Published: Wednesday, 3rd February, 2010 5:00pm

Ballybobackwards RTC insult sparks AIT fury

AIT President Ciarán " Catháin has launched a scathing attack on former EU Commissioner Peter Sutherland over what he described as his insults to the institutes of technology sector.

" Catháin was responding to remarks by Sutherland, reported in the national press last week, in which he said he was opposed to the even distribution of resources between top universities and a "Ballygobackwards RTC".

The AIT chief said Sutherland's views revealed that he was "woefully ill-informed" about the vibrant institutes of technology (IoT) sector.

Stating that Sutherland had engaged in "linguistic mud-slinging", " Catháin labelled the comments as "an undisguised insult" to the hundreds of thousands of IoT students around the country.

And hitting back, " Catháin said the comments by the now head of the Goldman Sachs belonged to the "farcical realm of Ballymagash".

Launching a stern defence of IoT sector, the Athlone president pointed out that more students now accept places in IoTs than in universities.

And he argued that the rapid increase in numbers attending third-level was due, in the main, to the growth of the IoTs. " I would like to invite Mr Sutherland to visit Athlone Institute of Technology - or indeed any other institute campus - so that he can see at first hand the nature of the work undertaken in Ireland's IoTs. He might be surprised to learn, for example, in Athlone's case that one-in-ten of our full-time undergraduate students come from outside Ireland, or that we have collaborative agreements with some of the leading research universities in the world, including GeorgiaTech, Bharati Vidyapeeth University in India and the Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Such partnerships give short shrift to any views of IoTs as parochial or insular.

" Catháin made his remarks on his new blog which can be viewed at www.aitpresident.blogspot.com or on www.westmeathindependent.ie/opinion/blogs