Submission to the Minister for Education and Science on International Education

September 2003

The Irish Council for International Students (ICOS) warmly welcomes the Minister's initiative in establishing an interdepartmental group to consider the best way forward for international education in Ireland, which will build on the achievements of this important sector of our education system to date. It hopes that from this work will emerge a clear long-term Irish policy on international education, with the structures and resources necessary to implement it, which will be to the benefit of students, educational institutions and the wider Irish society.

ICOS hopes in particular that its own role and activities can be integrated in an appropriate way with the new developments at national and institutional level, enabling closer interaction than has been the case in the recent past. Ours is an organisation dedicated since 1970 to the overall welfare of international students in Ireland, with a central goal of enhancing the quality and benefits of international education here, and the Council's specific profile, its knowledge, direct practical experience and capacity for development can all contribute significantly to the new initiatives. So we trust that the working group will actively consider ways in which this ICOS contribution can be made.

Our submission (September 2003) first provides a brief outline of the organisation, its background, make-up and current aims and activities. It then goes on to consider some specific aspects of the government's general proposal to expand and develop Ireland's international education activities, referring to and questioning some of the assumptions in the Department's Background Note, and concentrating on those issues where ICOS - own brief and perspective - as the only national-level organisation focusing on the experience and needs of international students in Ireland - can be of most value. Thus it does not comment on 'branding' mechanisms, nor on the overall administrative structures most likely to facilitate effective sectoral development.

ICOS hopes that its comments and suggestions will be helpful at the start of the process, and looks forward to an opportunity to discuss the issues in more depth with members of the interdepartmental group, and to provide further information as appropriate, in due course.