Ireland – Castles Sans Royalty
About Ireland
Thomas Moore, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, Catherine Tynan, Thomas McGreevy are lakes of honey for the students of English literature. Commoners are sure to hear or remember these names but will be surprised that none of them are from the English ancestry. All of them are from Ireland, a country northwest of Europe and United Kingdom.
Ireland, with a rich past of its own has its own culture and customs. Conquered by the British monarchy time to time it achieved full independence in the 20th Century.
A unique pattern of housing in Ireland are mini castles tending to the middle class build with fortifications unlike the ostentatious castles for the royals of England.
Ireland – 6th Wealthiest Nation of the world
In terms of wealth Ireland is the 6th largest. It is considered a developed country and it has made immense progress after the Good Friday agreement in the 1990’s. Influenced by the Westminster model of governance Ireland follows United Kingdom.
Ranked as the 26th best economy, the GDP of Ireland is USD 504.4 Billion (2021). Recently its economy has been a subject of much debate when its GDP was calculated in 2015. Dr. Paul Krugman mentioned that the GDP of Ireland represents “leprechaun economics”. This is a term used to describe an economic phenomenon where a country experiences sudden and drastic GDP growth without equivalent increase in the country’s economic activity or production capacity.
Economy & Education
The Irish climate suits technology companies. This has enabled them to become the hardware production hub of Europe with a share of 25%. The global tech giants like IBM, Dell, Motorola, Google, etc. all have Ireland as its headquarters.
The Irish education system follows the British education model. At the higher education level Ireland has universities, specialist colleges and institutes of technology. All the 7 public universities from Ireland are ranked in the top 1000 of QS rankings (Source: Topuniversities.com). The institutes offering technology provide courses leading to employment in industries like hospitality, healthcare, pharmacy, media, textiles, etc.
As per student trends, the most popular courses are biotechnology, data analytics, data sciences, Big Data, Computer Science, Cyber security to mention a few.
Ireland is attractive to the students preferring Europe because of the following points:
- An alternative to the other crowded parts of Europe
- English speaking country
- 24 months stay back option
- Moderate climate
- PR option in 2 years
- Low GPA requirement
Eligibility Norms & Profile Suitability
Undergraduate Programs
- IB Diploma/Advanced Placement Certificate
- Proof of English Proficiency
Graduate Programs
- Bachelor’s program credentials
- IELTS is not mandatory
Application Window
Admissions to Ireland are very competitive and students should apply sufficiently early to confirm admission. The common season to apply is the fall intake. Since the timelines vary from institution to institution it is advisable to either go through the website or consult an expert.
Financing and Scholarship
The institutions in Ireland provide merit scholarships to students. There are also foundations who support students with generous scholarships. Alternatively, students may work to compensate for the living expenses. For more details of the foundations and the scholarships please visit www.3snext.org