Director of Further Education and Training (FET) at Tipperary ETB, Colin Cummins, with Minister for Further and Higher Education, Patrick O’Donovan, at Tipperary ETB’s Kickham Barracks campus in Clonmel. TUS has welcomed the announcement that the next phase of development of the College of The Future in Clonmel has been given the green light by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Patrick O’Donovan TD. Tipperary County Council purchased the Kickham barracks site in the centre of Clonmel for the purpose of the development. The Council will closely collaborate with TUS and Tipperary ETB in delivering the project. Commenting on the announcement made on Thursday 24 October, President of TUS, Professor Vincent Cunnane, said: "Collaboration is in the DNA of TUS, and we share in the Minister’s delight at today’s announcement." He added: "This is a clear endorsement of the power of partnership in Further and Higher Education, and indeed is an historic juncture for Clonmel and for Further and Higher Education in Ireland, with Clonmel becoming the first home for a co-located Further and Higher Education campus." Vice President Jimmy Browne of Campus Services and Capital Development at TUS also said: "Today is a landmark day for Clonmel, for TUS and for Higher and Further Education in Ireland. This project brings together a number of unique aspects, with the repurposing of a historic town centre site which was part of the fabric of Clonmel and Tipperary for generations now becoming an exemplar of a completely new approach to Education provision. "This innovation will bring new life to this campus for decades to come." READ NEXT: 'Increased risk to patients' as 50 nursing posts unfilled at Tipperary University Hospital
PICTURES: Huge day for Tipperary as next phase of landmark development gets go-ahead
The first of its kind in Ireland, this development will lead to the creation of a new kind of campus which will host both further and higher education students.
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(Back row L to R) Cllr John Fitzgerald; Cllr Roger Kennedy, Chair of Tipperary ETB; Jimmy Browne, TUS; Colin Cummins, Tipperary ETB Director of FET; Seamus Hoyne, TUS. (Front row) Cllr Michael Murphy, Mayor of Clonmel Borough District; Patrick O’Donovan TD; Minister for Further and Higher Education; Nessa White, SOLAS; Bernadette Cullen, Tipperary ETB Chief Executive.
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Minister Patrick O’Donovan walking the site of the proposed FET College of the Future campus at Kickham Barracks in Clonmel.
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Minister Patrick O’Donovan walking the site of the proposed FET College of the Future campus at Kickham Barracks in Clonmel.
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Minister Patrick O’Donovan speaking at the announcement that the FET College of the Future proposal for Kickham Barracks in Clonmel will now move to the detailed design phase.
