Waterford IT has been named Institute of Technology of the Year by The Sunday Times.
The newspaper will publish its Good University Guide on Sunday. The guide contains Ireland's only league table that measures the performance of all 19 multi-faculty third-level institutions.
WIT won the award previously in 2009 and 2005 and was runner-up last year.
We have some very exciting news to share this morning…. For the third time, The Sunday Times Good University Guide has made the Institute of Technology of the Year award to WIT 🎉 #StudyatWIT https://t.co/fgFfeQagfm pic.twitter.com/UvgL2u5HM2
— SETU Waterford (@waterfordit) October 30, 2020
Prof Willie Donnelly, President of WIT said: "We are honoured that the institute has been awarded this prestigious accolade as we mark our 50th anniversary. Over the last 50 years, we have created opportunities for students to study at higher certificate right through to PhD and post-doctorate level, an enviable research eco-system, and are strongly connected into our community, regionally, nationally and internationally.
"The title Institute of Technology of the Year 2021 is a validation of our commitment to the south-east region and our unique innovation culture which sets us apart and makes us the successful institute we are today. It is also fitting that we are now in the advanced stages of establishing a technological university with our partners IT Carlow."
WIT will be submitting its bid to become the Technological University of South East Ireland (TUSEI) with IT Carlow in the coming months with the aim of opening for business in 2022.
Alastair McCall, Editor of The Sunday Times Good University Guide said: "WIT has celebrated its 50th birthday this year by driving forward with plans that will eventually see its name disappear, emerging as a technological university that will have a big impact on the southeast region and far beyond. That can only be good news for the regional economy and for the students who are lucky enough to study here. WIT is already a big third level player and its future development as a TU will only fuel that further.
"WIT has long been among the most dynamic of the institutes of technology, synchronised with the needs of business and providing academic and sporting facilities that stand with the best. Our award acknowledges its contribution to date and is a vote of confidence in its ambitious plans for the future."
WIT has seen a dramatic increase in research funding in the past year to stand at €16.4m - higher than any other Institute of Technology and more than TU Dublin - attracting more money from the key European Horizon 2020 research fund than any other Institute of Technology in Ireland in 2019. It is the only Institute of Technology to host three national technology gateway centres, spanning advanced engineering, mobile service technology and pharmacology.
It plays a key role in the regional economy of the Southeast, exemplified by its ArcLabs Research and Innovation Centre. The business incubator provides links between research, academia and local industries. Today, 45% of the 300 ICT businesses in the southeast have connections with ArcLabs.
WIT is the most popular destination among students in the five counties in the Southeast, with 1,600 of the 5,000 school-leavers from the region who went on to third level last year electing to go there. Nearly three-quarters of graduates hail from the Southeast, but WIT also recruits from across the whole of Ireland, with 8% of students coming from overseas.
Dublin City University (DCU) is the University of the Year for the third time since the guide was first published in 2002, having won the award previously in 2004 and 2010.
The Sunday Times Good University Guide is now in its 19th year of publication. It provides the definitive rankings for Irish third-level institutions, together with profiles of each institution and a view from students of what it is like to study there. It also contains the first full listing of 2021 honours degree courses and the first-round entry points needed to access these courses from the recently-completed 2020 admissions cycle.
