Dublin City Council announces Lord Mayor’s Scholarship to help third level institutions attract international students to Dublin

The City Council is setting up a Lord Mayor of Dublin International Scholarships  to help Dublin’s third level colleges attract students. The idea of strengthening the international branding of Dublin as a centre for education and research came from the recently launched Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance.

At the request of the Dublin universities and Institutes of Technology, the Lord Mayor, Eibhlin Byrne, has achieved City Council agreement to permit the colleges to rebrand their international scholarships as the Lord Mayor of Dublin International Scholarships, create closer links with the city and attract top international students to come and study in Dublin. The Lord Mayor will welcome the students to the city and the City Council will interact with them to help make their stay in Dublin a productive, happy and memorable one.

“International students from countries outside of the EU contribute over €500 million annually to the Irish economy”, says Eibhlin Byrne.  “It’s a growing and important market and Dublin needs to get its share. Melbourne, a similar sized city to Dublin, earns over €2 billion annually from the same market. It’s all about branding. It makes sense for the city to promote Dublin and support the marketing initiatives of the third level colleges. 

Dublin Institute of Technology, Trinity College, Dublin City University, The National College of Ireland, University College Dublin, National University of Ireland Maynooth and the Institutes of Technology in Blanchardstown and Tallaght will all be entitled to  brand their scholarships with the new name.    Dublin City Council will welcome the new scholarship recipients annually in the Mansion House and the Lord Mayor will honour students completing their research and study, by presenting them with a City Scroll, acknowledging their contribution to Dublin.

International students benefit the economy of Dublin in a number of ways. Apart from the fees they contribute to the third level colleges, they spend money that create and sustain jobs in local services and local businesses. Robert Flood, DIT’s Head of International Affairs estimates that every 100 students living in Dublin support 15 local jobs in phone companies, supermarkets, shops, restaurants and other services.

“Between DIT and TCD alone that equates to 214 jobs and over €14million to the local economy in Dublin City“, he says.  “The fee income from international students supplements central government funding to the third level colleges and also ensures that funding is made available to Irish students to attend essential conferences overseas and to take part in overseas exchange study/research visits.”

The 2004 Government Report on the Internationalisation of Irish Education Services identified the international education sector as one of the world’s faster growing business sectors and recognised the importance of the this market for Ireland.  The UK earns STG£5billion revenue annually from this market.  Ireland is losing international market share while countries of comparable size, like New Zealand, are growing this business.

 
“Ireland needs to change attitude and approach to welcome international students”, says Dr Brian Norton, President, DIT.  “International education is a means of building up networks and contacts with potential business and public service leaders in other countries. This is particularly important in terms of Ireland’s capacity to attract investment from and trade with the emerging economic giants of the coming decades such as China, India, Russia and Brazil. While our traditional links with the USA will remain important, we need to diversify our international economic links.”

“While Dublin’s third level institutions have excellent teaching and research reputations, we must market ourselves better internationally. Research shows that students often pick the country and city of destination before deciding on the institution or programme of study or research they wish to undertake. The Lord Mayor of Dublin International Scholarships will provide the branding identification of international education with the city of Dublin and we are confident it will have a positive effect on our marketing efforts,” says Peter Finnegan Director of International Relations & Research with Dublin City Council .

In his view Dublin could have a “ realistic target of gaining 3%, as New Zealand has, of the global market could bring €1.5 billion annually into our economy. Such a target for Dublin is achievable if the international branding is clear, the national entry policies transparent, and the population sentiment among Dubliners remains open and welcoming.”

In launching the initiative Lord Mayor Eibhlin Byrne  talked of challenges that must be faced ; “The decline in student visa applications for Ireland reflects the reality that the Irish Visa system is not perceived to be efficient and transparent. There have been instances of individuals with visas, and university acceptance refused entry at Dublin Airport. If one compares the 2007 success rates for study visa applicants to the UK and Ireland one finds that Ireland refused almost 4 in 10 applicants from China while the UK refused only 1 in 20. Ireland refused almost 1 in 2 applicants from Turkey while the UK refused 1 in 10. While vigilance at our borders and entry points is essential, we should be able to develop a rational way of welcoming international students who have been accepted for entry into University and Higher Education courses. Ireland is one of only two native English speaking countries in the EU yet France, Germany and Holland are all attracting more students to programmes taught through English. The action taken today by the city and its Universities must be matched by Government aligning better national policies around visas and entry.”

Note :

• The DRHEA comprises all Third level institutions in the Dublin Region. One strand of its work is Internationalisation and Robert Flood of DIT is Leader of this strand. It is funded by the Higher Education Authority under the Strategic Innovation Fund.
• Dublin City Council’s Office of International Relations & Research works with organisations in the city to enhance the city economy through international linkages and branding.
  

ENDS