Waterford Institute of Technology, the Gaelic Players Association and the Women’s Gaelic Players Association have announced that they will be extending their Graduate Business Scholarship agreement for GPA & WGPA members for another three years.
The partnership has been mutually beneficial to date, with ten members of both associations receiving scholarship awards to facilitate their participation in the exclusive suite of Graduate Business programmes at SETU.
GPA Player Engagement Officer with special responsibility for education, Noel Connors said, “This partnership between SETU and the GPA is a fantastic opportunity for our members to improve their career opportunities in a top class college like SETU. We would encourage any inter-county player in the locality or further afield who might be interested in the MBS or MBA programmes to get in contact with the GPA if they have any questions about the course or if they wish to apply. At the GPA, we are passionate about helping our members to thrive on and off the field of play.
The programme director of the MBS at SETU Dr Paul Morrissey is delighted with the extension of the Scholarship agreement. “The scholarship initiative has been a resounding success to date and we are delighted to extend it for a further three years. It offers GPA and WGPA athletes the opportunity to enhance their career prospects through participation in highly sought-after Graduate Business programmes, in tandem with maintaining their elite sporting pursuits. SETU benefits from having highly capable and focused individuals on our courses and the GPA/WGPA scholars have proven to be a major asset in our programmes.”
Dr Aoife Lane, Chairperson of the WGPA remarked that ‘we are delighted to see this extension taking place. SETU were committed to our organisation from the outset and continue to support our members. We look forward to working with players to take these opportunities going forward.
Five annual Scholarships for GPA/WGPA members are available on a number of programmes: MBS Marketing; MBS Management; MBS Human Resource Management; MBS Economics & Finance and the Executive MBA.
The MBS suite of programmes are one year full-time courses, while the Executive MBA programme is a two-year part-time offering with classes held one afternoon per week and periodic Saturdays, ideally suited to fit around the professional and personal commitments of players. The programmes are delivered by academics with proven experience in both industry and academia, immersing students in a cohesive learning environment that melds theory and practice. Whilst there is a strong emphasis on academic content, most of the assessments have been designed to ensure currency and relevance, thus ensuring students can apply skills and knowledge learned to their own workplace.
Scholarship value
Each scholarship is worth €4,000 per annum to the successful applicants and the partnership runs for three years until the academic year 2020/2021.
More information
If you wish to make any enquiries about the scholarships and programmes on offer please contact Noel Connors at [email protected] or Gemma Begley at [email protected].
To apply
Applications for the programmes can be made via www.pac.ie.