Strategy 2022-2025

Irish higher education is a success story. Participation rates are amongst the highest in the world and the high standards of our universities are recognised internationally. This must be protected. The supply of highly educated graduates is a major element of Ireland’s ongoing economic development.

The system is, however, facing capacity constraints as the pressure on student admissions is set to continue through the 2020s in the face of a large demographic bulge. The IUA seeks to support its members in meeting those capacity constraints in the years ahead in order to secure the future sustainability of the sector.

The IUA will:

• Prioritise the need to secure the required resources to cater for a growing population of both full‑time and part‑time lifelong learners, including significantly improved student/staff ratios.
• Seek to secure the required investment in capital expenditure for both physical and digital infrastructure to cater for the known growth in student numbers.
• Advocate strongly for the full implementation of Funding the Future to address the gap in funding acknowledged by government and underpin recurring expenditure in member universities.
• Push for the growth in annual research investment needed to bring Ireland up to comparable levels of funding with key European competitors.

Internationally, the most successful universities are those with the greatest autonomy. Much of the success of our universities can be attributed to their distinct individual features and missions. It is essential that their agility as autonomous institutions is protected and nurtured while they actively contribute to national objectives as public universities.

Highly skilled staff are central to the successful delivery of the university mission. It is critically important that universities secure the resources to build on the existing strong base of skilled staff and that they have the flexibility to deploy those staff in an agile manner that best delivers for students.

The IUA will:

• Actively promote best‑practice governance and accountability standards through its collaborative network.
• Represent members’ interests in the design and implementation of governance mechanisms such as Annual Governance Statements and Oversight Agreements under the new HEA Bill 2022.
• Provide the capacity for sharing best practice on staff development and training through the university network.
• Advocate for the removal of restrictive regulatory regimes such as the Employment Control Framework in order to improve the student experience and enhance the agility and innovative capacity of our universities.

We work to achieve changes to national higher education policy, practice and funding regimes that will enable our member universities to continue to provide the highest standards of education to students at graduate and post‑graduate level. Fostering a world‑class student experience is a core objective.

The IUA will:

• Facilitate our members’ response to the high‑skills talent needs of the country through ongoing advocacy and engagement with public and private stakeholders across government, semi‑State and enterprise.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of national talent development and skills policies through participation in the National Skills Council and other key fora.
• Lead the sector’s response to the growing need for more flexible lifelong learning programmes including the enhanced use of digital opportunities, supported by adapted public funding mechanisms.
• Deliver the MicroCreds.ie platform, the first of its kind in Europe, to provide a comprehensive offering of university‑accredited micro‑credentials programmes.
• Support the development and enhancement of the skilled talent pool in our universities which is critical to delivering a quality student experience.
• Support the expansion of the apprenticeship model including executive or graduate apprenticeship programmes.

We will seek to secure the systemic changes and the necessary resources to widen access to third‑level, especially for socially disadvantaged students and those with disabilities.

The IUA will:

• Support our universities in increasing access for students with disabilities and
  from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.
• Continue to manage the operation of the DARE and HEAR schemes and work to continually improve criteria and mechanisms to target those that are most disadvantaged.
• Contribute to policy change to provide for increased emphasis on part‑time and flexible lifelong learning opportunities.
• Support and enhance progression for FET award‑holders into university programmes and facilitate improved pathways within a unified system.
• Work with government and the HEA to ensure that appropriate funding mechanisms are in place to support access and participation.

Our universities play a key role in supporting regional development and have deep connections with enterprise, the community and voluntary sector.

As globally competitive institutions, they seek to continue to deepen partnerships and collaboration across Europe and the world.

The IUA will:

• Seek to strengthen links with enterprise through collaborative activities and engagement with IDA, Enterprise Ireland, National and Regional Skills fora, Skillnet Ireland, Ibec, British Ireland Chamber of Commerce, American Chamber of Commerce Ireland, and other key agencies and organisations.
• Build our sectoral collaboration with communities and the voluntary sector through Campus Engage and StudentVolunteer.ie.
• Strive to build the reputation of Ireland as an attractive provider of higher education and research in liaison with Education in Ireland and the HEA.
• Promote student and staff mobility through enhanced participation in Erasmus+ and other mobility programmes.
• Participate in relevant European projects and initiatives through the European University Association and other networks.
• Nurture the growth and impact of alliances through the European Universities Initiative.