The president of Cork Institute of Technology, Dr Barry O’Connor, is to retire later this year after four decades of working in the higher education sector across Ireland and the world.

Dr O’Connor took up the role of CIT president in 2017, having worked in the higher education sector since 1980.

He will leave the role in December this year.

A statement from CIT said:

“Cork Institute of Technology President, Dr Barry O’Connor, is to retire in December having given 40 years service to Higher Education across Ireland, France, USA and Portugal.

“He is confident that CIT, and very soon the MTU (Minster Technological University), is on a powerful developing trajectory which will make a strong regional, as well as national, impact.

“MTU will be pivotal in the rebooting of the economy, as Cork RTC was in the dark days of the 1980s,” it concluded.