National College of Ireland

National College of Ireland (NCI) or Coláiste Náisiúnta na hÉireann (CNÉ) in Irish is a not-for-profit, state-aided third-level education institution in Dublin. Founded as a Jesuit venture in 1951 along with Trade Unions, it is now an autonomous college, offering full and part-time courses from undergraduate to postgraduate level, in areas related to, among others, psychology, finance, business and computing. All courses are delivered from the IFSC campus in Dublin and across a network of regional centres.

Not to be confused with National University of Ireland.

National College of Ireland
Former names
National College of Industrial Relations
The Catholic Workers College
TypePublic
EstablishedFebruary 1951 (February 1951)
ChairmanDenis O'Brien
PresidentGina Quin
Administrative staff
130 full-time
220 part-time
Students5,000
Location
IFSC, Dublin
,
Ireland

CampusUrban
0.8 acres (0.32 ha)
Colours
AffiliationsHETAC (2001-present)
NCEA (1976-2001)
Jesuits (1951-1998)
Websitewww.ncirl.ie

NCI's specialist areas include psychology, human resource management, data analytics, management, cloud computing, fintech, accountancy, cybersecurity, education, and finance. NCI is also known for its free public events which include the dot conf digital and web technology conference, the Legends in Your Lunchtime series, the Seven Deadly Skills, In the Psychologists' Chair and Marketing Mavericks.

History
IFSC Campus

In 1951, the National College of Ireland started out as the Catholic Workers College, Dublin in Sandford Lodge, Ranelagh.[1] Founded by Fr. Edward Coyne S.J., in association with Trade Unionists such as Walter Beirne[2] others involved in the college in its initial years included Professor Thomas A. Finlay S.J., and Rev. Edmund Kent S.J. among others.

Lectures were led by a handful of dedicated Jesuits two nights a week, with 103 registered students in the first year. Within 10 years, student numbers had dramatically increased. Links with trade unions deepened, as did formal collaborations with employer and management groups.

By 1966, nearly 1,300 students from trade union and business management backgrounds were learning together at the re-branded National College of Industrial Relations (NCIR).

In 1976 the college achieved recognition by the states National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA), the forerunner of HETAC, for a number of its programmes.[3]

The college again re-branded as the National College of Ireland (NCI) in 1998, with an expanded National Campus Network, and an array of outreach programmes across the country.

As the College continued to grow, the land and buildings at Sandford Road were transferred by the Jesuits to the NCI Board of Management.

The College's Higher Certificate, Bachelor, Higher Diploma, and Master courses are accredited by the Irish government's Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) ; a number of other short term courses are unaccredited.

At the turn of the century, NCI relocated to a 0.8 hectare site on Mayor Street in the Dublin Docklands. A€25,000,000 fundraising campaign resulted in the development of a modern campus including 53 residential apartments accommodating 286 students and a new Business and Research Building.

In 2009 and 2010 the College ran a series of free debates called the Insight Debate Series, organised in partnership with The Irish Times and the radio station Newstalk 106-108 FM. The college's Legends in your Lunchtime series saw public figures such as Ben Dunne, Willie Walsh and Giovanni Trapattoni interviewed live by a Newstalk presenter.[4] In 2012 the College's chairman Denis O'Brien and Jeffrey Ullman, emeritus professor from Stanford University, opened the NCI's Cloud Competency Centre.[5]

Courses

Both full and part-time, undergraduate and postgraduate courses in computing, business, Early Childhood Education, psychology, data analytics, marketing, digital marketing, cybersecurity, human resource management, cloud computing, accountancy, and finance are offered through the College's Schools of Business and Computing. A number of professional development programmes are also offered. A full list is available on the college website.[6]

Presidents

In February 2010 Dr. Phillip Matthews joined as president of the college, succeeding Dr. Paul Mooney.[8][9][10] In August 2016, Dr. Matthews was succeeded by Gina Quin, the former CEO of Dublin Chamber of Commerce.[11]

Honorary Fellowship

The National College of Ireland as did before as the National College or Industrial Relations awards the Honorary Fellowship

  • 1988 - Sheila Conroy - trade unionist and president of The People's College[12]
  • 1998 - Dan McCauley
  • 1998 - Con Murphy - Chair of ESB Industrial Council
  • 2005 - Dr. John Hopcroft - computer scientist.[13]
  • 2009 - Rev. John Brady SJ - economist, who worked for the college for thirty years[14]
  • 2009 - Ken Doherty - former snooker world champion
  • 2009 - Maurice Healy - CEO of the Healy group
  • 2015 - Rev. Dr. Noel Barber SJ - who served on the board of the NCI

References
  1. From Catholic Workers' College to National College of Ireland 1951-1998 by Thomas Morrissey, S.J., Vol. 87, No. 347, Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, Irish Province of the Society of Jesus, 1998.
  2. "Obituary: Mr W. Beirne", Irish Times, 30 October 1959
  3. Citation for Reverend John Brady SJ on the occasion of the conferring of an Honorary Fellowship by the National College of Ireland Archived 8 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, 20 November 2009.
  4. Legends in your Lunchtime Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Newstalk 106-108FM.
  5. Cloud Competency Centre National College of Ireland, Cloud Competency Centre. September 2012.
  6. "National College of Ireland > Courses | NCI". ncirl.ie. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  7. Citation for Reverend John Brady SJ on the occasion of the conferring of an Honorary Fellowship by the National College of Ireland Archived 8 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine , 20 November 2009.
  8. "College names former rugby star as president". irishtimes.com. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  9. "When the former captain of the Irish team rings you, you answer the phone". irishtimes.com. 20 April 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  10. "Phillip Matthews". frontrowspeakers.com. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  11. Mark, Paul. "Gina Quin to become National College of Ireland president". The Irish Times. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  12. Sheila Conroy History The Peoples College
  13. Hopcroft receives honorary fellowship and IEEE award News Computer and Information Science, Cornell University.
  14. Jesuit Economist Honoured News, www.jesuit.ie

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.