Stormont’s ‘unsustainable’ funding model hindering Magee expansion

A robust conversation titled ‘The Future of a University in Derry: Magee Expansion’ has taken place in the city as part of Féile 2026.

Held in The Verbal Arts Centre at Monday lunchtime, Professor Malachy Ó Neill, the Director of Regional Engagement and Professor of Irish at Ulster University (UU) spoke with Derry News journalist, Catherine McGinty.

Throughout the discussion, Prof Ó Neill repeatedly reiterated the unsustainable nature of the current Higher Education funding model being operated by the Stormont Executive.

Addressing UU’s recent announcement its proposed multimillion pound 15,000 square metre Air Dome as was ‘no longer viable within our [UU’s] current context’, Prof Ó Neill revealed he had been “intimately involved with the project from the outset” but “programme costings and capital costings have gone through the roof”.

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“No pun intended, I was particularly deflated last week. This would have been a project that would have had significant impact in a very positive sense on the community and the broader university community and that is what makes it particularly disappointing,” said Prof Ó Neill.

“But ultimately, these things boil down to money and they boil down to funding, and it is well documented there are significant challenges around the funding of higher education in particular, in terms of that relationship with government in this part of the world,” he added.

“So we find ourselves in a position where we are unable to go ahead with that project.

“At a time when all universities are having to prioritise their core business of teaching and learning, it makes it all the more difficult to prioritise additional projects,” said Prof O’Neill, who returned to the issue of funding for higher education in the North when discussing the ongoing redundancy process in UU.

“If you compare the financial support for UU at present from the government, per student since 2009/2010, we’re at 63% less in terms of that resource,” he explained.

“That’s a reality at a time when we're we're driving growth, so, whilst our student population has shown a 60% increase since 2021 … the funding model hasn't matched it. The challenge is constantly, how to make the best of the resources available.

“We are a multi-campus institution. It is in the DNA of the university, and to have that regional focus. We have campuses here in Derry, in Coleraine, in Belfast city centre [and] a much smaller operation at Jordanstown than people would have been used to historically. Essentially, the growth in more recent times has been initially in Belfast and more recently in Derry.

“So the challenge around driving growth, which is my big passion and has been for for many many years since arriving here, has been how do you make sure you have a sustainable operation when you're in an unsustainable funding situation?

“It is remarkably challenging to drive growth when the funding model doesn't enable that. In the case of UU, it is somewhere in the region of 11 million pounds in terms of that one issue that has presented historically - we have never been funded as a multi-campus operation,” said Prof Ó Neill.

He added: “There are two major universities in this jurisdiction. UU is a multi-campus model, which means we replicate a lot of facilities two or three times that the other major university is required to to make available once. There is probably a gap in the region of about 18 million pounds in terms of what sustainable funding for a regionally based university would look like versus a single single site operation.

“So in that context, and in the context where universities right across these islands are facing financial challenges, we have unfortunately found ourselves in the position where we are looking at a voluntary, entirely voluntary, staff redundancy process.”

Asked if the totemic expansion of UU, Magee to 10,000 students by 2032 was achievable, Prof Ó Neill said it hinged on “sustainable funding”.

He added: “2032 is the date the Task Force has been being focused on. Our growth trajectory to date, and it is really important we note this, our student numbers in the academic year just finished was 6542 - just a little bit above where we'd anticipated being by 2028.

“So, in those terms, there is good delivery in terms of what we'd hoped to do in that immediate period.

“The student numbers should naturally increase that little bit further, towards 7000 probably, in this coming academic year, so the trajectory towards 2032 and 10,000 students is very, very good based on what we've seen to date.

“But the challenges around sustainable funding for higher education in a Northern Irish context remain very very difficult.

“The trajectory is good, but the need for a sustainable funding model for higher education is absolutely crucial in order to make this happen. There is no lack of commitment and no lack of delivery in terms of what we've sought to do more recently,” said Prof Ó Neill.

In the audience question and answer session which concluded ‘The Future of a University in Derry: Magee Expansion’, Prof Ó Neill was challenged on UU’s "commitment to Magee”.

One questioner said: “There was no problem building a campus in Belfast starting 2014. Inflation is 2% You run 140 million pounds over and Stormont provides 140 million on a loan over 20 years to pay back but UU can’t build a sky dome [in Derry] nine million pounds, half of which has been paid for you.”

Financial journalist Paul Gosling highlighted the fact he had recently asked the TUV, DUP and UUP if they were committed to achieving 10,000 students at Magee.

“The TUV said no and neither the DUP or UUP replied,” said Mr Gosling.

Prof Ó Neill said he was proud of the work done by UU.

He added: “It's difficult, but it is incredibly rewarding. Usually, when you're doing something that is difficult, you have that sense of reward when progress is delivered, and the facts are, we are on a growth trajectory.

“If we look again at our student numbers in the past academic year, they reflect a 60% growth since 2021. If that trajectory continues, then we're in the space that we collectively, everyone, would like to be in.”