University College Cork, Ireland. Image by Tomas Tyner 

In February, six of the Institutes of Technology travelled with Enterprise Ireland Canada to several Colleges of Ontario to promote studying in Ireland. As a result of these very successful events, the number of Ontario students who applied to study in Ireland for the 2014-2015 school-year almost doubled. For this reason a follow up Study in Ireland Canada Campus Campaign: Part 2 would was held during the week of October 20th-23rd.

This time around, nine representatives from seven of the Institutes of Technology travelled to take part in the initiative. Under the Colleges Ontario – IOTI agreement which came into effect in November 2011, graduates from any of the 24 Colleges Ontario can complete their honours degree program in Ireland with one or two years of further study at an Institute of Technology.

Sligo, Limerick, Blanchardstown and Cork took part for the second time, while Galway-Mayo, Athlone and Tallaght were new additions to the group.

The events were held over four days at six campuses across the province of Ontario. For this visit, the IT’s requested a return visit to St. Lawrence College (Kingston), Fanshawe College (London) and Durham College (Oshawa) where there had been an overwhelmingly positive reaction from students, staff and faculty during the February trip. In addition, the group targeted three new colleges this time around, including Niagara College (Niagara-on-the-Lake), Loyalist College (Belleville) and Conestoga College (Kitchener). Several of the colleges already had existing pathway agreements with the visiting Institutes of Technology and others had supported the February webinar and invited the IT’s to visit their respective campuses should follow up events ever take place. All were very happy to host the ‘Study in Ireland’ team.

For students who were unable to attend the information sessions on campus and students in the 18 other Colleges of Ontario, a webinar has been organised for 4pm EDT on Wednesday 5th November. The webinar will cover: Ireland as a place to study, practical information for studying abroad, the student experience and the application process. Each of the IT representatives will be online and answer the student’s questions during the Q&A session. A number of testimonials will also be included from College Ontario students currently studying in Ireland.

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