National College of Ireland has enjoyed a long and intriguing history. Click on the links below to learn more about NCI's origins and evolution. At the close of the Second World War, there was a widespread desire to improve social conditions, which was joined, in Ireland, to a renewed sense of nationality and an awareness of the threat posed by the Soviet Union. In the Irish Jesuit Province, a committee was appointed to consider who to apply to Ireland the principles enunciated in the papal social encyclicals. The committee was composed of Fr Coyne, Joseph Canavan, and Tom Counihan, who suggested the establishment of a social research centre, rather than a college. In 1948, Dr. Tierney, President of UCD, approached Fr. Coyne with a view to organising extra courses in Social and Economic Studies at UCD, working closely with trade union officials. This course proved so successful that at the end of the year a number of the trade union members approached Fr. Kent for further education. The result was the Catholic Workers College.National College of Ireland (NCI) or Coláiste Náisiúnta na hÉireann (CNÉ) in Irish is a not-for-profit, state-aided third-level education institution in Dublin. It was founded in 1951 as a joint venture between Irish Jesuits and Irish Trade Unions and originally named the Catholic Workers College, Dublin. It is now an autonomous college, offering full and part-time courses from undergraduate to postgraduate level, in areas related to, among others, psychology, finance, business and computing. The courses are delivered from the IFSC campus in Dublin and across a network of regional centres. NCI's specialist areas include psychology, human resource management, data analytics, management, cloud computing, fintech, accountancy, cybersecurity, education, and finance. NCI is also known for its free public events which include the dot conf digital and web technology conference, the Legends in Your Lunchtime series, the Seven Deadly Skills, In the Psychologists' Chair and Marketing Mavericks.The first years of the new administration witnessed a number of significant developments. A Policy Research Centre was established in 1990. The following year, 1991-92, students became eligible for grants under the higher education grants scheme; and in 1993 the Board of Management of the college expanded to embrace a three-way partnership with trade unions, employers and the Jesuit Order. Other developments between 1990 and 1998 included:The generous transfer by the Jesuits in 1995 of the land and buildings at Sandford Road to the Board of Management of the collegeA significant increase in student and staff numbersThe securing of government funding, and of private funding for pioneering new coursesThe establishment of a Centre of Educational OpportunityThe expansion of Library servicesThe opening of many off-campus programmes in different parts of the countryThe college was very fortunate in having had as chairman during this period of extensive development, the late Mr. Paddy Moriarty, who worked tirelessly to bring the college to its fifth period of expansion and adaptation as National College of Ireland. To facilitate this development, the Jesuit community at Sandford Lodge fittingly agreed to make available to the college the building and grounds where, 47 years previously, the historic venture first commenced.In 1951, the National College of Ireland started out as the Catholic Workers College, Dublin in Sandford Lodge, Ranelagh. Founded by Fr. Edward Coyne S.J., in association with Trade Unionists such as Walter Beirne others involved in the college in its initial years included Professor Thomas A. Finlay S.J., and Rev. Edmund Kent S.J. among others. Lectures were led by a handful of dedicated Jesuits two nights a week, with 103 registered students in the first year. Within 10 years, student numbers had dramatically increased. Links with trade unions deepened, as did formal collaborations with employer and management groups. By 1966, nearly 1,300 students from trade union and business management backgrounds were learning together at the re-branded National College of Industrial Relations (NCIR). In 1976 the college achieved recognition by the states National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA), the forerunner of HETAC, for a number of its programmes. The institution again re-branded as the National College of Ireland (NCI) in 1998, with an expanded National Campus Network, and an array of outreach programmes across the country.As the NCI continued to grow, the land and buildings at Sandford Road were transferred by the Jesuits to the NCI Board of Management. The college’s Higher Certificate, Bachelor, Higher Diploma, and Master courses are accredited by the Irish government's Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI); a number of other short term courses are unaccredited. At the turn of the century, NCI relocated to a 0.8 hectare site on Mayor Street in the Dublin Docklands. A€25,000,000 fundraising campaign resulted in the development of a modern campus including 53 residential apartments accommodating 286 students and a new Business and Research Building. In 2009 and 2010 the college ran a series of free debates called the Insight Debate Series, organised in partnership with The Irish Times and the radio station Newstalk 106-108 FM. The college's Legends in your Lunchtime series saw public figures such as Ben Dunne, Willie Walsh and Giovanni Trapattoni interviewed live by a Newstalk presenter. In 2012 the College's chairman Denis O'Brien and Jeffrey Ullman, emeritus Stanford professor and 2020 ACM A.M. Turing Award winner, opened the NCI's Cloud Competency Centre.
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