����Ӱ��

IADT’s ambitious goal

Ireland’s higher education landscape is changing. As a result of the national higher education strategy, various institutes of technology that previously operated with a rather regional focus (comparable to universities of applied sciences) were consolidated into larger technological universities.

IADT remained outside the first wave of consolidations, where the main aim was to merge several organisations into one. Now they are attempting to achieve the same status change on their own.

To support this major transformation, the university’s current president, David Smith, created an entirely new unit – the Strategy and Planning Department – whose purpose is to lead this change. Our partners’ main plan is to convince the Higher Education Authority that they are a serious partner for the state and that they are able to implement changes within their organisation that will improve both the quality and scope of their activities.

How does one become a university?

IADT’s journey towards university status is carefully thought through and strategically planned. It rests on six main pillars:

1. Vision and strategy. In 2024, IADT adopted a strategy for transforming from an institute of technology into a university (2024–2028). The vision is explicitly “to become Ireland’s university of the creative industries”. The plan sets out six priority areas (education, sustainability, partnerships, research, internationalisation and institutional innovation), supported by cross-cutting principles such as student experience, EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion) and strategic funding.

2. Performance compact and institutional review. IADT’s performance compact with the Higher Education Authority (2024–2028) makes it clear that moving towards university status requires significant reforms in organisational governance, research capacity, internationalisation and quality assurance. In 2023, IADT also underwent an institutional accreditation review (conducted by CINNTE), which identified key development needs specifically in the areas of research, internationalisation and organisational change.

3. Developing research and innovation capacity. In May 2025, IADT received 3.6 million euros from the RISE programme for the initiative “ELEVATE” (2024–2027). Its aim is to strengthen the research and innovation ecosystem, particularly in the creative industries (animation, media, UX/UI design). The agreement with the ministry emphasises the establishment of a research office, the improvement of library and information systems, and the enhancement of research supervision and postgraduate provision.

4. International cooperation and European Universities. IADT is a founding partner of FilmEU (the European Universities initiative), just like Tallinn University. By participating in such high-level European cooperation, IADT positions itself within a global higher education network, which in turn supports its transition to university status.

5. Expanding the educational portfolio and awarding powers. Since 2020, IADT has had Designated Awarding Body (DAB) status, which allows it to award degrees up to Level 9 of the National Framework of Qualifications. The institution is actively expanding its programme offerings, including in cooperation with vocational education, and also provides micro-credentials.

6. Reform of organisational, financial and general management. Recognising that future university status requires institutional maturity, IADT is investing in governance structures (including the newly established Planning and Strategy Department), reviewing organisational structures and updating management practices. Strategic financing is also a central pillar, aligning resources and investments with the goals of growth and transformation.

What did we learn?

The intensive two-day discussion with our partners provided many moments of recognition as well as new perspectives on our own work. Here are our main observations.

Strategy and data analytics

• KPIs: Our partners face a similar challenge to us in defining key performance indicators (KPIs), as it can sometimes be difficult to find adequate datasets to describe the objectives that have been set.
• Data sources: Not all indicators are measured in-house; some important input data (for example, the number of underprivileged students) are obtained directly from state agencies. This makes automation more complicated.
• Software: The strategy management software we saw (Mooncamp) made a good impression. It enables concrete, measurable visualisation of development plan activities, objectives and responsible persons. Most importantly, the system automates reminders and visualises the status of activities (percentages, colours, etc.).
• Data reform: They are actively mapping processes and carrying out a “data reform”, using both external analysis and specific (lean) methodologies.

Project management and finances

• Centralisation: There are relatively few projects, and their management and reporting are centralised.
• Reporting: Projects at local government level play an important role and may require very detailed reporting.
• Control: We observed strong internal control: each outgoing report is checked by several people (potentially up to 4–5).
• Excel is still needed: We saw that, for example, to monitor project costs, prepare project reports and compile a consolidated budget overview, they use Excel-based spreadsheets with formulas on shared drives. Depending on the project, similar practice is used at Tallinn University as well, which reinforces the idea that, alongside new systems, it is important to keep skills in existing tools up to date.

Partnerships and organisational culture

• Partnership life cycle: We discussed the life cycle of partnerships – how to create them, maintain them and (when necessary) end them in a way that also allows for learning from the process.
• Community vs society: We analysed the differences between engagement with the “community” (narrower) and with “society” (broader).
• Change management: We addressed the introduction of new tools and the accompanying adaptation to change, as well as influencing organisational culture at the level of values.

The visit was undoubtedly inspiring and provided plenty of food for thought. It is exciting to follow IADT’s ambitious journey and see how similar challenges are tackled in other countries. We would like to thank our colleagues at IADT for their warm welcome and open discussions!