Waterford Institute of Technology - Overview

Waterford Institute of Technology is one of the largest institutes of technology in Ireland. It was established as a Regional Technical College in 1970, and was the first to be awarded Institute of Technology status in 1998. Over the period of this process, and as a result of an international quality review, the Institute was granted delegated authority by the National Council for Educational Awards to confer its own Certificates and Diplomas.

The Institute now confers its own awards at all levels from Higher Certificate to PhD, subject to standards set and monitored by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) which was established by the Government in June 2001, under the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act, 1999. The quality and standard of Irish educational awards is fully recognised globally. All Irish awards are included in the national framework of qualifications maintained by the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland.

Location & Facilities

Campuses

The Institute has 4 campuses: Cork Road, College Street, West Campus (Carriganore) and the Applied Technology Building.

Main Campus

The main campus is located on the N25 Cork Road. It was established in 1970 and houses the majority of the institutes departments. The Engineering, Science, Business and Health Science Schools are located on this campus. The buildings on this campus are: The original ’69 building, the ’77 extension, Luke Wadding library, IT Building, Nursing Building, College Hall, Tourism and Leisure Building, “T-Block”. In late 2005 the Minister for Education and Science Mary Hannafin announced four new buildings (an Engineering & Science Building, an Architecture Building, a Business & Enterprise Building and a Tourism & Leisure Building) as part of a €1.2 billion investment in higher education. It is unsure how many of these will be located on this campus. The Tourism & Leisure Building was located here.

College Street Campus

The College Street Campus is the second largest campus currently. The buildings were purchased from the Good Shepherd Order of Nuns. The once convent houses a beautiful Pugin-designed chapel which is used for concerts and ceremonies. The Humanities and Education schools are officially located here, but are in reality spread between this and the main campus, and the College Street Library.

Carriganore Campus

The Carriganore campus, or West Campus, is located outside the city near the Waterford Bypass. It is the goal of the Institute that this campus become the colleges main campus in years to come. So far it has the Arclabs Research and Innovation Centre, the National Biodiversity Centre, Carriganore House (an old mansion now providing office and meeting space). New sports facilities are about to be finished, and the construction of a new postgraduate and postdoctoral research building has started in December 2009.

Applied Technology Building

The Applied Technology Building, which is on lease from IDA Ireland, is located in Waterford’s Industrial Estate. This is just a 2 minute walk from the back of the main campus. While thought by most students to be a “spill-over” of the main campus, due to its close proximity, it is officially a separate campus. It houses engineering workshops and technology based facilities as well as the Careers Centre and the Engineering Research area.