A new business and accounting department, at the Thurles Mary Immaculate College (MIC), (formerly St. Patrick’s College) was formally launched by the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Mr Peter Burke TD, on Tuesday last, March 25th.
The Minister, in his address to more than 100 guests at the event, commented that with 5,000 students and close to 2,000 graduates per year, MIC was making a significant contribution to the region in terms of higher education, industry and research partnerships; thus creating a boost to the economy and to the local community.
Dr Rebecca Purcell [BBS (UL), PGDip in Management and Leadership in Education (TCD), MA in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (SETU), PhD in Business Management (UL)], emphasised that the new department “has a bold, ambitious vision, one that will shape the future of business and accounting education in Ireland. It is a statement of intent about what we value and what we strive for. And most importantly, it creates a dedicated space for students, faculty and industry partners and collaborators to drive innovation, research and teaching excellence.
It is about shaping future leaders, educators and innovators who will build and support our domestic economy in the face of increasing uncertainty and increasing protectionism in global economic policy, but who will equally contribute in a meaningful way to our society.“
“Something that sets us apart here at MIC is we are not just educating future business professionals. We are also educating the future business and accounting teachers of Ireland. This dual role is something we embrace with great pride,” Ms Purcell added.
Limerick native Professor Dermot Nestor (11th President of Mary Immaculate College) charted the history of the former St Patrick’s College, (today MIC St Patrick’s Campus, Thurles), which in its earliest guise aimed “to provide a course of liberal education and whatever is necessary…including the usual branches of a classical, mathematical and mercantile education” so “business then has been at the core of this institution since it first opened its door”.
Professor Nestor further statrd that success should be “measured in terms of meaning and value – and a determination that those qualities must always be for someone, or something.”
“This is a department that is about people and where people are considered the most valuable resource. the real wealth, the true capital, is the people who work here and those individuals, organisations, and industries across the community that they will collaborate with and support.
This is a future focus that ensures graduates are not simply responsive to changes in our society, but are the drivers of that change. I have every confidence that the ambition, the commitment, and the effort of this department will speak for itself.”
Ms Kim Mackenzie-Doyle, (CEO and founder of The B!G Idea), latter a pioneering non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering young people to tackle local and global challenges, was the keynote speaker at the event.
Some 500 students are studying to be post-primary business or accounting teachers on five of the concurrent BA in Education programmes at MIC Thurles.
This new department is the newest in MIC’s faculty of arts and business and was recently introduced as the 14th core subject, offered on the long-established Bachelor of Arts programme at MIC Limerick, where it has quickly become a popular choice among students.
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