THE first phase of a €200mn redevelopment of Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) will commence within a few weeks. The college will look to connections in Silicon Valley in the US for support in funding. The project, which will see the college expand on the north side and within the city centre, is estimated to be completed by 2030. LIT President, Dr. Maria Hinfelaar told the Limerick Post that while all of the funding is not in place yet, €20 million has been raised through capital development funding and prudent saving.
“Basically we have been saving up for this project for some time, and while some funding is from the Department of Education, most is from our own resources” said Dr. Hinfelaar who confirmed that additional space is badly needed at LIT.
“We are currently at 95% occupancy, with the average for a college at 80%”.
She said that the new campus will not only be an extension of the existing main building in Moylish and the art college on Clare Street, but will include the addition of new buildings.
“We always get excellent reviews from an academic and a staff perspective but we always fall down on the quality of learning space.
“The redevelopment will include space for a new library, civic and social space and room for group and project work, that is currently so limited.
“With such an increase in the number of children at primary schools and a growing catchment, we need this project to bring us into the 21st century; there are currently 6,027 students here and we expect that to reach 9,000 by 2030”.
Dr Hinfelaar, who has been engaging with the city council on the undertaking, said there is agreement that it will be beneficial to extend the campus in the heart of the city.
Confirming that the project will create “significant employment,” she said it would be unfair to estimate the number of jobs that will come on stream.
“There has been speculation about the number of jobs to be created but it’s unfair to estimate. However there will be many jobs in management, construction, external and internal work and more”.
Along with drawing on capital development funding and organising fundraising drives, the college has turned to Silicon Valley, with which it has several links, for support.
Continued on page 4.
