Recently Science Week was held as part of the Calmast calendar. More here.
