IT Sligo was part of a six-day trade and education mission led by the Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan, to the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, São Paulo and Campinas.
During this mission, the Brazilian government confirmed that it has awarded scholarships to 1,077 students to study in Ireland this year under the Science Without Borders programme.
This translates into an investment of over €30m into our universities and Institutes of Technology, as well as the wider Irish economy.
The Institute also signed Memorandum of Agreements with ITL in Lucerna, and the Instituto Federal (IFC) in Santa Catarina. A further visit was also made to the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC).
“Our international student intake continues to grow year on year,” explained Professor Cunnane. “It’s a market we want to continue to develop. We already have strong links with Brazil and the agreements signed with ITL and IFC are a further illustration of that relationship.”
Minister O’Sullivan was accompanied on the mission to Brazil by representatives of nine Irish higher education institutions.
To underpin the support of the Irish government for further developing our links with Brazil, the Minister announced that half of the scholarships being granted this year under the Government of Ireland Scholarship Programme would go to high-achieving Brazilian students – these 15 scholarships have a value of €375,000.
Institutes of Technology Ireland and the Irish University Association also announced new scholarship schemes for Brazilian students.
Photo caption:
Professor Vincent Cunnane – President IT Sligo, Jan O’Sullivan – Minister for Education and Skills, Brian Glynn – Irish Ambassador to Brazil.