A €50m third level institution is being planned for Swords, following a government announcement last week.
The proposed ‘College of the Future’ will cater for 1,000 students and is one of a number of new third level colleges being rolled out by Education and Training Boards as part of a national strategy.
The government have given the green light to the project but many aspects of it are not clear yet.
It’s not known where the new college may be located or exactly what courses will be available in the new facility or when it is likely to take on its first students.
The College of the Future is a new concept being brought forward to provide a better link between school, the workplace and university.
It is proposed that these colleges will provide QQI Level 5 and 6 courses and that many of the courses will allow students to progress to jobs or to continue their studies in a University.
Commenting on the news, Cllr Ian Carey said:
“This is really excellent news for Swords. With plans for the town to continue to expand and the connectivity of the Metrolink coming in the next decade Swords is a perfect location to provide a third level college.
“Swords is one of the youngest towns in the country and it stands to reason that we should try and meet the demand for third level courses in Swords and prevent the need for travel. Many councillors and TDs, myself included, have called for Swords to be included as a location for a further education institution and I’m glad the government has listened.”
