Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council and Co-Chair of the North West Strategic Growth Partnership Cllr Patricia Logue has today welcomed the announcement of significant cross border funding for Ulster University’s Magee Campus in Derry to further expand higher education on both sides of the border.
The £44.5m investment from the Shared Island fund was announced today by the Irish Government for a new teaching and student services building at the Derry campus.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste Micheál Martin, Further & Higher Education Minister Simon Harris and Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration & Youth Roderic O’Gorman confirmed €56 million in funding for several significant cross-border investments which includes this €44.5 million to build a new teaching and student services building at Ulster University’s Derry~Londonderry campus.
The new teaching building will provide additional lecture and seminar spaces, computer labs and on-campus student services. It will also free up space in other buildings on campus for teaching and research activity.
This investment at Ulster University in Derry will underpin teaching and research cooperation between Ulster University and Atlantic Technological University-Donegal. It will also allow the four North West Tertiary Education Cluster institutions to work more closely together in providing further and higher education in the region.
Mayor Logue, welcoming the investment said it was excellent news for the North West City Region saying it can be directly attributed to the important work carried out by the North West Strategic Partnership.
The Partnership consists of senior Government officials from both the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government, civic leaders and officials from Derry City and Strabane District Council and Donegal County Council, who meet bi-annually to take forward the North West City Region’s strategic opportunities for economic growth and prosperity.
This unique structure that was first established in 2016 through the North South Ministerial Council, to provide support and discussion to the North West City Region.
Jointly led by Derry City and Strabane District Council and Donegal County Council, the Partnership is chaired by the two Mayors, supported by the International Centre for Local and Regional Development (ICLRD) and was established in conjunction with and supported by The Executive Office and The Irish Government.
Mayor Logue said, “This investment as part of the Shared Island Fund is hugely significant and is a direct and positive outcome of the cross border tertiary education partnership that is facilitated by the North West Strategic Partnership. It further emphasises the importance of this grouping and the continued strong collaborative approach to improve education, tourism and investment in the North West City Region.”
Mayor Logue said this investment signalled progress in the achievement of the regional priorities that have been set by the North West Strategic Partnership to the North South Ministerial Council Secretariat.
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)