AIT tops league table for student satisfaction and research

Students studying at Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) are among the most satisfied in Ireland, according to The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019 released this weekend.

The Good University Guide, now in its 17th year, is Ireland’s only league table ranking the country’s 21 higher education institutes against one another.

This student satisfaction rating comes off the back of a nationwide analysis, called the Irish Survey of Student Engagement (ISSE), which looks at nine aspects of the student experience.

AIT has consistently performed well in each of these areas and has topped the list in collaborative learning and quality of interactions in this year’s guide. The award-winning institute, which took home the accolade The Sunday Times ‘Institute of the Year’ in 2018, continues to enjoy the highest ISSE student response rate nationally.

This is the first year The Sunday Times Good University Guide has taken the views of students into account since ISSE’s inception in 2013. Other colleges to perform well in this area, include GMIT and the University of Limerick, the latter of which was named The Sunday Times ‘University of the Year 2019’.

Welcoming the findings, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Registrar, Dr Niall Seery, said: “Our continued success in the realm of student satisfaction is indicative of the quality of student experience on offer at our institute. We’ve worked tirelessly to cultivate a warm, welcoming and inclusive campus environment that lends itself to student well-being.

“The student voice is a critical part of our quality assurance processes and this translates to overall happiness levels. We’re extremely proud of our endeavours in this area and in retaining the title for most satisfied student body.”

AIT has also outpaced its institute of technology competitors by a significant margin in the area of research. AIT achieved a score of 21 in this area, outstripping other IoTs by a minimum of five and a maximum of 19 points.

Emerging as the number one institute of technology nationally is a testament to the world-class research being carried out at AIT and of the contributions made by its academic staff and three research centres - Materials Research Institute (MRI), Software Research Institute (SRI) and Bioscience Research Institute (BRI). The institute also houses APT, a national technology gateway which specialises in polymer research and innovation.

President of Athlone Institute of Technology, Professor Ciarán Ó Catháin said: “We are an extremely ambitious institute, demonstrable by our research output, and are already well on our way to furthering our status as leaders in applied education, industry-focussed research and innovation output, all of which is regionally impactful.

"We are fully committed to realising our vision of becoming a technological university, something that is bolstered by our continued academic success.

“In recognising this achievement, I wish to acknowledge the contributions of our wonderful lecturers, supporting staff, current students and alumni all of whom have helped make our unique third level institute what it is today, an educational powerhouse well on its way to achieving Technological University status.”

AIT is currently ranked ninth nationally in The Sunday Times league table comprising of Irish universities and institutes of technology.