Advocating an independent cross-border university for the North West, the return of Magee College to Derry and independent oversight of the North's universities
Ulster University attempting to blame their near-bankruptcy on Magee expansion - to which they contributed ZERO capital - and away from their unnecessary and unsanctioned £400m new campus in North Belfast.
Coleraine and Derry must stand together and challenge Belfast greed.
Concerns have been raised about the impact job losses at Ulster University would have on its Coleraine campus and the wider economy on the north coast. https://t.co/YbdBxtSfXo
NEW: Department of Education heavily redacts Minister’s letters to Head of Civil Service, after hiding them for more than year
The Department continues to conceal the bulk of what appear to be tense letters from Paul Givan to Jayne Brady.
https://t.co/kv7PgLy2Kx
UU management face a crisis here. If they cut in Derry or Coleraine, they risk losing City Deal funding from both constituencies - and also the wrath of the minister who is committed to regional development. If they cut in Belfast, they risk the viability of the new campus.
UPDATE ⚠️
@ulsteruni Vice Chancellor has not bothered to respond to the Derry & Strabane Council's motion opposing 450 redundancies
UU is a key employer, education centre, civic hub & economic driver in the Derry & Strabane area. The UU VC should respond as a matter of urgency
UU management face a crisis here. If they cut in Derry or Coleraine, they risk losing City Deal funding from both constituencies - and also the wrath of the minister who is committed to regional development. If they cut in Belfast, they risk the viability of the new campus.
@UCU_Ulster members, our latest news letter has just been pinged to your inboxes alongside notification/ a link of our upcoming branch meeting on 5th June ✊❤️
Now imagine a system with no oversight, such as we have here in Northern Ireland.
Our case is worse again as our entire HE sector is bankrupt because of unchecked overspending, but Dublin has invested properly, targetting HE as a priority, so rendering NI very much second-class.
@MichaelRosenYes@GAHargan@RIAdawson Currently several thousand Donegal students go to Belfast, Galway and Dublin every year. Derry would make more sense for them if the proper (independent) U was available.
Now imagine a system with no oversight, such as we have here in Northern Ireland.
Our case is worse again as our entire HE sector is bankrupt because of unchecked overspending, but Dublin has invested properly, targetting HE as a priority, so rendering NI very much second-class.
@MichaelRosenYes@GAHargan@RIAdawson Derry is viewed very much as an Irish city within the North - and has always attracted steadily from Donegal (only four miles away). Southern fees are about half of NI ones but the South has recently invested 40m in Derry HE and has indicated it is open to help further.
@MichaelRosenYes@GAHargan All-Ireland HE structures. The @RIAdawson has a blueprint for a new cross-border centred in Derry, which we believe must be adopted. London and Dublin have both promised 10k HE students in Derry by 2030. They need to become directly involved now as Stormont hasn’t the money.
Is Minister @CArchibald_SF considering the dissolution of UU?
Very important - potentially epoch-shaping - update from the @ColeraineChron.
https://t.co/h760g9gEsP
Is Minister @CArchibald_SF considering the dissolution of UU?
Very important - potentially epoch-shaping - update from the @ColeraineChron.
https://t.co/h760g9gEsP
@RCampbell88@CArchibald_SF@ColeraineChron UU doesn’t own the buildings and land, Magee/Derry does. UU was formed in 1984 as a tripartite merger/partnership and not from the centre/Belfast out.
The @RIAdawson report gives the blueprint for the way forward.
Handled properly, this could be the saving of Derry.
The @RIAdawson blueprint - of a cross-border NWU, independent of Belfast - is now firmly on the agenda.