Mary Immaculate College and University of Limerick open talks on creating closer ties
THE UNIVERSITY of Limerick and Mary Immaculate College are to open talks on closer alignment into the future.
But the president of the teacher-training college at the South Circular Road has ruled out a formal merger with the third-level institution in Castletroy.
As the academic year came to a close, Prof Eugene Wall, who leads Mary Immaculate College, told staff talks were planned regarding what its spokesperson described as “a closer structural alignment between the two higher education institutions.”
A spokesperson for the university also confirmed this, adding: “Mary Immaculate College (MIC) and University of Limerick (UL) have developed close working relationships with UL accrediting degrees for MIC and also collaborate on a number of higher education projects in the region and nationally.”
Limerick Live understands the talks between the two educational centres are at a very early stage.
“A lot of it relates to the fact Mary Immaculate College is not a university. There are drawbacks to this, in that the college cannot apply for funding streams and rankings. Closer alignment with UL means these might be possible in the future,” said a well-placed source.
There were fears among some staff that Mary Immaculate College could ultimately merge with the University of Limerick.
But Prof Wall told staff on a number of occasions throughout the 90-minute event held at the end of term that this is not something that was on the cards.