DkIT Welcomes Minister Simon Harris on Campus

Dundalk Institute of Technology were delighted to welcome Minister for Higher Education, Simon Harris on to campus last week. Simon’s brief visit to the Institute was part of a whistle stop tour he undertook of the Northeast that day. The Minister met with student union reps along with a selection of engineering, science and nursing/midwifery students. He also addressed teaching staff along with the President, Michael Mulvey, and the chair of the Governing Body, Patrick Malone. In the course of his visit Minister Harris viewed the progress on the new state of the art STEM extension which is due to open in October 2022.

During the Ministers meeting with student groups, he was presented with a copy of the recently published book Unmasked; ‘Experiences of nursing students during COVID-19’ – a unique insight into the experiences of nursing students during an unprecedented time. The collection was created by Lucy Bolger, a final year DkIT General Nursing student. Lucy graduated in October 2021 and is now a staff nurse at Beaumont Hospital. Whilst in the Health and science building, Simon took this moment to congratulate all involved in the Institutes’ recent DELTA award, which was won by the Institute’s Section of Midwifery, led by Dr Anita Byrne. This award received by the Institute, was one of only three awarded to national discipline teams from the Irish higher education institutions. This esteemed national award is granted to discipline groups who demonstrate a record of excellence in teaching and learning enhancement and who commit to an ongoing, clearly articulated, shared process of continued development.

DkIT President, Michael Mulvey PhD said ‘We were delighted to welcome Minister Simon Harris onto our Campus, which gave us the opportunity to showcase some of our Institute’s facilities, this visit also allowed Simon to meet some of our fantastic students. We look forward to inviting the Minster for an extended official visit in the future’