Our Case

The South East of Ireland sustains a population of 460,000 people. It is also the largest region in the entire island that is not served by university facilities. A proposal has recently been made by the governing body of WIT to re-designate the Institute to university status, thereby providing a full university facility for the South East of Ireland. The aim of this campaign and the goal of The Friends of the University for the South East is to help promote the case for a university, educate people as to what a university means to them, and ultimately help to deliver a university for the South East.

In addition to the South East being the only area of its size without a university, the South East has also dramatically under-performed, economically, with respect to the rest of the country. The level of start-up businesses is way down on the national scale and in recent times has shown decreases. Investment in the region, especially foreign direct investment (FDI) is way below that seen in other cities and regions that are supported by a university campus. It is a fact that a university for the South East will significantly improve the economic profile of the region, promote growth, and also increase job prospects for every single person living within the region. These facts are backed up by numerous reports that have been written specifically on the subject of a university for the South East and also the economic impact of universities in general.

Currently the South East is experiencing a "brain drain" whereby the best performing students are leaving the region to attend university in other parts of the country. Many of these students never return due to poor job prospects and as such the region declines without the presence of entrepreneurial leadership that comes from such individuals. Having a university within the region will not only keep our highest performers here but it will also attract others from the national and international stage to help our region develop. Most importantly, a university facility will provide options to people in terms of education, employment, and diversity of culture; options that until now have not existed in the South East. With almost 24,500 people unemployed in the South East as of January 2008, we can no longer afford to stand by as this economic decline continues - the university must be delivered!