GMIT wins Sunday Times IT of the Year

Staff and students in Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) are celebrating winning the Sunday Times Institute of Technology of the Year in The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2015, a special 16-page supplement to be published free with the newspaper this Sunday, 28 September.

GMIT climbed five places in the league table to stand 12th this year off the back of a strong academic performance. No third-level institution has moved further in this year’s rankings.

GMIT ranks joint ninth nationally in terms of graduate employment, with just 8% of students looking for a job nine months after leaving, a marked improvement on last year’s 18%. The work placement element of GMIT programmes contributed to the excellent graduate employment rate – the Institute had more than 1,200 students on work placement last year.

Around 65% of students achieved a first or 2:1 qualification, compared with 48% the previous year. This puts GMIT at the top of the IT sector in this respect, and joint 4th nationally. Work to retain students is paying off, with the completion rate improved by five percentage points on the previous year to stand at 85%, ranking GMIT joint 2nd on this measure.

Alastair McCall, Editor of the Sunday Times Good University Guide, said: “GMIT’s startling improvement in performance on a range of measures at the heart of the student experience made it a natural choice as our Institute of Technology of the Year. No other third-level institution can match the scale of its improvement over the past 12 months.”

“With graduate unemployment down, completion rates up and significantly more students leaving with high class degrees, GMIT makes a powerful case to prospective students. The work experience programme is one of the best in Ireland and gives its graduates a vital edge when it comes to taking their next steps in life upon graduation.”

GMIT President Michael Carmody says: “I am very pleased with the awarding of the Sunday Times Institute of Technology of the Year accolade to GMIT this year.  This positive development recognises the contribution of staff across the Institute in enhancing our teaching, research and student services activities.”

“The award builds upon the very successful CAO campaign this year with over 2,000 net acceptances to GMIT.”

“These outcomes are a result of the continuing achievement of the objectives of the Institute Strategic Plan 2010-2016, particularly in the areas of new programme development; research and innovation; and enhancing teaching and learning and student support services.” 

“This achievement is a further step in achieving our objective to be designated a Technological University with our partners in the region in due course,” adds Mr Carmody.

University of Limerick won Sunday Times University of the Year, with UCC runner-up, while IT Carlow (ITC) was runner up IT, having won the award in 2013.”

The Sunday Times Good University Guide is now in its 13th year of publication. It provides the definitive rankings for Irish third-level institutions, together with profiles of each institution and a view from students of what it is like to study there. It also contains the first full listing of 2015 courses and the first round entry points needed to access these courses from the recently-completed 2014 admissions cycle.

The online edition available at www.thesundaytimes.ie/gooduniversityguide features fully searchable tables on each of the measures on which institutions are ranked, together with extended profiles of each. It also contains full access to the newspaper’s UK university guide published last weekend.