Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) is set to offer a record number of places to applicants students following a change in the CAO points system.
LIT President Professor Vincent Cunnane said, “The new points system is working, with more students offered their programme of choice in LIT. The key thing this year for us is that we are set to take in more students than before though the CAO system. This is something we welcome because that’s what we’re here to do – provide an education to as many people as we can.
Professor Cunnane was speaking against a backdrop of a strong increase in demand for places in LIT, with CAO points increasing for over two-thirds of programmes at the institute. Contrary to some trends nationally, demand has also held up for programmes in STEM areas.
“The overall message here in LIT is that demand for our CAO programmes has been strong across the board this year,” he added.
Vice President and Registrar of LIT, Terry Twomey said, “In over two thirds of our programmes, demand has been such that we’ve had to increase points or keep them broadly the same as last year. Increases have been particularly pronounced in some of the creative areas, like Art and Design, Digital Animation and Game Art and Design. Construction-related programmes have also increased, in line with trends seen elsewhere.
“Some of our biggest increases have actually been in STEM-related programmes like Drug and Medicinal Product Analysis, Pharmaceutical and Forensic Analysis, and Applied Biology. IT programmes have also increased in demand, while engineering areas like Industrial Automation, Precision Engineering and Electronic Engineering are substantially more popular.
“Business also continues to be sought-after, and we experienced particularly large increases in demand for Law and Taxation, for Accounting and Finance and for Marketing and Management.
“I would emphasise to students that the CAO is not the be-all-and-end-all though. There is more than one route to Higher Education.
“We are anticipating that demand for apprenticeships will continue to increase among young people. Indeed, getting your degree by way of an apprenticeship is becoming a much more viable option. I really welcome this “earn as you learn” approach. Its something that is quite commonplace in Europe and I think it has a big place in Ireland as well.