Taking the third level plunge abroad

ENNIS-based businessman and president of Ennis Chamber, Guy Flouch, is offering potential third level students free advice and support about studying abroad.
With the increasing pressure on Ireland’s third level system and the growing numbers of CAO applicants projected over the next few years, parents of the current generation of Leaving Certificate students are asking where their children are going to get a third-level education.
“The traditional safety valve has always been universities in the UK – over 8,000 Irish students applied to UK universities this year, a growth on last year of 28.9%. However, 188,000 applicants through UCAS, the UK Central Applications system, were not offered a place this year.
“This, together with the increase in fees in UK universities to £7000, is leading to high levels of concern amongst imminent school-leavers, their advisors and their families. Increasingly popular, as a destination, are a growing number of universities in the EU, and further afield, which are seeking to recruit Irish and UK students onto degree programmes, taught through English.
“Though well-established at postgraduate level, only now are students and their advisors becoming aware of these options at undergraduate level,” Mr Flouch explained.
For this reason, he has set up learnabroad.ie, which offers free advice and support services to students thinking of studying abroad.
“Ireland stands at the threshold of a new era in third-level education. In the current environment, the trend of increasing numbers of students studying abroad is no surprise. It is certainly a trend that will increase significantly in coming years.
“Before 2020, I foresee a minimum of 20% of any Leaving Certificate cohort leaving the country to study undergraduate degree programmes. This new era is already well-established in other countries which have education systems under pressure. Germany, for example, exports 20,000 of its students every year,” he said.
Mr Flouch added that in recent years, there has been significant growth in the number and range of degree programmes, taught through English, which are available in Europe, in countries such as Holland, France, Italy, Denmark and Sweden.
“Degrees are available in a wide range of subjects. These degrees represent excellent value and are often in subject areas that are hard-to-enter in Ireland. For example, the University of Groningen, one of Europe’s top-ranked universities, is currently actively seeking to recruit Irish students.
Groningen’s Psychology Faculty is one of the most respected in Europe and it wants to recruit Irish and UK students onto its programme. Hague University, at the centre of International Justice and Human Rights systems, is a superb option for students seeking to study politics or international relations. Annual tuition fees in Holland are just over €1600. Irish students can also apply for student loans from the Dutch government,” he said.
He also confirmed that there are no fees for Irish students registering for degree programmes in Denmark, Sweden or Finland, which have several top-ranked universities and many innovative, and applied, degree programmes. “Importantly, if otherwise eligible, students can take their VEC Maintenance Grants with them to support their study on most of these programmes in the EU,” Mr Flouch added.
He said that with a multiplicity of admissions systems across Europe, it can be very difficult for school leavers trying to deal with all of the options. His company, learnabroad.ie, can help prospective third level students negotiate the maze of options. For most European countries, students have until early March, but students should check deadlines carefully.