Ireland calling for Indian students
Students wanting to study in England, but unable to do so due to stricter visa norms, are now opting for Ireland, which has thrown open its doors to Indian students. With an aim to double the current inflow of 1,000 Indian students per year or even more, the Irish government has announced relaxed visa norms, as well as better job opportunities, during and after studies, as a result of which more and more students are opting for higher education in Ireland.
Confirming the trend among students from Mumbai, prof. Mridul Nile, director, students welfare, University of Mumbai, said that they have received many queries from students regarding education options in Ireland. “The University does not have a proper counselling department for overseas studies. After some countries tightened their visa norms disallowing students from working, along with their studies, they have been looking for options and Ireland is one of them,” said Prof. Nile.
Patrick O’ Riordan, director India, Enterprise Ireland said that while visa requirements of several countries keep fluctuating, Ireland’s focus is on optimising and communicating attractive offerings — including a guaranteed visa stay-back programme — to the Indian student.
O’Riordan said that the Ireland government had come up with scholarship programmes, specially for Indian students and hence cost of education was much more affordable than in the UK or the US. , “Ireland is a competitively priced EU destination. Living costs are of the order of `6 lakh per annum and Indian students are allowed work for 20 hours part-time per week during college term and full time during vacations. With a guaranteed one-year stay-back programme post graduation, which can then be extended with employer support, the situation is conducive for students looking to take permanent residence there,” said Mr O’Riordan.
“While studying in foreign countries one way of funding our stay is through part-time jobs. As the UK has restricted working for students, the Ireland option is welcome,” said Satish Gupta, a student who had to curtail his studies in the UK due to the BA rules.
According to Mr O’Riordan, the courses with job options available in Ireland are in the fields IT and science/engineering, data science, e-commerce, nanotechnology, materials engineering and food science.
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