DIT School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering

The DIT School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering was a major higher-education engineering school based at the Kevin Street Campus in Dublin. It operated within Dublin Institute of Technology’s College of Engineering and Built Environment and was described as Ireland’s largest provider of electrical and electronic engineering education by the breadth of its programmes, staff complement and student population. Although the school itself no longer operates under the DIT name, its institutional activities continued through the formation of Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin). The school’s educational roots extended to technical engineering instruction at Kevin Street in 1887. Over time, its academic scope expanded well beyond traditional electrical engineering. Its areas included communications engineering, computer engineering, power engineering, electrical services engineering, control engineering, energy management and electronic engineering. Programmes covered multiple levels of Ireland’s National Framework of Qualifications, from Level 6 technical and apprenticeship-oriented study through undergraduate and postgraduate education to doctoral and post-doctoral research. The school sought professional accreditation for its programmes from relevant Irish and international engineering organisations, including Engineers Ireland. During the 2010s, SEEE delivered 23 programmes to more than 1,200 students and produced approximately 350 graduates annually. Its teaching model placed emphasis on applied learning, professional preparation and links with industry. A number of programmes incorporated periods of industrial placement, giving students practical experience and connecting the school’s curriculum to the needs of engineering employers. The school also participated in the Cisco Networking Academy as an accredited Networking Academy, Instructor Training Center and Academy Support Center. Research was a central part of the school’s identity. Its work addressed photonics, antennas and high-frequency systems, communications, electrical power and energy, as well as biomedical engineering, audio engineering, sustainable design, assistive technology and health informatics. The school hosted the Antenna and High Frequency Research Centre, Photonics Research Centre, Electrical Power Research Centre and Communications Network Research Institute. It also supported the tPOT Research Group and Energy Resource Group and participated in the Dublin Energy Lab. Research activity was oriented toward industrial relevance, including the development of patents, licensable technologies and a mobile-communications spin-off company. The school maintained collaborations with research groups in Europe, China, India and other regions. These relationships supported international knowledge exchange and access to specialist facilities. In the mid-2010s, Professor Michael Conlon was identified as head of the school. The school was expected to be among the first units in the College of Engineering and Built Environment to move from Kevin Street to DIT’s planned Grangegorman campus in 2018. A major institutional transition occurred in 2019, when Dublin Institute of Technology, the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown and the Institute of Technology Tallaght became the founding institutions of TU Dublin. DIT consequently ceased to exist as a standalone institution under its former name, and the school’s teaching and research functions were carried into the new technological university rather than continuing as an independent DIT-branded school.

The school’s historical background was rooted in technical engineering education at Kevin Street in Dublin, where instruction commenced in 1887. That long-established technical tradition developed into a broad electrical and electronic engineering school within Dublin Institute of Technology. Its location at the Kevin Street Campus gave it continuity with one of Dublin’s historic centres for technical education while its academic remit expanded in response to changes in communications, computing, energy and industrial technology. By the 2010s, the DIT School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering had become one of Ireland’s largest and most diverse providers in its field. It taught across several engineering branches, including communications, computer, power, electrical services, control, energy management and electronics. Its programmes extended from National Framework of Qualifications Level 6 through Level 10, encompassing technical and apprenticeship education, undergraduate degrees, postgraduate qualifications and doctoral research. Professional accreditation was pursued through relevant engineering bodies, helping align programmes with professional practice and employment requirements. The school combined teaching with an applied research mission. Industry placement was available in a number of programmes, and the school maintained relationships intended to connect academic work with Irish and international engineering needs. Its research portfolio included antennas and high-frequency systems, photonics, communications networks, electrical power and energy resources. Related work addressed biomedical engineering, audio engineering, sustainable design, assistive technologies and health informatics. Research centres included the Antenna and High Frequency Research Centre, Photonics Research Centre, Electrical Power Research Centre and Communications Network Research Institute. Additional activity was organised through the tPOT Research Group, Energy Resource Group and Dublin Energy Lab. The school reported international research links with groups in Europe, China, India and elsewhere. Its research generated patents and technologies with licensing potential, including work associated with a mobile-communications spin-off. It also had a role in Cisco Networking Academy activities as an accredited academy, instructor-training centre and academy-support centre. During the 2010s the school delivered 23 programmes to more than 1,200 students and produced about 350 graduates each year. Professor Michael Conlon was listed as head of school in 2015. Around the same period, planning anticipated a move to the new DIT Grangegorman campus, reflecting the wider redevelopment and consolidation of the institute’s facilities. The decisive institutional change came in 2019. Dublin Institute of Technology merged with the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown and the Institute of Technology Tallaght to create Technological University Dublin. DIT therefore ceased to operate under its former institutional name, and the school no longer exists as an independent DIT-branded entity. Its educational and research functions were incorporated into the successor university’s engineering structure.

• 2019

  Integration into Technological University Dublin

  [1]DIT School of Electrical & Electronic Engineeringen.wikipedia.org

  DIT joined ITB and ITT as founding institutions of TU Dublin, ending the school’s operation under the DIT institutional identity.

• 2018

  Planned Grangegorman campus move

  [1]DIT School of Electrical & Electronic Engineeringen.wikipedia.org

  The school was expected to move from Kevin Street to the developing DIT Grangegorman campus.

• 2015

  School profile documented during the DIT period

  [1]DIT School of Electrical & Electronic Engineeringen.wikipedia.org

  The school was described as offering 23 programmes to more than 1,200 students, with approximately 350 graduates per year. Michael Conlon was identified as head of school.

• 1887

  Technical engineering education begins at Kevin Street

  [1]DIT School of Electrical & Electronic Engineeringen.wikipedia.org

  Engineering instruction commenced at the Kevin Street location in Dublin, establishing the historical foundation associated with the later DIT engineering school.

An applied, professionally oriented and research-active Irish engineering school offering a broad range of electrical, electronic, communications, computing, energy and power disciplines across technical, undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

• Higher education

  Electrical and Electronic Engineering programmes

  The school’s core offering covered electrical and electronic engineering education across several National Framework of Qualifications levels. The curriculum combined theoretical foundations with laboratory, design and professional applications, preparing students for engineering practice, further study and research.

• Engineering education

  Communications and Computer Engineering

  Communications and computer engineering formed major parts of the school’s multidisciplinary portfolio. Related teaching and research addressed communications systems, networking, computing hardware and associated digital technologies, supported by the school’s Cisco Networking Academy activities and communications research capability.

• Engineering education

  Power, Energy and Electrical Services Engineering

  The school taught electrical power, energy management and electrical services engineering. Its research infrastructure included an Electrical Power Research Centre and an Energy Resource Group, linking academic work with power systems, energy use and applied engineering challenges.

• Engineering research

  Photonics, Antenna and High-Frequency Research

  Research activity in photonics, antennas and high-frequency engineering was organised through specialist centres, including the Photonics Research Centre and Antenna and High Frequency Research Centre. The work supported international collaboration, industrial relevance, patents and technology-transfer opportunities.

• 2019

  Transition from DIT to Technological University DublinM&A

  Background

  Dublin Institute of Technology was combined with the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown and the Institute of Technology Tallaght to establish a new technological university.

  Action taken

  The school’s activities were transferred into TU Dublin’s successor organisational structure, and the DIT-branded school ceased to operate as a standalone entity.

  Aftermath

  The DIT name and institutional structure were retired, while electrical and electronic engineering education and research continued within TU Dublin.

  Source

1. 1DIT School of Electrical & Electronic Engineeringen.wikipedia.org
2. 2DIT Electrical and Electronic Engineeringdit.ie