Minister Costello announces significant new education agreement in Brazil
5,500 Brazilian Third Level Students to Study in Ireland over the next four years
11 October 2012 - The Minister for Trade and Development Mr. Joe Costello, T.D. has signed a landmark education and research agreement with Brazil that will see 4,000 under-graduate Brazilian students study in Ireland over the next four years.
L-R: Mark Ferguson, Director General, Science Foundation Ireland, Glaucius Oliveira, President of CNPq, National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, Brazil, Minister for Trade and Development Joe Costello, Marina Donohoe, Enterprise Ireland Head of Education, President Michael D. Higgins (Photo: ©Túlio Vidal/Enterprise Ireland).
The agreement was secured during this week’s Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Brazil led by the Minister for Trade and Development Joe Costello T.D.
The agreement is part of Brazil’s Science Without Borders programme - a Brazilian Government scholarship programme which aims to send 100,000 Brazilian students on undergraduate courses and PhDs courses to study in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and creative industries at top universities around the world. It builds on a previous agreement between Ireland and Brazil announced in June this year for up to 1,500 post-graduate Brazilian students to study in Ireland.
L-R: Kevin Sherry, Enterprise Ireland Head of International Sales and Partnering, Mark Ferguson, Director General, Science Foundation Ireland, Minister for Trade and Development Joe Costello, Glaucius Oliveira, President of CNPq, National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, Brazil. (Photo: ©Túlio Vidal/Enterprise Ireland).
Welcoming the announcement Minister Costello said:
“The agreement marks the start of a new and significant relationship between Brazilian Higher Education Institutes and their Irish counter-parts. This is a major boost for the international third level education sector in Ireland. Ireland currently hosts just 100 third-level Brazilian students per year so this will be a truly substantial increase.”
Marina Donohoe, Head of Education at Enterprise Ireland added:
“In the context of Ireland’s strategy for internationalising Irish higher education, this agreement will help to drive collaboration and growth in research, academic and student exchange between Ireland and Brazil. Ireland’s involvement in Science Without Borders at post-graduate and now under-graduate level puts in place the mechanism and funding for an additional 1,400 students per annum.”
“There are currently less than 10 institutional links between Brazilian and Irish institutions. Under the Science Without Borders scholarship programme, this is expected to rise to over 100 by 2015.”
“In terms of economic benefits to the Irish economy, Ireland’s inclusion in the Science Without Borders programme has the potential to deliver €15m in fee income, plus an additional €19m in additional spend in the Irish economy.”
In support of this initiative, Education in Ireland officially launched an online portal for Brazilian academics and students. The portal will enable academics and students to search for higher education courses in Ireland, learn more about living and studying in Ireland, and avail of practical advice on how to apply to relevant universities, colleges and institutes of technology – in Brazil’s native language, Portuguese.
The agreement was secured in partnership with the Department of Education and Skills with support from Science Foundation Ireland, the Institutes of Technology Ireland and the Irish Universities Association.
Note for Editors
About Education in Ireland
Education in Ireland is the Government initiative to market Irish third level education to overseas students. The initiative is led by Enterprise Ireland and aims to double the number of international students studying in Irish colleges by 2015. The programme aims to highlight the strengths of Ireland’s education offering in key target markets including China, India, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and the USA.
