2011/2012 Colleagues, The first semester is now advanced considerably, with preChristmas exams the next major milestone on the academic calendar. The process to appoint the next President is well underway with interviews scheduled for the week commencing 21st November. The Governing Body meets on the 6th December and it is expected that the Selection Board’s recommendation will be formally ratified on that date. The past few weeks have been characterised by some bad news. The unfortunate accident at the entrance to the plumbing and brick-laying workshops, Applied Technology campus, resulted in the hospitalisation of one of our staff members. This highlights how unexpectedly such incidents can occur. Also, the untimely death of one of our Erasmus students during the mid-term break was a stark reminder of how a fun-filled holiday can end so tragically. It is important to acknowledge the tremendous work of all those in the Institute who supported staff, students and family members in dealing with such shocking accidents. The Government’s decision to withdraw funding for the Public Private Partnerships represented a huge disappointment to the Institute particularly as we were so close to having builders on site. However, in recognising the serious fiscal difficulties that the country faces we must redouble our efforts to ensuring
Postage Protocols The An Post postal machine and postbox have been relocated to the middle atrium of the main building, outside the entrance to the auditorium, just opposite the WITCard office. The postal machine and postbox allows you to purchase stamps for large and small items of post and to post letters and parcels. Please use this machine for all personal items of post. In addition, there are a number of Post Offices close to WIT campuses– Lisduggan Post Office on Brown’s Road services the Main Campus and Applied Technology Campus; Poleberry and Barrack Street branches are both within easy reach of College Street Campus; and the Cleaboy Post Office is convenient to the West Campus. The Institute’s postal system is strictly for business post only. All correspondence/packages sent through the Institute’s postal system must be of an official nature only and must include “return to sender” details. These details should specify the office to which the package is to be returned in case of non-delivery, but should not include the name of an individual. Thank you for your co-operation with this matter.
Issue 2 we continue to meet the needs of our staff, students and stakeholders. During my time as Acting President, I have been afforded the opportunity to chair meetings of the Institute’s Academic Council. Prior to that, I was one of the very few members of Executive Board not a member of Academic Council and, consequently, did not have a chance to fully appreciate its work. I have been hugely impressed by the commitment of Council members and how effectively the detailed work of Council is managed through its sub-committee structures. Attendance levels have been quite outstanding while robust debate has been a healthy feature of Council meetings. A roadmap to plot the way towards a Technological University model for the IOT sector is being progressed. The Higher Education Authority has embarked on a consultative process in advance of issuing key guideline documents. This process included the publication of draft documents, Criteria for Designation toTechnological University Status and Consolidation Leading to Mergers. The Institute has been actively engaged in providing feedback on these documents. It is expected that a final set of guidelines will issue before Christmas which will more fully inform the Institute’s thinking as it intensifies its engagement with Institute of Technology, Carlow. Mr. Tony McFeely Acting President How it works: 1. Select your language: English, Gaeilge, or Polski 2. Use the touch-screen to buy your stamp 3. Or weigh your item and follow the online guide to calculate the postage 4. Pay and print the postage stamp 5. Post your item in the post box beside the machine.
The machine accepts: 1. Debit/Credit card 2. Notes 3. Coins