University College Cork (UCC) and the Irish Management Institute (IMI) have today announced an alliance which will transform business education in Ireland.
An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD, who officially launched the alliance, said the development was significant and welcome as it has the potential to greatly improve the capacity of Ireland’s companies to compete internationally.
“I heartily welcome this Alliance between University College Cork and the Irish Management Institute. It will help to position Ireland internationally at the forefront of management innovation and build our reputation for leadership and business. Such collaborations between educational institutions allow us to compete on the international stage, creating new and better products and services, and attracting foreign direct investment. ”
Today’s announcement represents a deepening of the relationship between the two organisations which began in 2009 and which it is anticipated will conclude in a merger in due course in line with decisions taken by both governing bodies.
UCC has gained an outstanding reputation as one of the foremost universities on the island for the quality of its research and teaching. It is ranked in the top 2% of universities worldwide. For the third year running, the IMI has this year achieved a top 60 global ranking in the Financial Times research on custom-designed executive education programmes. IMI is one of only 7 institutions in Britain and Ireland to achieve this quality mark and the only Irish institution to do so.
The alliance will establish a UCC presence in Dublin and both institutions will work together on research, on the teaching and delivery of education programmes and on the attraction of international business people to Irish executive education.
UCC President, Dr Michael Murphy, said “There is a synergy and vision at the heart of this alliance which is shared in equal measure by both institutions. Our joint objectives are simple, to integrate leading research into teaching to enhance the overall quality of Irish management and in the process to make Ireland a leading location for executive education. Already this year, UCC and IMI will graduate 200 practicing managers at masters level. This process of continuous development and re-training of people is vital to creating a flexible workforce for Ireland Inc.
Dr Phil Nolan, Chairman of the IMI, said “A central goal of this alliance is to create an Irish institution that is ranked as one of the top 20 executive schools in the world within a decade. Together, we have the ambition and capability to position Ireland at the forefront in management education internationally and to help rebuild the reputation of Ireland for leadership in business”.