Our Main Feature - Ambitious plans for SETU

Ambitious plans for university in Wexford

Professor Veronica Campbell, inaugural president of the South East Technological University (SETU), outlines her ambitions for the university. Professor Campbell addressed members of County Wexford Chamber, along with public representatives, at a Business After-Hours event in September.

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The South East Technological University was established on 1 May 2022 and Professor Veronica Campbell took up the role of inaugural President of SETU in mid-July. Professor Campbell had held several senior leadership roles in Trinity College, including dean of graduate studies, bursar, and director of strategic innovation.

“My role in SETU has been described to me as simultaneously leading a merger; leading a transformation project and leading business as usual for a large organisation,” said Professor Campbell, who is originally from Scotland. “I’m looking forward to applying my considerable experience in higher education to SETU. I’m particularly excited and confident for success for SETU as I’m working again with Patrick Prendergast, the former Provost of Trinity, now chair of the governing body of SETU, and a proud Wexford man!”

SETU is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the whole South- East and for Ireland. “We have this incredible opportunity to drive regional innovation and economic, social, and cultural prosperity; to reverse the brain-drain from the South East; to nurture an entrepreneurial culture; and to improve educational access for all cohorts.”

MULTI-CAMPUS UNIVERSITY

SETU is a community of 18,000 students and 1,800 staff based across five locations in the South East, delivering courses that span apprenticeships to PhDs. Universities provide excellent

graduates for industry, and they enable the research partnerships that further innovation. That is what SETU will bring to the South East.

“SETU is a university that was waiting to happen. The South- East is alive with talent but 11,000 students engaged in thirdlevel education study outside of the region, on a full-time or part-time basis. In other words, 60% of students from the South East who are engaged in a university education go elsewhere. This is a brain-drain. And that’s not happening in Dublin, Cork, Galway, or Limerick, where students tend to radiate to their ‘home’ university. We need to retain talent in the South East and attract new talent. The only way to do this, is to provide talented students with as good, or better, options here, as elsewhere.”

GOALS

In September, SETU launched a consultation for its first Strategic Plan which will map out its priorities for the next five years. The key themes for the strategic plan will be Partnerships, Access, Research, and Skills/Entrepreneurship.

SETU will:

• Improve access and provide flexible educational opportunities for all

• Develop and deepen regional and international partnerships with businesses, industry, government, and with cultural and social organisations

• Meet regional and national skills requirements, developing future skills, and fostering an entrepreneurial culture and mindset in staff and students

• Build capacity for research, including increasing our numbers of PhD students in collaboration with local industry and enterprise.

ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE AND QUALITY EDUCATION

“The demography of the South-East places an important obligation on SETU around Access. More than 30% of students in SETU are mature students and 45% are part-time. This means that we need to focus on enabling lifelong learning and on providing flexible progression pathways. Improving access is about putting in place programmes to support students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. And it means breaking away from the traditional model of a university which is based around full-time school-leavers. We need to deploy technology and work with employers to enable part-time, flexible study.”

PARTNERSHIPS, REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL

SETU already interacts with a broad range of regional partners to create new skills and knowledge to drive innovation and cultural value. Examples include relationships with Rosslare Port on new wind energy initiatives, engagement with 250 companies in the area of advanced manufacturing, partnership with cultural organisations such as Wexford Arts Centre. At the Ploughing Championships last month, two new degrees from the Wexford campus were launched by the Minister for State for Agriculture – a BSc in Organic Agriculture and a BEng in Agricultural Systems Engineering. Both of these programme are co-created with external partners. These are the type and diversity of partnership which will drive economic, social and cultural prosperity.

INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS

SETU is a member of a prestigious European network of universities focussed on Sustainability of Coastal regions. This consortium, EU CONNEXUS, will address the blue, green, and digital agendas with a multi-disciplinary approach, a focus on life-long learning and research collaboration. “When you consider the offshore wind energy opportunities in the South East, SETU is well placed to make a major contribution through its own expertise and European networks.

“My ambition is for SETU to be a leading European Technological University and that will bring new knowledge and networks into the South East to benefit activities here.”

SKILLS, CURRENT AND FUTURE

“It’s important to name the skills you want graduates to acquire. We want SETU graduates to be proficient in digital skills, to be employment-ready with an appreciation of the sustainable development goals, to have the ability to think critically, work collaboratively, and contribute to society in its broadest sense, and to be entrepreneurial and self-starting.

“Great work is already being done and it is worth noting that two out of the 10 finalists of this year’s Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award were SETU students. And SETU was recently awarded funding from the Springboard programme to support 2,000 upskilling places across a number of programmes that align with regional skills requirements.”

BUILDING CAPACITY FOR RESEARCH

“We need to be strategic about this and to focus on building capacity where we can offer most benefit. This is tied in with skills requirements. Four Technology Gateways exist in the South- East which reflect research expertise in ICT, industrial design, pharmaceutics, and advanced materials. These gateways interact with industry partners and European and international research partners. We will focus on expanding research capacity across areas of strength and position SETU to future research themes through an interdisciplinary perspective. This will harness the potential of the South East as an Innovation Region.

ACHIEVING THESE GOALS

“In order to achieve these four goals, we will need to put the right structures in place. That means the right physical structures - campus development is a priority and is essential – SETU needs additional teaching, learning and research space to support its growth and trajectory.

“And it means the right organisational and administrative structures. We are a large, ambitious, multi-campus university, spread across Wexford, Waterford and Carlow - with a presence also in Kilkenny and Wicklow. This makes us a new type of university. It’s incredibly exciting and there is real strength in a regional focus. It also brings, of course, logistical challenges. But multi-campus universities work best when there is buy-in and investment from the whole region - from schools, industry, the business community, arts and culture, civic society. It’s in everyone’s interest for SETU to be a success. And I’m happy to say that the sense of excitement and opportunity across the South-East is high for our new university.

“It is vitally important that SETU’s presence in Wexford is housed in appropriate infrastructure, fitting for a modern university experience. We have a plan for a new site for SETU in Wexford and a submission for capital funding has been made to Government. Our new Governing Body has been briefed on the Wexford campus development and we are committed to progressing this project within our capital programme as part of our new Strategic Plan.

“I will do everything that I can to ensure that SETU’s facilities, including here in Wexford, are fit for purpose to facilitate growth, provide an excellent university experience for our students, and support productive R&D engagement with our external partners.”

Professor Campbell said she welcomed the opportunity to build further on the partnership with County Wexford Chamber, concluding with a request of Chamber members: “I will also be looking to you to support these plans – there are a myriad of ways that you can lend your support to SETU – through philanthropy, corporate sponsorship, by offering internships to our students, by seeking out SETU for research and innovation, and by promoting the South East as a university region in your professional networks.”

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