Irish school principal speaks on the country's higher education

An interior view of National University of Ireland Maynooth. [Photo provided tochinadaily.com.cn]

The UK is one of biggest destinations for Chinese students to receive higher education overseas. What are the strong points of Ireland compared with the UK?

The quality of Irish universities is very strong. All the seven Irish universities are as good as the very good UK universities. Not all the UK universities are strong. Our degrees are very well recognized internationally. You can go anywhere in the world with an Irish degree and they will know it is a good degree. We have very good relationships with both the US and European Union, so Ireland is very well linked to both of the markets in terms of job opportunities.

What areas are you looking to attract Chinese students?

There are quite a wide range of areas we would like to attract Chinese students, from information communication technology, biological and chemical sciences, social sciences to business and law.

What English level does it require for Chinese applicants?

The IELTS score should be between 6 and 6.5 for undergraduate study and 6.5 for postgraduate study. We also run English language programs, so if you are close to the standard for English, you can use that to reach the standard requirement. The fundamental message is that, we are very welcoming.