A recently published report has found that Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT) has the highest economic impact of all third level colleges in Ireland.
The LYIT campus
Essentially, every euro invested in LYIT creates an economic boost worth more than four euro. This means investment in LYIT has a greater economic impact nationally than a similar investment at any of the country’s Universities or at any of the other Institutes of Technology.
The TIONCHAR PROJECT examines the gross economic output of each euro spent on higher education. LYIT has the highest of all the multipliers (4.25) calculated for the country’s seven Universities and fourteen Institutes of Technology.
LYIT President Paul Hannigan said the Institute is a significant contributor to economic development in the region.
“We have seen significant cuts in third-level education funding in recent years. Despite this, we have increased student numbers and delivered new courses to meet changing needs of the marketplace. This has been accomplished with the commitment of staff to provide quality education, however, it is not sustainable long term. With new international links established in the US and China, we want to further develop student mobility both outward and inward.”
“The report shows that investment at LYIT has the greatest knock-on effect, which has repercussions for future budgets since the reverse is also true, a reduction in state funding for LYIT will have a much higher negative economic impact on the region and nationally. I hope these findings will be taken into account in the allocation of future budgets for third-level education.”
One of the authors of the report, Brian Lucey, Professor of Finance at Trinity College Dublin, said, “Irish Higher Education delivers a significant ‘bang for the buck’. Letterkenny shows that this is delivered by all sorts of institutions – IoTs and universities, urban and regional, all play a part in this. Letterkenny IT is delivering quality education and a high economic impact and should be recognised and rewarded for doing so.”
