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Institute Presidents in Profile
President in Profile
This is an exciting time for higher education in the region, the establishment of a new Technological University comprising LYIT, GMIT and IT Sligo will open up new opportunities for the founding institutes and for the people of the wider West and North-West Region.
Paul Hannigan has been President of Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT) since January 1998. He graduated from UCD with a Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Business Studies and began work in Dundalk IT in 1987.
In 1992, Paul became Head of Department of Business Studies at Dundalk, until his appointment to Letterkenny. He subsequently completed an MSc in Management Practice at Trinity College Dublin (TCD). In January 2008, he was appointed as President of LYIT for a further ten years. Paul commenced a new five-year contract as LYIT President in January 2018. Paul is a former member of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and a former Director of Central Applications Office (CAO). He currently serves on the Donegal Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) and the North West Regional Executive of IBEC. He is a board member of Eurashe, the European Association for Technological Higher Education Institutions. He has also served as one of two first time independent Directors of Swim Ireland from 2016- 2020. Paul has been involved with the TU application submission process since the publication of the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 in 2011. He has contributed strategically to the development of the CUA submission through his leadership at an institutional level in LYIT but also at a collaborative level with IT Sligo and GMIT.
President in Profile
Joining forces with our partners in IT Sligo and Letterkenny IT as a new Technological University will not only lead to enhanced choice, flexibility and access for all kinds of learners, but also generate the critical mass in research and innovation capacity that will make a real difference to regional enterprise. This includes our significant cultural and creative sectors.
Dr Orla Flynn, President of GMIT
Orla commenced her role as President of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology in March 2020, having been Vice President for External Affairs at Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) for the previous six years.
Prior to that she led the CIT Crawford College of Art and Design for 8 years following periods as Head of School of Humanities (3 years) and Head of Department of Media Communications (5 years) at CIT. She was a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Computing for 13 years before that at CIT. Orla holds undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in Mathematical Physics and Computer Science from University College Cork, an MA in Management in Education from WIT, and a PhD from the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick. She is a Director on the Boards of THEA, HEANet, and Galway Chamber of Commerce. Orla has been a member of Working Group 1 (WG1) since joining GMIT and has participated fully in the Steering Group and the IR fora. She is Chair of the GMIT Academic Council, a member of the GMIT Governing Body, and the CUA Joint GB Subcommittee.
President in Profile
Dr Brendan Mc Cormack,
President of IT Sligo
In collaboration with our CUA partners, IT Sligo is really looking forward to being part of the new TU for the Northern and Western region. As a new university, together we will be able to offer much greater access to higher education to everyone across the region and further afield through our online and blended learning platform. A key objective for us is employee education, ensuring that the talent of the workforce is maintained at the highest level so that our SMEs can compete globally.
Brendan has led IT Sligo through a significant period of growth which has seen a student increase from 5,800 to 8,500 in 4 years. Under his leadership, IT Sligo has been awarded the Athena Swan Bronze award, Green Flag award, and regional engagement funding.
He was awarded a BE from UCD in 1980, an MS from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), USA in 1983, and a PhD from UCD in 1997. With 6 years industry experience in product design/manufacturing, he lectured in the Faculty of Engineering at UCD for 10 years. He has published 200 articles in medical device design, biomaterials and biomechanics over 20 years and is named on 6 patents. He also co-founded the UCD-TCD Bioengineering Research Centre. During his time at IT Sligo, he has worked in various positions including Head of Department, Head of School, and Registrar. He was also the first CUA Project Manager from 2012-2016. Brendan has provided strategic leadership, systematically bringing IT Sligo Governing Body and Joint GB along the TU process. As a CUA Registrar, he developed the initial plans to create the CUA following from the Hunt Report. During his tenure as CUA Project Manager he led with the CUA submission and approval of Stage 1 of the TU designation process. Since 2016, Brendan has led IT Sligo in achieving the TU metrics, preparing the submission, and has fully participated as a member of Working Group 1.
