
Students choosing Ireland according to new report
Gerry O'Sullivan
Posted: 3 July, 2018
“You heard about Brexit and I know there’s a lot of Polish there (UK) and I heard a lot of people feel insecure. So, I think I will not go to U.K. because I don’t want to have those problems. And I know that I should be welcomed here, there’s a lot of Polish people here as well they have really positive opinions about Ireland”. – Polish student in Ireland
This was one of the comments captured by Associate Professor Marie Clarke (UCD), Dr. Linda Hui Yang (UCD) and David Harmon (Insight) in their study of the “Internationalisation of Irish higher education”. The report, commissioned by the Higher Education Authority, is the first of its kind in Ireland. It was funded by the Irish Research Council under its Research for Policy in Society action.
Other “student voices” detailed in the report indicating the reasons why they choose Ireland as a study destination state “it was cheaper than the US, Canada and the UK. It was way cheaper than them. And secondly it was in Europe.” Other factors that impact on students’ choices include:
- Ireland is an English-speaking country
- Its perception as a safe country especially for females
- The quality of the education on offer
- The friendly welcome of the Irish people
Associate Professor Marie Clarke (UCD) commented “this study provides insights into the successful progress made by Irish higher education institutions in the area of internationalisation which has a long tradition in the Irish higher education system. It also reveals the challenges that such success brings in terms of the need for additional resources to support this activity, the issues that emerge in teaching and learning contexts and the range and diversity of supports that both international and Irish students require in order to ensure that internationalisation is a truly inclusive and holistic experience for all students”.
Accepting the report, the Chief Executive of the HEA Dr. Graham Love said, “the report is particularly timely as it comes at a stage when the HEA enters into the latest phase of the system performance dialogue with the institutions. The internationalisation of higher education is one of the key pillars of that process. The findings of this seminal report which was commissioned by the HEA will be extremely helpful in guiding the sector to put in place the supports and practices that will help ensure that the international education experience in Ireland is a positive one.”
The authors also surveyed 40 higher education institutions from the public and private sectors on a range of topics covering inter alia issues relating to the drivers of internationalisation; views on the way Irish higher education is promoted internationally, the internationalisation of the curricula, and the benefits of having international students on campuses.

Institutions reported that “they were not internationalising to the fullest extent but were constrained by the lack of resources”. The report states “a recurring theme in the data was the emphasis on increasing numbers and revenue rather than using resources to meet the needs of international students”.
The report concluded the “The reliance on this approach was viewed as problematic and there was a general awareness (among HEIs) that other factors should also inform approaches to internationalisation. These included increasing mobility in the student market, the promotion of outward mobility (of students and staff from Ireland) and securing international accreditation for programmes and government policy.”
Gerry O’Sullivan, Head of International Education at the HEA added “The internationalisation of Irish higher education has made remarkable progress in the last decade against a backdrop of the worst recession since the 1930s. This a remarkable achievement by the sector. It is also a profound statement of intent that despite the economic collapse part of the response was to strengthen our international engagement with European and other global partners.”
The report also concluded that the opinion of staff in the sector was that the Institution Head and senior management team were viewed as the main drivers of the internationalisation agenda and that greater efforts should be made to embed the process at all levels of the organisation.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6 December, 2021
Access and inclusion for persons with disability
-
-
-
8 November, 2021
Three institutions successful in ECHE 2021 Call
-
1 November, 2021
Increased Financial Support for Inclusion in Erasmus+ Programme
-
26 October, 2021
€9.2m allocated for Year 1 of new Erasmus+ Programme
-
-
-
28 September, 2021
TU Dublin Student Kevin McGrath explores “space” on his Erasmus+ Traineeship
-
27 September, 2021
Commission President commits EU to tackling global challenges
-
21 September, 2021
The future “is digital” as European Commission launches Erasmus+ App
-
15 September, 2021
UCD’s Dipti Pandya – Erasmus, Maynooth and the “Glenroe” Theme Tune
-
-
7 September, 2021
Irish HEIs well represented in 2021 Erasmus Mundus Call
-
6 September, 2021
New report confirms positive momentum for EU open science
-
2 September, 2021
European Year of Rail: Connecting Europe Express – All Aboard!
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
28 June, 2021
Pandemic and Research – Survey
-
-
-
-
-
-
14 June, 2021
European Group Statement on ethics and governance
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
19 May, 2021
Co-operation Partnerships Deadline Extended
-
-
-
-
-
-
4 April, 2021
European Innovation Council will have a €10bn Budget
-
25 March, 2021
New Erasmus+ Programme aims to support 10m learners
-
22 March, 2021
Ireland to receive over €27m in Erasmus+ Funding in 2021
-
-
17 March, 2021
Want to know more about the Erasmus+ Programme?
-
12 March, 2021
Carnaval goes virtual at Athlone IT
-
-
-
1 March, 2021
Ireland in 3rd spot in new EU Performance Index
-
-
-
22 February, 2021
EU to invest €150m in Coronavirus Research
-
-
18 February, 2021
UCD, Teagasc and Welsh Universities in Oats Research
-
15 February, 2021
EC Launches New European Bauhaus Initiative
-
3 February, 2021
UCD – Timely Report on Virtual Teaching Approaches
-
2 February, 2021
Almost 4400 HEIs in Europe awarded Erasmus Charter
-
1 February, 2021
Funding Call for Cross-Border Teacher Collaborations Announced
-
21 January, 2021
UCD and TCD to benefit from EU Horizon 2020 funding
-
-
16 December, 2020
Over 5000 events celebrate the Erasmus Programme in 2020
-
12 December, 2020
Next Erasmus+ Programme clears political hurdle
-
6 December, 2020
Erasmus Barometer Survey 2019-2020 Open
-
6 October, 2020
Four Irish HEIs in share of €5m EU Knowledge Alliance Funding
-
-
28 September, 2020
€239,696 in Jean Monnet funding awarded to two Universities
-
27 August, 2020
EU launches COVID Response Project Call
-
20 August, 2020
EC to launch Digital Education Strategic Partnerships Call
-
23 July, 2020
6 Irish HEIs to share in €36m Erasmus Mundus Programme
-
-
-
-
2 July, 2020
Europass: take the next step! New platform launched
-
22 June, 2020
Ulysses Call 2020 – Results
-
-
17 March, 2020
New Deadlines for Erasmus+ Sport Actions
-
12 March, 2020
Coronavirus – Statement from An Taoiseach
-
-
-
27 February, 2020
Erasmus+ Project opens door to Algerian partnership for UL
-
24 February, 2020
Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme fourth Call
-
14 February, 2020
European Policy Experimentations – Call 2020
-
13 February, 2020
Secular cultures more welcoming according to new study
-
-
3 February, 2020
Coronavirus Research Call
-
-
8 January, 2020
Brazilian Universities develop new performance metrics
-
-
20 December, 2019
Photo Competition to celebrate 10 million Erasmus Students
-
16 December, 2019
Erasmus Days 2019 a huge success
-
12 December, 2019
Cork IT Erasmus Student wins prestigious music award
-
11 December, 2019
International Scholarship Call to issue in January 2020
-
8 November, 2019
Erasmus+ 2020 Call and Programme Guide 2020
-
4 November, 2019
Three HEIs in latest Erasmus Mundus awards
-
-
9 September, 2019
The future of European research must be inclusive
-
30 August, 2019
Government Investment to benefit internationalisation
-
28 August, 2019
Almost 100 Mobilities to Palestine in 2018 from Europe
-
26 August, 2019
Latest Edition of the Armenian E+ Office Newsletter
-
12 August, 2019
Irish Universities win nearly €2m of EU support
-
-
-
5 June, 2019
DCU – World Leader in addressing bullying
-
29 May, 2019
Brexit – Continuation of Erasmus+
-
-
-
-
-
11 March, 2019
Old Dominion University on a visit to Ireland
-
10 March, 2019
Carnaval at MIC
-
-
-
27 February, 2019
500 participants attend Palestinian National Erasmus+ Office INFO Day
-
26 February, 2019
Seed funding call for Teacher Education North and South launched
-
22 February, 2019
Universities UK calls on UK government to fund study abroad
-
-
19 February, 2019
U-Multirank Call 2019 – Deadline 1 May 2019
-
7 February, 2019
Erasmus+ and a “No Deal” Brexit – EC Statement
-
1 February, 2019
Erasmus+ Application Deadline extended to 12 February
-
-
20 December, 2018
Unusual Stats for Christmas
-
16 November, 2018
Erasmus+ Languages Survey
-
-
-
24 October, 2018
European Commission publishes Erasmus+ Call 2019
-
8 October, 2018
Mobility under Erasmus+: European Court of Auditors Report
-
17 September, 2018
RCSI to deliver joint pharmacy programme with Chinese University
-
10 September, 2018
World Suicide Prevention Day 10 September 2018
-
-
-
-
28 August, 2018
Finland aims to be at the forefront of the Arctic bioeconomy
-
-
-
14 August, 2018
EU agrees a number of joint initiatives with Japan
-
-
-
-
22 June, 2018
Ireland an EU leader in Innovation
-
21 June, 2018
EU’s External Budget – €123 billion proposed for 2021-27
-
-
-
-
15 June, 2018
Palestine Erasmus+ Office launches newsletter
-
3 June, 2018
Irish SMEs among winners in Commission Programme
-
-
11 May, 2018
RTÉ Brainstorm
-
3 May, 2018
Career Guidance – Public Consultation
-
-
-
27 April, 2018
Global Survey on Internationalisation
-
-
-
17 January, 2023
International Programmes Evaluators – Call 2023
-
13 December, 2022
All About Youth – EU opportunities for young people in Ireland