Council and LYIT sign special cooperation agreement

Letterkenny Institute of Technology and Donegal County Council made history this week when they become the first organisations of their kind in Ireland to formally sign a memorandum of understanding.
The document, which covers the next five years,  formalises the strong working relationship between both organisations, and recognises the very important responsibilities that both the Council and LYIT have in delivering on national and regional policy objectives.
The council says the partnership will focus on promoting sustainable economic development and job creation, with a particular emphasis on cross-border collaboration.
 
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DCC / LYIT joint statement in full –
 
 Letterkenny Institute of Technology and Donegal County Council made history on Wednesday when they become the first organisations of their kind in Ireland to formally sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU). 
This memorandum of understanding formalises the strong working relationship between both organisations and recognises the very important responsibilities that both the Council and LYIT have in delivering on national and regional policy objectives.
This 5 year MoU was signed by Seamus Neely, Chief Executive of Donegal County Council and Paul Hannigan, President of Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT), in the presence of Cllr. Ciaran Brogan, on behalf of their respective organisations.  
Speaking at this signing, Cllr. Ciaran Brogan, Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council stated that “this is an historic first, as it is the first agreement of its kind in Ireland between a higher education institution and its local authority.  The agreement emanates from a strong working relationship over the years and both partners wish to further develop their capacities to achieve their respective missions  through enhanced cooperation”.
This partnership will focus on promoting sustainable economic development and job creation by working with stakeholders to address their various education and training needs, to develop the region’s capacity for Research and Innovation and to promote and support Entrepreneurship, Investment, and Enterprise.  There is particular emphasis on cross-border collaboration.
This focus is consistent with the Council’s Corporate Plan 2015-19, the Donegal Local Economic & Community Plan 2016 – 2022, and LYIT’s Strategic Plan 2014-17.
Paul Hannigan stated that this memorandum is “a formal recognition of the excellent working relationship that exists between Letterkenny IT and Donegal County Council.  This has been built up over many years with respective staff cooperating and collaborating on many projects”. 
Seamus Neely believes that this MoU will solidify what is an already very strong relationship between both organisations and will further support the strategic crossborder collaborative approach that both the Council and LYIT have been pursuing. 
“Although we have many challenges in Donegal, we also have many strengths and one is our capacity to work in a collaborative way for the betterment of our county and our region.  Both the Council and LYIT face similar challenges mainly due to our geographical location and by working together  and in a regional context with our partners in Derry City and Strabane District Council we will continue to promote sustainable economic development and job creation in Donegal and the region”.