Technological University Dublin () or TU Dublin is Ireland's first technological university. It was established on 1 January 2019, with a history going back to 1887 through the amalgamated

Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological University Dublin, as TU Dublin City Campus. The insti ...

which progressed from the first technical education institution in Ireland, the City of Dublin Technical Schools. It is the second-largest third-level institution in Ireland, with a student population of 28,500. The university was formed by the amalgamation of three existing

institutes of technology An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

in the Dublin area –

Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown (ITB) () established in 1999, was a third-level institution outside Dublin. In 2019, it merged with the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and the Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT) to form the n ...

, and

Institute of Technology, Tallaght The Institute of Technology Tallaght (also known as ITT or IT Tallaght) ( Irish: ''Institiúid Teicneolaíochta, Tamhlacht)'' was a third-level institution in Tallaght, the largest suburb of Dublin, Ireland. Established in 1992, IT Tallaght ...

, taking over all functions and operations of these institutions. It is the eighth university in Ireland, and the fourth in

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

. The university asserts an entrepreneurial ethos and industry-focused approach, with extensive collaboration with industry for research and teaching. The flagship campus is in Grangegorman, Dublin, with two other long-term campuses, in

Tallaght Tallaght ( ; , ) is a southwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The central village area was the site of a monastic settlement from at least the 8th century, which became one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres. Up to th ...

and

Blanchardstown Blanchardstown () is a large outer suburb of Dublin in the modern Counties of Ireland, county of Fingal, Ireland. Located northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since the 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchards ...

, and remaining legacy sites at Bolton Street and

Aungier Street Aungier Street () is a street on the south side of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It runs north-south as a continuation of South Great George's Street. It is the location of both a Technological University Dublin and a Dublin Business Sc ...

. TU Dublin has approximately 2,700 full-time staff. Dr Deirdre Lillis became President of the university in January 2025.

History

Institutes of Technology

Dublin Institute of Technology

TU Dublin has its origins in the City of Dublin Technical Schools, with a Technical College founded at Kevin Street in 1887 by poet, songwriter and novelist Arnold Felix Graves. In 1978, with the formal amalgamation of the College of Technology, Kevin Street, and five other specialised colleges in Dublin under a federalised arrangement, the Dublin Institute of Technology was formed. From 1976 to 1998, the Institute of Technology had a relationship with the

University of Dublin The University of Dublin (), corporately named as The Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a research university located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dublin, whi ...

, the degree-awarding body for

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, for the sharing of facilities, equipment and staff, joint research seed funding, research partnerships, and for the University of Dublin to award Dublin Institute of Technology degrees under their own name in return for academic oversight; this partnership was credited for a 22 times increase in research output in the Institute of Technology in 1992 compared to 1975, and a significant increase in the institute's status. With the improved status, staff experience from the partnership, increased course demand, and success of Dublin Institute of Technology graduates in employment compared to university graduates, politicians and university academics sought greater autonomy for the institute, with

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...

higher-education spokesperson

Theresa Ahearn Theresa Ahearn (; 1 May 1951 – 20 September 2000) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála for the Tipperary South constituency from 1989 to 2000. Political career Her first elected office was as a member of South Tip ...

saying "The colleges, in particular the DIT, at this stage rightly claim to have long experience of teaching to degree level ... I suggest that now is the time to give the colleges this power to award their own degrees". On 10 July 1992, Minister for Education

Séamus Brennan Séamus Brennan ( ; 16 February 1948 – 9 July 2008) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism from 2007 to 2008, Minister for Social and Family Affairs from 2004 to 2007, Minister for Transport ...

stated that "The DIT will be given degree awarding powers", and these powers were ultimately granted in 1998 under the Dublin Institute of Technology Act, 1992.

Institute of Technology Tallaght

Institute of Technology Tallaght was established in 1992, at its dissolution offering courses through the School of Business & Humanities, the School of Engineering, and the School of Science & Computing.

Institute of Technology Blanchardstown

Institute of Technology Blanchardstown was established in 1999, and at its dissolution offered courses through the School of Business, the School of Humanities, and the School of Informatics and Engineering.

Amalgamation of Institutes of Technology

In 2014, the

(DIT),

(ITB) and

(ITT) jointly entered into a formal process to seek to merge into a university. At the time, following the Institutes of Technology Act 2006, there were fourteen IT's in Ireland, and a political appetite emerged to amalgamate several to form a more advanced third-level institution, known as a technological university, similar to

that ''That'' is an English language word used for several grammar, grammatical purposes. These include use as an adjective, conjunction (grammar), conjunction, pronoun, adverb and intensifier; it has distance from the speaker, as opposed to words li ...

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

and other technological universities in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The Dublin bid, proposed by the three institutes, eventually coalesced into a move, in 2014, to seek designation as a technological university under the project title "Technological University for Dublin Alliance" / "TU4Dublin". A final application was submitted in April 2018, following the enactment of the Technological Universities Act 2018. The formation of Technological University Dublin was approved in July 2018, and the university was formally established on 1 January 2019, on which date the preceding institutions were dissolved. In April 2019, TU Dublin sold its Kevin Street campus to York Capital and Westridge Real Estate for €140 million. The Kevin Street campus was vacated in March 2021 and demolition works began on the site in April 2021. In March 2020, TU Dublin put the Aungier Street campus up for sale, with the campus scheduled to close in 2023, after which students and staff will relocate to the Grangegorman Campus.

Governance

The university is overseen by a governing body appointed under the Technological Universities Act, with representation for staff, undergraduate and postgraduate students, the local Education and Training Boards, along with the president of the university, an external chairperson and other external members appointed by the governing body and by the Minister. There is a regulatory requirement to have at least 40% female and 40% male membership and, by agreement with the

Higher Education Authority __NOTOC__ The Higher Education Authority (HEA), officially An tÚdarás um Ard-Oideachas, is the statutory body providing policy advice for higher education in Ireland. Description and functions The HEA was established under the Higher Educati ...

, a suitable mix of skills and experience, considering business, law, human resources management, community organisation and others. Academic affairs, including course development and examinations, are overseen by TU Dublin's statutory academic council, as defined by the same legislative act.

Academic profile

Admissions

Undergraduate admissions are made through the Central Applications Office, with applications opening in January and late applications closing early-May of the admission year; course offers are made to individuals who either meet the point and subject requirements of the relevant course, or alternatively have existing QQI qualifications for most courses, with some courses requiring the QQI qualification to be in a relevant discipline.

Faculty and Schools

TU Dublin consists of five faculties, their associated schools, and multiple research institutes and centres. Courses are primarily based in one of five locations. TU Dublin is the only institution offering courses in

optometry Optometry is the healthcare practice concerned with examining the eyes for visual defects, prescribing corrective lenses, and detecting eye abnormalities. In the United States and Canada, optometrists are those that hold a post-baccalaureate f ...

and ophthalmic dispensing in Ireland, with both a 4-year BSc in optometry and a 3-year BSc in Ophthalmic Dispensing running from the School of Physics & Clinical & Optometric Sciences within the College of Sciences & Health. TU Dublin physics, optometry, and clinical measurement science degrees are fully accredited by the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based not-for-profit learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, physics research, research and applied physics, application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide ...

, and

National Framework of Qualifications The National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) is a system used to describe levels of educational qualifications in Ireland. Responsibility for maintaining and developing the framework lies with Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI). Launched ...

Level 8 engineering degrees are fully accredited by the Institute of Engineers of Ireland.

Graduate Research School

The Graduate Research School offers the PhD programmes of the university, focusing research along the themes of: * Environment, Energy & Health * Information, Communications & Media Technologies * New Materials & Devices * Society, Culture & Enterprise. Graduate researchers are members of this school, in addition to being registered with their own school.

Faculty of Arts & Humanities

* TU Dublin School of Art and Design * School of Culinary Arts & Food Technology * School of Tourism and Hospitality Management * School of Social Sciences, Law, and Education * School of Media * Conservatoire of Music & Drama

Faculty of Business

* Accounting & Finance * Management * Marketing * Retail & Services Management * Graduate Business School * Promote & sales

Faculty of Computing, Digital & Data

* School of Computer Science * School of Enterprise Computing and Digital Transformation * School of Informatics and Cybersecurity * School of Mathematics and Statistics * Computing Learning Centre

Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment

* School of Architecture, Building and Environment * School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering * School of Mechanical Engineering * School of Surveying and Construction Innovation * School of Transport and Civil Engineering

Faculty of Sciences & Health

* School of Biological, Health and Sports Sciences * School of Chemical & Pharmaceutical Sciences * School of Computing * Food Science & Environmental Health * School of Mathematical Sciences * School of Physics & Clinical & Optometric Sciences

Reputation and rankings

In 2021,

Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The THES''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

(THE) ranked TU Dublin 801-1000th in the World University Rankings, 201-300th in impact rankings, and 251-300th in the Young University Rankings. In the 2023

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

TU Dublin was listed 801-1000th. In 2020, U-Multirank listed TU Dublin as having the highest number of ''very good'' scores across various criteria compared to other higher-education institutions in Ireland. TU Dublin holds an

Athena SWAN Athena SWAN (Scientific Women's Academic Network) is an equality charter mark framework and accreditation scheme established and managed by the UK Equality Challenge Unit (now part of Advance HE) in 2005 that recognises and celebrates good pra ...

Bronze Award for its commitment to advance

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...

STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

European University of Technology

Technological University Dublin is one of the nine members of the European University of Technology (EUt+), a "transnational alliance" of universities, which also includes the Technical University of Sofia (Bulgaria), the

Cyprus University of Technology The Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) ( or "ΤΕ.ΠΑ.Κ.") is a university established in 2004. Its first intake of students took place in the academic year 2007–08. The establishment of CUT is an attempt to fill in gaps that still exist ...

(Cyprus), the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences (Germany), Università degli Studi di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale (Italy) the

Riga Technical University Riga Technical University (RTU) () is the oldest technical university in the Baltic countries established on October 14, 1862. It is located in Riga, Latvia and was previously known as Riga Polytechnical Institute and Riga Polytechnicum. In 1 ...

(Latvia), the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (Spain), the University of Technology of Troyes (France) and the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (Romania).

Facilities

Campuses

File:Grangegorman TUD 2.jpg, Grangegorman campus File:Printworks Studio, TUD.jpg, The Printworks Studio at Grangegorman campus File:Bolton Street College.jpg, Bolton Street campus File:Institute of Technology Blanchardstown - geograph.org.uk - 546771 (cropped).jpg, Blanchardstown campus The university is based in five main campuses, with the

Grangegorman Grangegorman () is an inner suburb on the Northside, Dublin, northside of Dublin city, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The area is administered by Dublin City Council. It was best known for decades as the location of St. Brendan's Hospital (Gra ...

and Bolton Street campuses in Dublin City, and both the

and

campuses in the Dublin suburbs. The Grangegorman campus is now home to 10,000 students following the closure of Kevin Street, Cathal Brugha Street, Rathmines and Camden Row, while further development is planned for the Blanchardstown and Tallaght campuses. According to then

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2017 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2024, as Tánaiste from 2020 to 2022, and as leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 2024. A Teachta Dála, ...

, the new university would have an "entrepreneurial ethos", and offer degrees and programmes ranging from Level 6 to Level 10 in the

. While having an emphasis on

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

and

STEM subjects Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...

, given its status as a technological university, the then Minister for Education and Skills

Richard Bruton Richard Bruton (born 15 March 1953) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin Bay North from 2016 to 2024, and previously from 1982 to 2016 for the Dublin North-Central constituency. He was the Cha ...

stated that the university would aim to sit at "convergence of the arts, business, science and technology".

Innovation

The Grangegorman campus includes the Greenway Hub, which is a "state-of-the-art facility for research and innovation that has been developed on the new TU Dublin campus at Grangegorman". It is home to the Environmental, Sustainability and Health Institute (ESHI) and to TU Dublin Hothouse. TU Dublin Hothouse at the Greenway Hub has a 21,500 square foot start-up incubator, office spaces, conference rooms, and provides start-ups access to staff and researchers. Funding is offered to start-ups from the university itself, and from partnerships with Enterprise Ireland,

Science Foundation Ireland Science Foundation Ireland (SFI; ) was a statutory body in Ireland. It was an agency of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, with responsibility for funding oriented basic and applied research in th ...

, and

Horizon 2020 The Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, also called Framework Programmes or abbreviated FP1 to FP9, are funding programmes created by the European Union/European Commission to support and foster research in the Europe ...

, among others. Assistance is provided with commercialisation, and protecting the intellectual property of start-ups in the incubator. TU Dublin Hothouse runs a funded summer program, I-Cubed, for current students and recent graduates with business ideas who wish to start and run that business. A market initiative Open Labs began in 2018 to assist start-ups and existing companies with research and development in specific technical areas, and as of February 2021 more than 150 start ups had participated in the initiative, generating over €1.5 million in research income.

Student life

Students' Union

Technological University Dublin Students' Union (TU Dublin SU) was established by referendum in February 2019 as the amalgamation of DIT Students' Union, IT Tallaght Student Union and Institute of Technology Blanchardstown Student Union. TU Dublin Students' Union began operating on 1 July 2019. Annually, TU Dublin Students' Union oversees the election of class representatives, in which all students in the same course and year elect a student in the same group to represent them by conveying class feedback to the Students Union and lecturers. Class representatives attend the semesterly programme committee meetings of their own programme group alongside lecturers and professors, and attend semi-semesterly class representative meetings involving Students Union officers and other class representatives from the same school. Class representatives receive training from the National Student Engagement Programme.

Societies

Over 70 student-run societies exist throughout the five TU Dublin campuses, which receive a stipend from TU Dublin for activities based on membership of the society. Societies are formed by petition, requiring a total of 20 signatures from current TU Dublin students.

Sport

About 40 student-run clubs are present throughout the five campuses, including

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

powerlifting Powerlifting is a competitive strength athletics, strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: Squat (exercise), squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athle ...

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

kite surfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...

and

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

. A gym and exercise studio are run by TU Dublin Fitness, providing discounted access to TU Dublin students, staff and graduates, and access to the public.

Other Technological Universities

In January 2021, IT Tralee merged with Cork IT to become Munster Technological University. Approval for the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest was granted in May 2021 and it formally opened in October 2021. It was the result of a merger between Athlone Institute of Technology and

Limerick Institute of Technology The Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT; ) was an institute of technology, located in Limerick, Ireland. The institute had five campuses that were located in Limerick, Thurles, Clonmel, as well as a regional learning centre in Ennis Enn ...

along with some smaller institutions. The

South East Technological University South East Technological University (SETU; ) is a public Technological Universities in Ireland, technological university located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South East region of Ireland. It was formed from the amalgamation of two existin ...

was formally established in May 2022. It was the result of a merger between

Waterford Institute of Technology The Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT; ) was an Institutes of technology in the Republic of Ireland, institute of technology, located in Waterford, Ireland. The institute had six constituent schools and offered programmes in business, engi ...

and Institute of Technology, Carlow. The

Atlantic Technological University Atlantic Technological University (also known as Atlantic TU or ATU; ) is a Technological Universities in Ireland, technological university in the west and north-west of Ireland. It was formally established on 1 April 2022 as a merger of three ...

was formally established in April 2022.

References

{{Coord, 53.3546, -6.2792, display=title Education in Dublin (city) Universities and colleges in the Republic of Ireland Art schools in Ireland Universities and colleges formed by merger in the Republic of Ireland Universities and colleges established in 2019 2019 establishments in Ireland Dublin TU Grangegorman