Speech by Dr Michael P. Mortell,
President, National University of Ireland Cork,
at the conferring of Commerce Degrees and Diplomas and Diplomas in Law, Monday, 21 July, 1997

The Faculty of Commerce has a long and honourable tradition in UCC. It has always provided a basic education in the various aspects of business, and sent its graduates out to be very successful in the world of business.

It is not that long ago that the Faculty offered a single primary degree - the BComm. From that basic degree graduates could go into Accounting or Finance, Management, Marketing, Banking or whatever. The Faculty has seen the need to segment its market. So today will be conferred four primary degrees, The BComm, BSc (Accounting), BSc (Finance) and BSc (Business Information Systems).

The demand for each of these degree courses is high and so is the quality of student. That is a great joy for all of us - that we have the pleasure of teaching top class students, who will go out into the world to do themselves and their Alma Mater, UCC, proud.

The diversity of programmes in the Faculty can also be seen at postgraduate level. We have a thriving MBA programme, and discipline based Masters programmes in Economics, Accounting, Finance, Information Systems, Management, Marketing and Public Administration. We also have executive courses aimed at top level management.

The total number of students in the Faculty is about 1,400 - that is about the size of the whole of UCC when I was a student here 35 years ago. Today, UCC consists of more than 10,500 students.

It is no harm to reflect for a few moments on the increase in the diversity of programmes offered and the huge increase in the number of students.

Forty years ago less than 6,000 students sat their Leaving Certificate; today more than 60,000 sit the same exam. Forty years ago less than 1,500 students attended UCC; today more than 10½ thousand attend UCC. The increase in the numbers going to higher levels of education is a magnificent achievement. It is the achievement of public policy, underwritten by the tax payers of this nation - you and me! During those difficult years, when a high proportion of our taxes was being invested in education, there were voices in high places arguing against it - that the country could not afford the cost. Not everyone saw it as an investment. Fortunately, those with a fundamental belief in the value of an educated citizenry won out. And today we see the results in a booming economy.

However, those same voices are still there, telling us now about the demographic down turn - the effect of a decreasing birth rate - to try to underpin an argument against putting further resources into education and into the universities. The fact is: that every other developed economy has gone through the demographic downturn long before we in Ireland and still the numbers at university have risen. Apparently, in their eyes, Ireland is different!

It is now widely accepted that the rising educational attainment is underpinning the transformation of our society; the rise in female participation and immigration, for example. Ireland's outstanding success in attracting foreign investment is largely the result of our long-term investment in human capital - ie, the education of our people. The Chairman of the IDA has recently said there is a "need to recognise education as our single most important substantial competitive advantage and allocate resources accordingly".

It is very important for decision makers in Government - which now with the "free fee" regime is almost the sole contributor to funding of universities - to understand that, as Paddy Galvin of IBEC recently said, "Human resources are the key to our present strategic position, and education is the key to our human resource potential. Our recent economic success has bound industry and education together on this island in an extraordinary symbiotic relationship."

Our future as a nation; our ability to create wealth, our ability to create employment is now, in the information age, essentially in the young hands - the talented young people of this country, and the intellectual property you carry around in your heads as a result of your university education.

I have great confidence in Ireland's future.