Ireland’s Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O'Sullivan TD, along with the US Ambassador to Ireland, Kevin F. O’Malley announced that she has approved Education in Ireland to participate in Generation Study Abroad™, an initiative of the Institute of International Education (IIE), which aims to double the US students studying abroad by the end of the decade.

Under the agreement, Minister O’Sullivan’s Department will provide $100,000 to IIE’s Generation Study Abroad fund which will see Ireland participating as a Lead Signature Partner. The majority of the funding will be used to provide incentive grants to colleges and universities from across the United States, which the institutions will match and award as student scholarships which will be known as Ireland - IIE Generation Study Abroad Scholarships.

Education in Ireland, a division of Enterprise Ireland, represents all of Ireland’s universities and institutes of technology as well as a number of the country’s private higher education institutions. Its mission is to promote international study opportunities in Ireland’s higher education institutions.

Minister O’Sullivan intends to travel to the 2015 annual conference of NAFSA (Association of International Educators) which takes place in May in Boston, as Ireland is a platinum sponsor of this year’s Conference. NAFSA is the largest global event within international education. More than 10,000 international educators attend this conference annually from over 100 countries to discover emerging trends in international education and student mobility.

Participation as a lead signature partner in Generation Study Abroad will greatly enhance Ireland’s visibility and profile at this important annual international education event.

“This partnership is an investment in future global relationships, providing a unique opportunity to showcase our higher education system now ranked in the top twenty worldwide according to IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2014.” said Minister Jan O’Sullivan TD. 

Joining the Minister, Kevin F. O’Malley, the US Ambassador to Ireland today said “If we want to build a strong US-Irish partnership into the future we need young people to be as invested in our relationship as my generation was. This sponsorship by the Irish government is a wise down payment on our future ties. On behalf of the young Americans who will be transformed through this exchange opportunity I would like to thank the Minister for her support of this initiative. ”

In addition to providing grants for scholarships to students, other commitments by Education in Ireland to Generation Study Abroad include providing sponsorship support for IIE’s Generation Study Abroad initiative and resources for students and educators, such as Study Abroad Funding, a free searchable database of scholarship and funding opportunities available at www.studyabroadfunding.org
and IIE’s monthly Generation Study Abroad newsletter.

For detailed information about study opportunities offered by Ireland’s universities visit: www.educationinireland.com