The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton jointly launched “Education in Ireland” – the new umbrella brand for marketing the Irish higher education and the English language sectors internationally. The new brand is one of the commitments in the Programme for a National Government 2011-2016.
The drive to promote Irish education abroad, which is led by Enterprise Ireland, aims to double the number of international students studying in Irish higher education institutes 2015. Around 26,000 international students currently undertake third level education in Ireland. The combined value of third level and English language international education in Ireland is estimated to be currently worth €900m to the Irish economy.
However, the strategic imperative to promote Irish education internationally goes deeper than immediate economic benefits such as increased spending by international students in our economy. The internationalisation of Irish education is seen as a critical element to support Ireland’s international trading relationships and export-led economy.
Speaking at the launch Minister Quinn said: “Ireland’s education sector has many intrinsic strengths which give lasting value to our international students and that give us a competitive advantage in the international education market. But our success depends on the quality of our offer and our ability to tell our story internationally. The new brand is more than a logo. It represents our vision of Ireland as an internationally recognised world leader in the delivery of high-quality international education.”
Minister Bruton added: “The Education in Ireland brand provides the vehicle to present a unique, high-quality Irish education experience to international students. The international students we educate today are the next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs and decision makers in our partner countries. They will be the tomorrow’s advocates for Ireland and will make up a new network of Irish-educated alumni that can be of critical assistance in the future promotion of Ireland abroad.”