Interim Head Thorn has clear short terms goals in role

Interim Head Thorn has clear short term goals in role

Michael Duffy

DR Richard Thorn, the newly appointed interim Head of Campus at GMIT Castlebar, has this week explained that his role at the college is in place for only three to five months, and that it is hoped a new Head of Campus will be in place by the end of the year.
“I have committed, in the three to five months that I am here, to prepare an agreed implementation plan that is a three-year plan. I want to see a clear, robust plan that winds up with this campus being sustainable in three years time, starting now,” Dr Thorn told The Mayo News at a media briefing at the Castlebar Campus last week.
“This will require short, medium and long term plans, and those are the plans I am working on right now. I have roughly just 40 to 50 days of time available, the brief is very tight, so I am focusing very much on taking the Working Group Report, and making it into a plan that has a clear focus, and has a set to actions and timelines for people to undertake.”
The working group mentioned by Dr Thorn produced a report in October 2017, which included 33 recommendations, three of which have now been acted on.
Mr Thorn has been appointed interim Head of Campus pending the appointment on a full-time basis of a permanent Vice President, Mayo Campus; a sub-committee of the Governing Body has been established and has met regularly and Mr Kieran Mulvey has been appointed as the facilitator to oversee any problems that may hinder the implementation of the report.
He will also oversee the transition to the future structure and operational model, following full implementation of the report, and to facilitate better communications and higher levels of trust between stakeholders.  
“My role will be to develop the report into a three-year implementable plan with clear task timelines, responsibilities and performance measurement mechanisms and metrics in conjunction with all stakeholders and to ensure an orderly transition to a permanent Vice President, Mayo Campus. The post of permanent Vice President has been advertised nationally and we expect the post to be filled in the final quarter of 2018.”

Challenging few years
Mr Thorn added that work has already begun on developing an implementation plan.  
“This is being developed in consultation with GMIT management, campus staff and the sub-committee meetings which are being held in the coming weeks. The Mayo campus has gone through a challenging last few years and there will be further difficult decisions taken to ensure the long term viability of the campus. However, I hope my work over the coming months and the establishment of the sub-committee will provide a blueprint for future success.”
Mr Thorn was the very first Head of Campus at the Castlebar campus and he now wants to insure its long term viability.
“There are all sorts of reasons why we need to keep this campus viable. The State want it viable, the region needs vibrant campuses in Castlebar, in Galway, in Sligo, in Letterkenny. It is important that we are all singing from the same hymn-sheet from a regional perspective.
“The Working Group Report has a national number of 800 full-time students, and when part-time is put into the equation, the number of 1,200 people studying on the campus is the goal. In a modern campus, this is likely to be a mix of school leavers, mature students and lifelong learners.”
GMIT will be holding an open evening on the September 13 from 7pm to 9pm with a particular focus on lifelong learning courses.

MORE Read the full Working Group Report:
https://www.education.ie/en/Press-Events/Press-Releases/2017-Press-Releases/sustainable-plan-for-the-mayo-campus-of-galway-mayo-institute-of-technology-report-from-the-working-group.pdf

Did you know?
GMIT has been successful in its application to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) to deliver 13 new free upskilling courses at its Mayo and Galway campuses under the Springboard+ 2018 programme.The new courses announced by the Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton earlier this year, make available some 8,000 places on 245 upskilling and reskilling courses in third level colleges across the country.
Four courses are offered in GMIT Mayo as follows:
1. Certificate in Data Modelling Analysis & Valuation – ONLINE/BLENDED
2. Certificate in Data Protection – ONLINE/BLENDED
3. Postgraduate Certificate in Digital Media & Marketing – ONLINE/BLENDED
4. Sustainable Building Technology