Home/Leading from the “North West of Ireland” at the 32nd EURASHE Annual Conference

Leading from the “North West of Ireland” at the 32nd EURASHE Annual Conference

10th Jun 2023
Leading from the “North West of Ireland” at the 32nd EURASHE Annual Conference
North West Tertiary Education cluster (NWTEC) recently celebrated being recognised as a model of best practice at a European level, lifting the Professional Higher Education Award for Regional Dimension for their presentation on, “Leading from the North West of Ireland” at the 32nd EURASHE Annual Conference. The conference theme was Skills for Europe – Mobilising Education for the Green and Digital Transitions and was held at the University Politechnica of Bucharest in June.

EURASHE, the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education was established in 1990 and has been working since to strengthen the sector on national and European levels.  Paul Hannigan, Head of College at ATU Donegal, has served on the EURASHE board on two occasions and it was a fitting tribute that Paul would be acknowledged and recognised in this way for his sterling work in promoting balanced regional development across the North West City Region for over 20 years.

Stepping down from his role as EURASHE board member and handing over the reins to his colleague Dr Liam Brown, Vice President of Technological University of the Shannon, Paul reflects on his time on the board and in particular the benefits of being part of such a vibrant European network.

 

Paul Hannigan featured standing infront of PROFESSIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION IN EUROPE Pull up next to colleagues JoAnne Kilmartin and Wendy Gibbons.
Paul Hannigan: “Eurashe has been an important voice for Professional Higher Education in Europe over the years.  Ireland has been at the forefront in innovation in this area and it was a great privilege for me to be elected to the Board on two occasions.  It was particularly pleasing to sign off from the Board in Bucharest winning the award for our presentation with my colleagues JoAnne Kilmartin and Wendy Gibbons.”

Paul accepted the award on behalf of the North West Tertiary Education Cluster, a strategic alliance between four publicly funded tertiary education institutions in the North West City Region encompassing ATU, Ulster University, North West Regional College and Donegal Education and Training board.

Over the years, the project has seen a significant impact on the North West region. The cluster partners work closely with Industry representatives through a newly established Smart Industry Board responding to skills gaps in the region and work in collaboration to develop pathways and progression routes for students between further and higher education.  The cluster aims to boost the economy of the North West City Region by strengthening the local skills base for current and future jobs and reduce the number of students leaving the region for what they perceive as better opportunities elsewhere.

Paul is responsible for cross border engagement across ATU and sees the cluster as having the potential to establish the North West Region as a significant growth centre for Ireland and Northern Ireland on the European and global stage.