A brand new report by ApplyBoard has highlighted the rising reputation of Eire as a examine vacation spot, which noticed 40,400 worldwide enrolments in 2023/24, a 15% enhance on the earlier yr.
“Since 2020 Eire’s worldwide schooling sector has achieved three consecutive years of development, eclipsing 40,000 enrolments for the primary time in 2023/24,” Ian McRae, head of rising markets at ApplyBoard, informed The PIE Information.
“College students are starting to shift away from the ‘massive 4’, favouring locations that provide decrease residing prices paired with sturdy post-study work alternatives,” stated McRae, advising Irish establishments to advertise Eire’s affordability and elevated work-study alignment to draw international expertise.
Worldwide Enrolment in Eire 2017/18-2023/24
The report, which analyses knowledge from Eire’s Greater Training Authority (HEA), noticed Indian scholar enrolment enhance by practically 50%, overtaking the US to grow to be the biggest international sending market.
Exceeding India’s dramatic development had been Mexico and Türkiye, whose scholar populations grew by 61% and 53% respectively, indicating the rising diversification of Irish campuses.
For worldwide college students, the expansion of Eire’s examine overseas sector exhibits that “they’ve extra alternative than ever earlier than”, stated McRae, significantly for college students from nations that don’t require a scholar visa for Eire.
Although the UK stays in Eire’s high 4 sending locations for worldwide college students, its 0.5% decline in 2023/24 stands out in stark distinction to India, the USA and China, whose scholar populations every reached all-time highs.
Prime scholar populations enrolled in Irish establishments, 2023/24
| Rank | Nation | No. of scholars | Change from 22/23 |
| 1 | India | 7,070 | +49% |
| 2 | USA | 5,655 | +11% |
| 3 | China | 4,405 | +11% |
| 4 | UK | 3,110 | -0.5% |
| 5 | Canada | 1,980 | +2.5% |
| 6 | Germany | 1,210 | +15% |
| 7 | France | 1,130 | -2.5% |
| 8 | Italy | 1,010 | +6.5% |
| 9 | Spain | 810 | +4.5% |
| 10 | Kuwait | 810 | +9.5% |
Final yr noticed most of the conventional English language locations rocked by coverage adjustments, most notably in Canada, Australia and the UK.
As whole international demand for examine overseas grows, the altering coverage panorama is disrupting established scholar mobility traits and opening the doorways for rising markets akin to Eire, Germany and South Korea.
The report highlighted a seamless pattern of elevated scholar mobility from inside the EU, with notable curiosity in Eire from German, Polish, Czechian and Romanian college students, due to a number of engaging examine and work mobility insurance policies.
“This rising curiosity from European college students can also be probably a byproduct of UK universities charging EU college students full worldwide scholar charges after Brexit”, making Irish establishments the “extra inexpensive choices”, acknowledged the report.
Eire’s development elevated at each undergraduate and postgraduate ranges, with the latter cohort seeing the bigger development charge of 25% in comparison with the earlier yr.
STEM programs recorded excessive demand from worldwide college students, with sustained curiosity in well being and welfare, enterprise and engineering and a 65% surge in demand for ICT packages, “signalling robust alignment with Eire’s thriving tech sector”, stated McRae.
With engineers, programmers and nurses in excessive demand throughout Eire, the report highlighted the chance for worldwide college students to fill essential labour market gaps and really helpful establishments broaden recruitment efforts to incorporate rising scholar populations.
