Building for the Future: Trends in Higher Technological Education

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Building for the Future Trends in Higher
Technological Education

• IOT Forum
• Limerick
• 29th March 2007

Dr Dermot J Douglas - CODIT
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• Statistics are like bikinis.
• What they reveal is suggestive, what they conceal
  is vital
• Aaron Levenstein

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The good and the bad in the economy (1)

• The last twenty years have shown growth in both
  GDP and GNP
• There has been significant growth in employment
• There has been a significant decline in our debt
  to GDP ratio
• Headline export figures for 2006 show
• Goods Exports - 88.5 billion - unchanged on last
  year
• Services Exports  - 53.3 billion - up 15.6 on
  last year
• Total Exports - 141.9 billion - up 5.5 on last
  year
• Foreign owned Companies - 130.0 billion Export
  Sales  - up  5.0  on last year
• Irish Owned Companies -   11.8 billion Export
  Sales  -  up 10.2 on last year

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The good and the bad in the economy (2)

• Details of 2006 export performance
• Services Exports comprise 37.6 of total
  exports.
• (driven by products such as software, financial
  derivatives, RD, education and consultancy)
• Food Drink exports up 8 in food up 14 in
  drink
• Chemicals Pharmaceutical exports up 4.7
• Computer Hardware exports down 6.6

• However this is not home grown success
• Foreign-owned firms account for 91.54 of
• exports, compared with 87 in 2004.
• While the tax regime is positive for attracting
• foreign direct investment, indirect taxes, as a
• proportion of total taxes, are the highest among
• the industrialised countries.
• Electricity costs for consumers, are 46 above
  the
• average  paid in the UK
• The cost of a new car is 28 above the EU
• average.
• For every housing unit in the state the
• Government collects an average of over 30 of
• the cost in taxes and levies.

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The Changing face of Ireland

• From Acholi (spoken in Uganda and Sudan) to
  Zulu, over 167 languages are spoken in Ireland
  (Irish Times 24th March 2006)
• There are currently over 28,000 registered
  non-EEA students in Ireland, enrolled at a
  variety of private, second level and third level
  educational institutions
• The Government has set a target for
  international enrolments of 12 15 (in line
  with international averages). In order to achieve
  this, Irish institutions will have to increase
  their capacity and attractiveness
• (Skills Needs in the Irish Economy The Role of
  Migration (2005) Expert Group on Future Skills
  Needs)

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Student Choice - Proliferation of Programmes
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The changing importance of school-leavers
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Changes in Course offerings in 2007
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Numbers in IOTs 2005/2006

• Actual
• Full-time 53125
• Apprentice 12158
• Part-time 20369
• Total 85652

• Whole-time Equivalents
• Full-time 53125
• Apprentice 4609
• Part-time 6487
• Total 64518

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Whither the 4th Level(Note Registrations
include all postgraduates at Levels 9 (taught and
research) and 10.)
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Implications at Level 6/7

• Acceptance of a place
• Art /Design is down 10
• Arts/Social Science shows a 10 drop
• Business/Administration is down 6.5
• Engineering/Technology is down 4
• Science/Applied Science is down 4

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Implications at Level 8

• Acceptance of a place
• Art /Design is up 6.5
• Arts/Social Science is up by 8
• Business/Administration is up 6.5
• Engineering/Technology is the same as last year
• Science/Applied Science is down 1.4

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Does not include DIT DIT
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Some early indications for 2007/2008

• Overall applications are up 4.16 to 61,961
• Applications for Level 7/6 are down 1.67 in the
  sector
• However, level 7/6 first preferences are down
  only 0.27 in the 13 IOTs
• Applications for Level 8 are up 3.15 in total
  (6.17 in the 13 IOTs)
• Level 8 first preferences are up 9.69 in the 13
  IOTs
• First preferences (all levels) are up 1.56 in
  the 13 IOTs
• Mature applicants to HE are up 10.56
• FETAC applicants to HE are up 8.95
• Applicants indicating medical condition/disability
  are up 24.01
• We have a good first preference to total
  applicant ratio of 0.213 universities are at
  0.17
• First preference shares IOTs DIT Universities
  
• L7/6 first preferences 30449 6312 777
• L8 first preferences 11071 4165 34185
• Total first preferences 41520 10477 34962

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Output from Institutes of Technology (excluding
DIT)
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Output of Graduates by Sector - 2004
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Regional Employment of Graduates (2004)
Note Dublin is the only region that employs more
graduates than it produces (190). The majority
of PhD graduates are employed by the third level
education sector, both domestically and abroad.
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Pressures

• Demographic challenges
• Changing customer/client requirements (work/study
  mixes flexible delivery etc.)
• Continuing education and life-long learning
• Increasing competition from within the sector
  and from other providers
• Increasing costs
• Decreasing revenues, in real terms

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Predicted Demand for HE graduates

• Level 6/7
• Current 12 of the workforce
• 202016 of workforce
• Predicted Supply (at current rates) 10
• Shortfall 6 (approx 139,000)
• Level 8/10
• Current 20 of the workforce
• 2020 29 of workforce
• Predicted Supply (at current rates) 28
• Shortfall 1 (approx 14,000)

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The Government has set out a series of
overarching policy objectives for higher
education.

• To widen participation and increase student and
  graduate numbers at third level
• To reform and modernise programme delivery
• To achieve world-class quality in higher
  education
• To advance institutional and structural reform
  at third level
• To reform the public funding framework to ensure
  that strategies pursued by Higher Education
  institutions are aligned with national
  priorities.

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Changes required by as a result of National and
European developments in Higher Education

• Moving away from a teaching paradigm to a
  learning one.
• Broadening access to science and technology
  ensuring that everyone has the basic
  understanding of the language
• Redesigning programmes to facilitate learners to
• Learn too learn, to know and to do to develop
  problem solving skills team work skills oral
  communication acquire information from multiple
  sources participate in self and group-directed
  initiatives

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Implications for course design

• There is likely to be demand for
• An increasing breadth of knowledge (as opposed to
  a narrow disciplinary focus)
• An increased requirement for transversal and
  transferable skills
• raising the level of qualifications and technical
  skills in the workforce
• There will be an emphasis on
• The importance of learning to learn and
  continuing learning
• The growing significance of regulation
• Developing the skills for dealing with others
• There will be a continued increasing need for
• Enhanced management level skills
• Sales and marketing skills
• Research, development, innovation and
  commercialisation
• Language skills

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What we need to do

• Second Level Completion Rate The Leaving
  Certificate retention rate needs to reach 90 by
  2020 (currently it is about 80)
• Ireland should aspire to have 94 percent of the
  Population aged 20 - 24 with Upper Secondary
  Education
• The progression rate to third level to increase
  to 72 over the period to 2020 ( it is currently
  around 55).
• 48 of the Labour force should have
  qualifications at NQF levels 6 to 10 (i.e. an
  additional 170,000) by 2020
• 500,000 individuals will need to progress by at
  least one level of educational attainment above
  their current highest level. Approximately 30,000
  will have to progress by two levels or more.