Rupendra Paliwal, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost of Sacred Heart University (SHU), and Oliver Murphy, President of Institute of Technology at Tralee (ITT), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on April 11, 2017 at the North Campus of ITT in Tralee, Ireland.  The MoU outlines a cooperative agreement between the two institutions intended to foster the development of various programs, including nursing; business, tourism and hospitality management; digital media and communication; video, film and television production; marine and coastal science; and engineering, as well as faculty and student exchange programs.

Commenting on the signing, Dr. Paliwal noted, “We are delighted to formalize and expand our collaboration with ITT and are excited about all the possibilities and opportunities. Faculty and students at both institutions will benefit from this relationship as we have identified specific areas where SHU and ITT can strategically leverage each other’s strength”.

In terms of programmatic development, there are myriad opportunities. For example, SHU and ITT will collaborate on tourism and hospitality related activities with the sharing and exchange of curriculum, semester-long international placement of SHU tourism and hospitality majors in hotels and tourist-related businesses around the County of Kerry.  SHU Exercise Science majors will have access to the Kerry Sports Academy and associated curricula.

SHU and ITT will also pursue faculty and staff exchanges; joint short-term faculty led programs; joint educational and scholarly activities; and joint and dual degree programs. ITT has committed to offering two scholarships for SHU graduates to pursue a Research Masters in Biology starting in Fall of 2018.  Sacred Heart University is offering two ITT nursing students scholarships to complete SHU’s Doctor of Nursing Practice Program.

Dr. Oliver Murphy, President of IT Tralee in welcoming the SHU delegation to the ITT North Campus, stated “the IT Tralee and SHU have established a strong and mutually beneficial relationship over recent years. Both organisations have identified a number of key strategic projects which we will progress over the coming months. The advancement of the SHU campus in Dingle is a welcome development, which will greatly benefit the region and we look forward to working with SHU asthey progress their ambitious plans.”

Sacred Heart University is in the final stages of purchasing the Christian Brothers School in Dingle, Ireland, paving the way for an expanded and permanent campus that will provide a platform to increase the number of study abroad courses SHU offers as part of its SHU in Dingle program.  The building will support current ongoing semester programming for nursing, coastal and marine science, communications, tourism and hospitality, as well as short term courses revolving around nursing, coastal ecology, anthropology, music, Celtic traditions, Celtic history, film and media culture, sports marketing, tourism, and psychology.

Both parties will engage in strategic discussions to at the Sea, Land, and Spirit: Coastal Environment in the West of Ireland Conference taking place on June 5-8 in Dingle, Ireland