STRATEGIC PLAN

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1 STRATEGIC PLAN

2 CIT Bishopstown CIT Cork Schoo of Music CIT Crawford Coege of Art & Design Nationa Maritime Coege of Ireand

3 Our Institute STRATEGIC PLAN Cork Institute of Technoogy (CIT) is a eading higher education institution based in Cork City on the south coast of Ireand. 3 CIT and its antecedents have been associated with education in Cork and the broader region since the 1830s. The Institute offers a wide range of fexibe fu-time and part-time higher education courses (at a eves up to and incuding PhD) in art & design, business, engineering, humanities, music, maritime studies, and science & information technoogy. The main CIT campus is ocated in Bishopstown, Cork. The CIT Crawford Coege of Art and Design and the CIT Cork Schoo of Music are both ocated at campuses in Cork city centre. The Nationa Maritime Coege of Ireand (NMCI) is ocated on the shores of Cork Harbour in Ringaskiddy. Our student popuation of more than 15,000 enjoys exceent support, socia and sporting faciities, incuding a purpose-buit student centre, sports stadium, gymnasium, medica centre and earning support centre. CIT has a number of vibrant and successfu research, innovation, knowedge exchange and enterprise support centres which have had many notabe achievements, and have been successfu in attracting Irish, EU and internationa funding. Among these are the Rubicon business incubation centre, the Genesis enterprise support programme, the NIMBUS research centre and the CIT Extended Campus. Many CIT graduates and aumni occupy senior management and executive positions across a range of indigenous and mutinationa enterprises whie others are successfu entrepreneurs founding enterprises and creating empoyment at home and abroad. Our staff, students and graduates make many notabe contributions to pubic bodies, cutura and community organisations and in the word of sport ocay, nationay and internationay. CIT was awarded the Sunday Times Institute of Technoogy of the Year in 2007, and again in 2010, and CIT students have won numerous nationa and internationa academic, citizenship and sports awards.

4 Our Mission 4 We are proud of our distinct mission and roe in the provision of higher education for the region and beyond. Our mission is: To provide student-centred, career-focused education and research for the persona, professiona and inteectua deveopment of the student and for the benefit of the broader society in the region and beyond.

5 Our Commitments STRATEGIC PLAN The Institute is committed to its roe within the region and nationay. As we pursue our mission across our fu range of activities we are focused on fufiing the foowing commitments which encapsuate the Institute s priorities, ethos and vaues... 5 CIT is a student-centred institution: CIT deveops and fosters the taents of its students in a supportive environment which chaenges them to succeed and prepares them to make a positive contribution in their chosen careers and as members of society regionay, nationay and internationay. CIT is committed to respecting and protecting the dignity and rights of individuas through practices which promote fairness and equa treatment for a. CIT deivers career-focused education and research: Through the deivery of career-focused education, training and professiona deveopment, CIT produces graduates who are professionas and practitioners, distinguished in their chosen career by their abiity to effectivey create and appy knowedge, engage in ongoing earning and act in entrepreneuria and innovative ways. Engagement with enterprise and the extension of the campus into the workpace (and the wider community) is a key defining characteristic of CIT. CIT engages in research in a manner that supports and enhances its core mission. Research is an essentia core activity and it informs a the activities of the Institute incuding teaching and enterprise engagement. CIT provides incusive access to higher education: CIT provides education opportunities which empower a motivated individuas to pursue persona, inteectua and professiona enhancement. CIT pays a regiona, nationa and internationa roe: CIT provides education, research, innovation and other services which are aigned to regiona, nationa and internationa needs and priorities. CIT makes a positive contribution to the academic, economic, industria, socia and cutura ife of the region and beyond. Furthermore, its staff, students and graduates are aware of the importance of ethica behaviour and socia responsibiity across a economic, socia and cutura domains.

6 Our Vision 6 As we ook towards the future we have an ambitious and chaenging vision for the strategic deveopment of CIT which is that: CIT wi be an internationay recognised centre of exceence in the provision of career-focused education which produces effective, ethica professionas capabe of entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity. Achieving this vision requires the deveopment of earners who are fexibe thinkers capabe of creativity and innovation with the goa that, by the time they eave CIT, our graduates wi aready possess the attributes and aptitude required to be effective professionas and practitioners in their chosen fied. We seek to educate professionas throughout our broad range of undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes across science, engineering, business, the humanities, craft studies, visua arts, maritime studies and music. The CIT Graduate It is our goa to ensure that every CIT graduate wi be recognised as possessing and practising the foowing strengths and competencies: A CIT graduate wi have a broad range of reevant discipine-specific knowedge, skis and competencies. A CIT graduate wi exhibit persona and professiona efficacy and integrity, enabed by the deveopment of a broad range of competencies incuding interpersona and communication skis, teamwork, ethics and socia responsibiity. A CIT graduate wi be motivated and empowered to be a ifeong earner with a passion for earning which is underpinned by the essentia skis of inquiry and schoarship. A CIT graduate wi have the abiity to create and appy knowedge in a variety of professiona contexts, having participated in an educationa programme which fosters probem soving, knowedge discovery, research and the use of knowedge in rea-word situations.

7 CIT wi become an internationa exempar of good practice in professiona education. CIT wi pursue this goa through the ongoing adoption of best practice in teaching, earning and research as foows: 7 Active and coaborative student-centred earning which engages the students desire to earn and chaenges them to take ownership of their earning experience. A reevant and fexibe career-focused curricuum, deveoped in cose partnership with enterprise. Research education which deivers a range of skis incuding creativity, inquiry, probem soving and innovation, and deveops professiona researchers capabe of pursuing research, innovation and deveopment careers in both enterprise and academic settings. CIT wi continue to be a nationa and internationa eader in enterprise engagement and the practice of extending the education campus into the workpace and the wider community. The CIT approach to campus extension and engagement wi be characterised by: The deveopment of engagement as an Institute-wide commitment, embracing education, research, innovation and enterprise support. The fostering of two-way engagement and knowedge exchange between CIT and externa partners. The creation of agie and fexibe earning pathways in partnership with enterprises and communities, incorporating the recognition of prior earning and work-based earning. Enhanced practice and poicy frameworks that recognise and support the vauabe contribution of enterprises and communities to the curricuum to ensure reevance and currency. Responsiveness is at the core of our mission and therefore effective campus extension and engagement is an essentia activity for CIT. We are seeking to deveop a professiona outward-facing interface through which externa communities, organisations and enterprises can interact with CIT. Through these interactions and partnerships we wi ensure that we continue to meet the needs of our stakehoders. In summary, as we seek to make this strategic vision a reaity, CIT wi strive for exceence in student-centred teaching and earning; exceence in research, creation of knowedge and use of knowedge; and exceence in engagement with enterprise and the broader society.

8 Achieving our Goas 8 Our strategic goas are aigned with broader nationa goas incuding those outined in the Nationa Strategy for Higher Education to In particuar the Nationa Strategy identified four broad areas for the strategic deveopment of higher education in Ireand, namey, widening participation, enhancing teaching and earning and the student experience, deveoping research innovation and knowedge transfer, and improving engagement with enterprise and the wider society. As we work towards achieving our strategic goas during the period 2012 to 2016, CIT has identified eight areas where we wi strive to make significant strategic achievements. These areas encapsuate the domains of priority identified in the Nationa Strategy as we as estabishing areas for strategic deveopment that are specific to CIT. This means that during the period 2012 to 2016 CIT wi strive to make significant achievements in the areas of: Deveoping and Improving the Student Experience Engaging and Empowering Staff Offering High Quaity, Reevant and Fexibe Programmes Strengthening and Extending Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Activities Advancing and Growing the Mission and Roe of CIT Serving, Supporting and Partnering with Regiona Enterprises, Pubic Bodies, Educationa Institutions and Communities Prioritising Targeted Internationaisation Activities Enhancing and Sharing the Physica Environment of CIT In the remainder of this section we detai the eight strategic areas targeted and outine top-eve objectives and targets to be achieved. These initia objectives and targets wi be subject to ongoing review and may be modified or updated in response to changing priorities and circumstances.

9 Deveoping and Improving the Student Experience Engaging and Empowering Staff 9 The student experience is an essentia eement of a student-centred institution. During the period of this Strategic Pan CIT wi strive for continued deveopment of student services and continuous improvement of the overa student experience. The achievement of our ambitious vision wi depend argey on the committed and taented peope who work at CIT. It is essentia that a staff members are engaged by our vision, see their roe in achieving that vision and are empowered to dea with both the opportunities and chaenges they wi encounter aong the way. Objectives and targets Objectives and targets Through the impementation of best practice in teaching & earning CIT wi deveop an enhanced student experience CIT wi provide a supportive environment for our students through the provision of effective, student-centred supports and services CIT wi improve student retention, achievement and competion rates to above internationa norms Arising out of a process of meaningfu student consutation foowed by appropriate action, CIT wi achieve consistenty high student satisfaction ratings Through effective engagement and communication, each CIT staff member wi understand their individua and coective contributions to the CIT mission and wi know that this contribution is recognised and appreciated To enhance staff knowedge and skis, CIT wi deveop systems to identify and provide training and deveopment opportunities for a its staff CIT wi enhance the quaifications profies of academic and nonacademic staff CIT wi continue to enhance its staff engagement processes

10 10 Offering High Quaity, Reevant and Fexibe Programmes Strengthening and Extending Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Activities Our programmes of study are the bedrock of our strategic goas and future success. We wi continue to strive for the highest internationa standards in terms of the deivery and quaity of these programmes. Furthermore, it is essentia that our programmes are reevant to the earners needs and are made accessibe through fexibe and open provision. Objectives and targets Research and innovation which is consistent with, and compementary to, our overa mission is an essentia core activity. This research wi inform and support a other activities incuding teaching and earning, as we as innovation, entrepreneurship and other enterprise support activities. Our research strategy wi focus on deveoping expertise, critica mass and research exceence in specific discipines. Objectives and targets CIT wi enhance the quaity and standards of its courses by surpassing internationa benchmarks in reation to recruitment and admission processes, quaity of deivery and student achievement Through deveoping and impementing best practice in the area of curricuum design, CIT wi continue to enhance the quaity of its programmes of study The reevance of CIT programmes wi be ensured through professiona accreditation and ongoing feedback from empoyer and sectora stakehoders CIT wi continue to deveop, encourage and enabe the empoyabiity of its graduates through the incorporation of empoyabiity deveopment activities, such as professiona practice and enterprise-inked projects, in programmes of earning CIT wi continue to enhance and promote technoogy transfer activity through contract research, icensing and other such initiatives Support mechanisms (e.g. Rubicon business incubation centre) for new enterprises wi be consoidated and entrepreneurship training wi be expanded CIT wi deveop a fourth strategic research custer CIT wi increase its researcher numbers, and research and innovation output by 20% during the ifetime of the Strategic Pan CIT wi offer increased fexibe earning opportunities by significanty expanding its existing open/distance earning capabiities and programmes across a discipines and eves

11 Advancing and Growing the Mission and Roe of CIT Serving, supporting and partnering with regiona enterprises, pubic bodies, educationa institutions and communities 11 We wi work with government, poicy makers and other stakehoders to deveop our mission and roe in order to deiver an effective nationa higher education system and the best possibe return for the Irish economy and the broader society. We wi strive to hep achieve nationa priorities in areas such as widening participation, enhancing the quaity of provision and deveoping the higher education system. Objectives and targets CIT wi continue to faciitate incusive access to higher education for increasing numbers of individuas, particuary among under-represented groups in society By means of coaboration and cooperation with educationa partners, enterprise and pubic bodies, CIT wi become a major campus of a newy designated Technoogica University CIT wi activey promote the deveopment of a regiona higher education custer An overa increase of 15-20% (WTE) in student enroments wi be achieved by 2016 Nationa targets in reation to the participation of under-represented groups in higher education wi be achieved or surpassed and CIT wi increase its adut ifeong earner and CPD student enroments by 50% We understand and embrace our roe in the economic, civi, and socia ife of our region. We are committed to serving enterprises, pubic bodies and community organisations in whatever way we can and we are open to a initiatives and partnerships which wi benefit the region. Objectives and targets The CIT Extended Campus wi be deveoped to support two-way engagement of individuas and organisations with the Institute for the purpose of knowedge exchange, earning, research and other activities CIT wi continue to provide educationa, economic, cutura, sporting and socia resources to the region Provision of work-based and empoyeefocused education opportunities and services wi be deveoped and enhanced CIT wi continue to encourage and faciitate access to its educationa and other services by a broad range of individuas and groups from across the community CIT wi make a significant input to the deveopment of the Cork Science and Innovation Park (CISP) in coaboration with Cork County Counci and UCC

12 12 Prioritising Targeted Internationaisation Activities Enhancing and Sharing the Physica Environment of CIT CIT has ong-estabished and productive internationa partnerships in Europe, India and beyond. We wi continue to deveop these and simiar partnerships to provide an internationa context for the Institute s activities as we as internationa experience for our students and graduates. In recognition of its roe as an essentia enaber of future success we wi continue to deveop and enhance the physica and buit environment of our campuses and faciities. Objectives and targets Objectives and targets CIT wi continue to estabish significant strategic partnerships with seected overseas higher education institutions Through the promotion of two-way internationa exchange programmes and the provision of internationa and inter-cutura skis, competencies and experience in programmes of study, staff, students and graduates wi be equipped to participate in the internationa professiona environment and the goba society Internationa student intake wi be increased by 100% The Strategic Campus and Estates Master Pan wi be deveoped and impemented to ensure a consistent high standard of physica environment CIT wi enhance pubic access to a CIT campuses and faciities The deveopment of enhanced teaching and earning resources and faciities wi be pursued as a matter of priority CIT wi pay a eading roe in the deveopment of the European Graduate Schoo The ongoing deveopment of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) wi be supported and faciitated by ensuring that a CIT programmes are compiant with the EHEA and ECTS guideines

13 The Strategic Management Framework The Institute has adopted an agie and adaptive approach to strategic management and strategic panning. STRATEGIC PLAN This approach recognises the ever-changing andscape and the emergent nature of many of the chaenges that we wi face in the coming years. Therefore the Strategic Pan does not seek to detai and address every step that CIT wi take over the coming five years. Rather it seeks to estabish top-eve priorities and goas which wi serve as a signpost for the Institute, its staff and constituents as they pursue their various and distinct activities during the next five years. Responsibiity for managing, reviewing and reporting on the impementation of the Strategic Pan and the management framework wi rest with the Strategic Panning Counci (SPC). The SPC is made up of representatives of the various constituencies within CIT incuding staff, students and senior management. The SPC is estabished by the President and wi remain in office for the fu five year term of the Strategic Pan. Each year the SPC wi conduct a forma review of the Institute s performance against the Strategic Pan and wi produce a forma progress report for the CIT Governing Body. The strategic management framework, which is iustrated in Figure 1, does not consist soey of the formuation or impementation of a corporate strategic pan. Instead it invoves an ongoing cycica process which consists of a panning phase, an action phase and a review phase. The Panning Phase The Strategic Pan, whie important, is ony one component of the overa strategic management framework. As mentioned previousy the Strategic Pan identifies the strategic priorities and goas for the Institute but does not address the modaities for achieving these. This detai wi emerge in the more specific and detaied pans that wi be deveoped by the facuties, coeges and other units that comprise CIT. The panning phase wi consist of the foowing: Each unit wi be required to produce a deveopment pan which highights the priorities and goas of that unit and how these wi contribute to the achievement of the Institute s strategic goas. These pans wi be operationa in nature and wi contain detaied actions as we as measurabe targets and objectives. These pans wi be formay integrated with the Institute s strategic management framework through their incusion in the appropriate executive unit pan. CIT is made up of 8 executive units (i.e. the Facuty of Science and Engineering, the Facuty of Business and Humanities, the CIT Cork Schoo of Music, the CIT Crawford Coege of Art and Design, the Nationa Maritime Coege of Ireand, the Office of the Vice President for Deveopment, the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Office of the Vice President for Finance and Administration). A other departments, schoos, units and centres of the Institute are contained within one of these executive units. The Head of each executive unit wi coate the actions, objectives and targets from the various departments, schoos and units in his/her area of contro into a singe pan and wi formay present this for adoption by Governing Body within six months of the adoption of the Institute s Strategic Pan. The various unit-pans wi be dynamic documents and wi be subject to updates and revisions on an annua basis foowing the review phase.

14 Review 14 As we as the overa Strategic Pan and the detaied pans from the various units, the Institute wi aso deveop an annua resource aocation and operationa pan which wi aso be integrated in to the strategic management framework. Act Day to day business Impementing pans Strategic projects Performance assessment (KPIs) Risk management Interna audit Quaity management Pan Strategic panning Operationa panning Unit strategies and pans Figure 1: CIT Strategic Management Framework The Action Phase The action phase wi consist of the day-to-day operation of the Institute, the pursuit of specific initiatives contained in the various pans and the impementation of major Institute-wide strategic projects. The action phase wi be deivered and managed in a distributed manner with ongoing oversight by the Institute Executive Board and the Strategic Panning Counci (SPC). The Review Phase A key component of the strategic management framework is reguar and ongoing review of the Institute s performance in genera and specificay its performance in reation to strategic goas. The strategic management framework wi integrate a number of management and governance processes (such as the process for performance measurement via KPIs, the risk management process, the interna audit process and the quaity management process) to impement a comprehensive review process. This approach aso provides structured systems for feeding the resuts of the review phase forward into the subsequent panning and action phases. The review phase wi cuminate in the creation of a detaied progress report by the SPC. This report wi be presented to and adopted by the CIT Governing Body. At the end of the five year period of the pan the SPC wi conduct the end of pan review and produce the Strategic Pan Cose-out Report which wi be presented for adoption by the CIT Governing Body.

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