Study in Ireland
Ireland: The land of opportunities
Over 90% of the roughly 3,000 Indian students in Ireland are pursuing post graduate courses. Ireland is popular majorly amongst students from Delhi, followed by Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai.
Ireland’s place at the heart of the EU ensures that Irish higher education institutions continue to access valuable EU funding so that Ireland remains at the forefront of research and innovation.
Barry O’Driscoll, Senior Education Advisor, Education in Ireland, talks about why Ireland is the land of opportunities for world-class education.
Ireland’s membership of the EU has played an integral role in building Ireland’s reputation as a location for world-class research and as a centre of excellence in higher education. Ireland offers 5,000 internationally-recognised and quality-assured programmes.
Software engineering, mechanical engineering, biomedical sciences, data analytics, fintech, cyber security, and international finance and aviation are big draws. All of Ireland’s universities are ranked in the top 5 per cent globally, and in many fields of research, rank in the top one per cent, globally.
Ireland’s place at the heart of the EU ensures that Irish higher education institutions continue to access valuable EU funding so that Ireland remains at the forefront of research and innovation. Post Brexit referendum in the UK, Ireland’s higher education institutions have witnessed a notable increase in enquiries and applications from international students, outside the European Union.
THE INDIAN CONTEXT
There are currently around 3,000 Indian students pursuing different courses with 90% of them post-graduates. The majority of students come from Delhi followed by Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, and Chennai. Every year, Education in Ireland organises education fairs in India’s major cities where reputed higher education institutions from Ireland participate. So, we are hopeful that the next academic year (2018-2019) will see at least a further 25% increase.
FEE STRUCTURE AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Fee range are around 8,000 Euros upwards, depending on the course. Many of Ireland’s higher education institutions offer merit- based scholarships. More than 200 scholarships are offered by Ireland’s education institutions specifically for Indian students. These range from 10% to 50% fee waivers, and are merit-based. In terms of cost of living, it is estimated that a student will have to spend between 6,000 and 11,000 Euros per year depending on the location and lifestyle.
Indian students can work up to 20 hours a week during their course and 40 hours during vacation. Besides, there is a policy of encouraging Indian entrepreneurs to set up shop in Ireland.
STAY-BACK VISA
The key advantage of studying in Ireland is that students at post-graduate level can avail of a two-year ‘stay-back’ option after completing their course. At a time when other countries are tightening their visa rules for international students and graduates, Ireland has taken the opposite approach. Earlier this year, the Irish government announced an extension to its Third Level Graduate Scheme, for non-EU/EEA students at post graduate level. Highly skilled international graduates can make a significant contribution to Ireland’s talent pool and Ireland can provide international students with a highly desirable start for their own careers.
The stay-back option guarantees post graduate students the opportunity to remain in Ireland, after their studies, for a period of two years to seek employment in dynamic sectors such as ICT, biopharma, engineering, medical devices, food science and financial services. The possibility of gaining valuable post-study work experience makes Ireland a very compelling option for the Indian students. With over 1,000 multinationals based in Ireland, the country offers exciting career opportunities for talented graduates.
POST STUDY WORK OPPORTUNITIES
The primary focus of most students who go abroad to purse higher education is an employment offer post-graduation, in the foreign land, in order to gain exposure and experience. The 24-month stay-back visa option plays an instrumental role in facilitating this for students who have been studying in Ireland. This allows graduates at the Master’s and PhD level the chance to remain in Ireland for 24 months after their studies to seek employment. Currently, Ireland has skill shortage in particular areas such as software engineering, mechanical engineering, biomedical sciences, data analytics, fintech and international finance. Highly skilled international graduates are well-placed to take advantage of opportunities in aregs such as these. Many of the programmes offered by our higher education institutions offer internships. That many Indian students have gone on to secure positions with leading companies such as Intel, Ernst and Young, IBM, Hewlett Packard and Procter and Gamble, bears ample testimony to our welcoming culture. In terms of post-study work opportunities, over a thousand technology companies, half of the world’s financial institutions, nine out of 10 global pharmaceutical corporations and 17 out of the top 25 medical device companies are based in Ireland.
FEW REASONS WHY STUDENTS SHOULD CONSIDER IRELAND:
- It’s one of the friendliest and safest countries in the world
- It’s an English-speaking country
- Hundreds of scholarships available
- 2-year post-study work visa
- Better career opportunities with leading global companies located in Ireland
- Achieve your ambitions in Europe’s most entrepreneurial country
VISA UPDATE
Here’s a lowdown on how aspiring students from India can apply for a student visa to study in Ireland.
Is a student going to Ireland for higher studies, applicants need to apply for student visa. There are two categories of student visas that are applicable in Ireland. For study programmes with a duration of less than three months, one needs to apply for ‘C type study visa’ while for study programmes with a longer duration, the applicants need to file for ‘D type study visa’. Before applying for a student visa to Ireland, the students need to get a confirmed admission in the college they wish to study at. After getting accepted at the Irish university or institution of your choice, you will receive an acceptance letter from the institution, which is an extremely important document for the visa application.
The applicants looking to study in Ireland need to apply for visa online. Once you have the required documents ready, you can go ahead with your visa application. Once the visa application has been submitted online, you should print the summary of the visa application form. Gather your application form, sign it, collect other documents including original passport, passport-sized coloured photograph and all supporting documents and submit them at the embassy office of Ireland. The application for the visa would be processed when the online application, along with the relevant documents, is received by the relevant office.
In their visa applications, the students also need to specify that they have enough money to support themselves in terms of their tuition fees and also their living expenses during the course of their study. An applicant needs to show a fund of around 7,000 Euros in his/her account. This amount is about the same amount an international student would need to stay and study in Ireland. Besides, the applicants also need to prove that either the applicant or his parents or sponsor would be able to fund 7,000 Euros for each year of studies that one intends to pursue.
The process:
- Pay the tuition fees installment to the university
- Prepare all relevant documents and their copies
- Submit online application
- And finally, pay the application fees of about
- 300 Euros for visa processing
The list of documents:
- A recent passport sized picture
- A letter of acceptance from a reqpgnised university or institution in Ireland stating that you have been admitted to a full-time course there
- The scores of either IELTS or TOEFL exams as applicable for the university
- A proof that confirms the payment of tuition fees
- A bank statement confirming that the applicant has enough funds to cover for the first year of education they are enrolling for
- Papers to confirm private medical insurance.
The Irish advantage
Archit Kumar, Business Analyst, Ernst and Young, completed his Masters in Business Analytics in 2016 from UCD Smurfit Business School, Ireland. He shares his views on why Ireland is a great place for higher education.
Someone once said, “life is just about connecting the dots.” It’s about choosing the right dots for you, and for me, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and EY have been one of them.
The level of supervision and support that I’ve received as a Master’s candidate in Business Analytics at Smurfit Business School has been second to none. Studying here gave me the opportunity to interact with students from diverse backgrounds and cultures, offering me a different perspective on the world. Along with this, being able to learn from real-life business case scenarios, such as during my thesis with IBM, and from visiting professionals from international companies, have further enhanced my learning experience.
Networking is the key to success in a career, but I have learned that it should be done properly in order to build mutually useful relationships and benefit from opportunities. The guidance I received from the Smurfit Business School Career Office was tremendously helpful throughout my job application process, and was key in my success in receiving job offers from various MNCs such as Ernst and Young, Verizon and Citibank.
This Master’s course not only provided me with impeccable education; it also encouraged me to participate in extracurricular activities and awakened strengths I didn’t know l had. l made it through to the grand finale in the UCD Start-up Stars competition last year; I had never dreamed that I might be a budding entrepreneur before. I can honestly say that these experiences have defined who I am, and I fee! that they were only possible due to the practical approach that is used here. And hence, I am proud to say that that my college days may be over now, but no matter which dots I find myself connecting to in the future, I will always be a proud alumnus of UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.
LANDING THE DREAM JOB
A little prior research and Smurfit’s carrier department also played a pivotal role in clarifying my doubts and assuring me that Ernst and Young was the place to be.
Well as the name suggests, EY is one of the major big4s and one of the main reasons I was attracted to the company was for the heavy investment it/nakes in technology and the companies sheer interest in simplifying complicated problems – Data Analytics being the key aspect. Having an in-depth knowledge in the subject, combined with the impeccable platform that EY had to offer, l knew that it was the company I wanted to be in after my graduation.
ANALYTICS FACE OF THE YEAR
My daily work always includes creative thinking, whether that’s coding a new programme or finding a new analytical strategy for a scalable solution for a client project. I also work on the various new analytics driven technologies, which is exactly what I wanted to do.
Not only do I get the chance to work on new technologies in analytics, but I am always motivated to think outside the box and to be as creative as possible. I am a big follower of new technology trends and try to bring in any new technology or ideas in my analytics work. My contributions to the project (where I am building a product to transform Wealth Asset Management), hard work, and innate curiosity are what made me the ‘Face of Analytics’.
WHY IRELAND?
It is English speaking: As one of the only English-speaking countries in the EU, Ireland offers the opportunity to-experience a different culture without having to grapple with a language barrier. It has a young dynamic population, 40% of the population being under 25, open to changes and exchange of ideas, hence making learning fun.
It is one of the friendliest and safest countries in the world; crime rates are bare minimum and people are always open to some conversations. The Irish have a vivid culture; for them, race is just another word in the dictionary. They treat everyone as if they have known them for years.
Ireland also recently finished top in the Good Country index, which measures a country’s overall contribution to the world, from arts and culture, to science, and charity — another reason to be a part of something for the greater good of the society.
When it comes to job opportunities Ireland is second to none, with many of the world’s top companies setting shop here due to generous tax incentives and a highly educated workforce. Along with tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Twitter, Ireland is currently home to 9 of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies and is one of the globe’s largest exporter of pharmaceuticals, which means you certainly won’t be short of a job interview when you finish your course.
In-depth learning
MSc in Biological & Biomolecular Science is designed to train students in the very latest aspects of the biomolecular sciences.
University College Dublin is Ireland’s largest and most globally engaged university with more than 32,000 registered students, of which more than 6,500 are international students. UCD is situated on a 350 acre leafy campus in the south part of Dublin.
It is a research intensive university, with strong links across its research, postgraduate and undergraduate programmes to key industries in Ireland including food, biopharmaceuticals, finance and ICT.
ASPECTS OF THE COURSE:
The MSc in Biological & Biomolecular Science degree programme uses UCD’s unique ‘negotiated learning’ model, which allows students to create a customised MSc degree in one area of the biomolecular life sciences.The student chooses a specialisation in either cell biology & genetics, microbiology & infection biology, or biochemistry & synthetic biology. With the guidance of academic staff, the student then selects the individual modules that they wish to study in their chosen specialisation, thereby creating a unique degree for themselves.
COURSE PRACTICALITIES:
This MSc is one year in length, with students required to complete a total of 90 ECTS credits. The course is highly practical in nature, and students are required to complete 40 credits from their ‘negotiated’ subject-specific modules, 20 credits of core professional skills modules and 30 credits from a customised research laboratory experience.
COLLEGE:
This course is primarily delivered by world- renowned researchers in the UCD College of Science. During the research laboratory experience, a student gets access to the latest biomolecuiar techniques and advanced technology platforms within UCD.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES:
This MSc programme is designed to train students in the very latest aspects of the biomolecuiar sciences as used in the biopharmaceutical and medical device sectors. It takes students beyond the traditional discipline of biotechnology, thereby providing career opportunities with pharmaceutical companies in areas such as disease diagnostics, drug design & development and therapeutic intervention. It also equips students with skills suitable for further research to PhD level.
ABOUT EDUCATION IRELAND:
It is the national brand under the authority of the Minister for Education and Skills. Enterprise Ireland is responsible for the promotion of Irish Higher Education Institutions overseas. To know more please check the mentioned link: http://www.educationinireland.com/en/
AT A GLANCE
Here are a few facts the students need to know about this Master’s programme before applying:
QUALIFICATIONS:
The degree awarded is a Master of Science (MSc)
NFQ:
Level 9
COSTS:
Tuition fees are 24,200 Euros
NEXT INTAKE:
Applications are now open for intake in September 2018
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:
Students require the equivalent of an upper second class degree in a life science discipline (for example biology, zoology, biochemistry, microbiology, biotechnology), and a recognised English language qualification