Athlone Institute of Technology

Athlone Institute of Technology
Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Luain

Athlone Institute of Technology

Athlone Institute of Technology
Former name
 Athlone Regional Technical College
Motto Connect and Discover
Type Institutes of Technology in Ireland
Established 1970
President Professor Ciarán Ó Catháin
Academic staff
 256
Students 5,400+
Location Athlone, County Westmeath, N37 HD68, Ireland
Coordinates: 53°25′05″N 7°54′17″W / 53.41794°N 7.90462°W / 53.41794; -7.90462
Campus 18 hectares (44 acres)
Colours Blue & White
Website www.ait.ie

Athlone Institute of Technology (also known as AIT) (Irish: Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Luain) is a higher education institution in the midlands of Ireland. The institution was established in 1970 as Athlone Regional Technical College.

History

The college operated under the management of County Westmeath Vocational Education Committee (VEC) from its establishment until 1993, when legislative changes established it as a self-governing entity. Five years later it underwent a name change by statutory order to Athlone Institute of Technology. The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) granted the institute delegated authority in 2004 to develop, design, and validate its own courses, to conduct examinations, and to confer its own academic awards up to and including Level 9 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).

A high proportion of students are from overseas. This number split approximately evenly between European and non-European students, China being the largest source of international students. Recent agreements have been signed with the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to bring in more students.

In the years since 2000, AIT has secured more than €23 million in research funding. This has been obtained from a broad range of national and international funding agencies, including the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI), Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Health Research Board (HRB), the Technological Sector Research (TSR) programme, as well as Enterprise Ireland’s Applied Research Enhancement Programme.

Among the new purpose-built facilities introduced are the hospitality, tourism and leisure studies building (2003), nursing and health science building (2005), midlands innovation and research centre (2005), engineering and informatics building (2010), and postgraduate research hub (2010).

AIT International Arena

An international athletics arena with an overall building floor area of 9,715 m2 was opened in early 2013. The arena can house 2,000 spectators and was constructed at a cost of €10 million.[1]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "AIT International Arena - Athlone Institute of Technology". Retrieved 14 November 2015.

External links

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