The Minister for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, T.D., has today, in Dublin, signed a memorandum of understanding in the field of Higher Education cooperation with her counterpart from the Sultanate of Oman, the Minister of Higher Education, and H.E. Dr. Rawya Al Busaidi.

This agreement is as a result of Minister Mitchell O’Connor’s successful St. Patrick’s Day visit to the Sultanate of Oman, where both parties agreed that they wished to sign an agreement to further develop and enhance the cooperation that presently exists between Ireland and Oman in the Higher Education area.

Minister Mitchell O’Connor said during the signing ceremony that:
“I am delighted that H.E. Minister Rawya Al Busaidi was in a position to come to Ireland to sign this important agreement which will be of mutual benefit to both the Irish and Omani Higher Education Systems. The agreement will allow for an enhanced level of Academic, Staff and student exchange between Higher Education Institutions in both Countries.”

Minister Mitchell O’Connor went on to say that “The Irish education system plays a key role in forging crucial global relationships and building international outlook and awareness. One of the core ambitions of my Government’s International Education Strategy, ‘Irish Educated, and Globally Connected’ is to support the development of internationally-oriented, globally competitive institutions and this agreement will assist us in delivering on this ambition.”

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Bilateral cooperation in education between Ireland and Oman has been reflected in the growing numbers of Omani students studying in Ireland. Ireland now hosts over 500 Omani students in our higher education institutions

This growth in numbers is a priority area for our international education strategy as we seek to grow existing connections and to build new markets and partnerships.

Irish Educated, Globally Connected, A new International Education Strategy for Ireland, 2016-2020 is available at: www.education.ie

International education is currently worth €1.58 billion to the Irish economy. Of this €1.58 billion, the higher education sector contributed some €819 million and the English Language Training sector contributed €762 million.

Growth targets –

A growth target of 33% in the Higher Education sector has been set which will result in an increase in international students in both public and private HEIs from 33,118 in 2014/2015 to approximately 44,000 by the end of the 2019/2020 academic year. In terms of the target output value for Higher Education, the aim is to increase the output impact value from €819m in 2014/2015 to €1.15bn by 2019/2020.

A growth target of 25% has been set for the ELT sector, which will result in an increase in ELT students from 106,000 in 2014/2015 to 132,500 by the end of 2019/2020 academic year. The aim is to increase the output value by approximately €200m from €760m to €960m during the lifetime of the strategy.

In terms of the target output impact value, the value will increase from €1.58bn in 2014/2015 to €2.1bn by 2019/2020.

The mobility of academic staff and researchers is an essential element in the creation of a truly international campus. Ireland’s International Education policy is to actively promote outward and inward mobility of staff, researchers and students.