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Queens University

New Academic Partnership unlocks opportunities for Technology and Transformation

Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) and Queen’s University Belfast have announced a landmark partnership that will see DkIT become a University College of Queen’s, strengthening research, teaching and innovation.

For HSE Technology and Transformation (TT), which already has a Memorandum of Understanding with DkIT, this development significantly expands the scale, capability and opportunity of the existing relationship and introduces new potential through the inclusion of a university of international standing.

The aim of having the new University College fully operational for the start of the 2026 academic year. Students enrolling from September 2026 would graduate with a Queen’s University Belfast Degree or Postgraduate qualification.

This partnership is expected to be fully operational by the start of the 2026 academic year. From September 2026 onward, students enrolling in programmes at Dundalk will graduate with a Queen’s University Belfast degree or postgraduate qualification

A central feature of the partnership is the creation of a Joint Research and Innovation Centre in Dundalk, with future projects expected to focus on areas such as health and life sciences, sustainability, and emerging technologies. For the HSE, this provides a stronger platform for collaborative research aligned to national digital health priorities, including remote patient monitoring, digital workflows, data-sharing frameworks, service redesign and future-focused healthcare delivery. Queen’s University brings established research capacity, academic leadership and access to competitive research funding streams that can be leveraged to support and accelerate digital transformation within the health service.

The extended collaboration also strengthens the talent pipeline available to the health sector. By integrating DkIT programmes within Queen’s academic framework, students and postgraduates will have access to expanded learning pathways, increased specialisation and enhanced skills development. For TT, this means greater opportunities to engage with students and graduates who are trained in disciplines directly relevant to the evolving digital and technological needs of the Irish health system. Placement programmes, joint research supervision, applied project work and postgraduate opportunities can support the development of future data analysts, system architects, clinical informaticians, digital programme specialists and other emerging roles.

Overall, the new Queen’s–DkIT partnership creates a more powerful academic network that can underpin and enhance the HSE’s digital transformation agenda. With deeper research capacity, expanded talent development routes and stronger North–South alignment, the partnership represents a timely and positive step forward in developing the capabilities needed to deliver world-class digital health services across Ireland.