Magee Campus in Derry
Plans are being progressed that will allow the first student intake of 70 in September 2021, she said.
“This is a hugely important investment for the north west,” she added.
A medical school at Magee campus has been a hot political football over the past number of years.
But as part of the New Deal New Approach document published at the start of this year, money was to be set aside for the campus in Derry.
There is only one medical school in the North of Ireland which is currently based at Queen’s University in Belfast.
SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood has welcomed the Executive recommitting itself to a medical school as part of the expansion of Magee.
But he has called for further detail and guarantees on a September 2021 intake.
Mr Eastwood said that what’s needed now is more than warm words but a detailed plan and the resource needed to lift the project off the ground.
Said the Foyle MP: “During the negotiations to restore power sharing, I made it a personal priority to secure not just a political commitment to the expansion of Magee but resource for developing the medical school.
“That was critical to SDLP support for the Executive. I welcome the statement from the First Ministers recommitting to university expansion in Derry today.
“What people here need is more than warm words or restated promises.
“We need a guarantee from the Executive and from Ulster University that the first students will enrol starting in September 2021.
Magee campus at the Ulster University in Derry
“I will work constructively with all parties to deliver on the potential of our university.
“Providing young people with the opportunity to study, work and make a life for themselves here is a priority for me.
“Today’s news must be something genuinely new, rehashing previous commitments or announcements will not be enough.”
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