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The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn, TD, today welcomed the appointment of the former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, as the chairperson of the High Level Group on the Modernisation of Higher Education.

Established by the European Commission, the Group will conduct a comprehensive three year review of higher education across member states.

The initial focus will be on how best to achieve quality and excellence in teaching and learning, with other areas of the sector looked at subsequently.

Warmly welcoming the appointment, the Minister said: “I am delighted to see Mary McAleese’s skills and experiences recognised on an international level.

“Mary is fantastically qualified to chair the Review Group, having been Reid Professor in Trinity College Dublin, Director of the Institute of Professional Legal Studies in Queen’s University, and then the first female pro-vice chancellor of Queen's University.

"I will be very interested to see the recommendations arising from the Review, and look forward to seeing how their work can feed into the education reform programme here in Ireland.”

The Group will identify best practices and creative solutions, as well as making recommendations to national and European policy makers, universities and colleges. It will report for the first time in 2013 and has a mandate until 2015.