International

WIT is welcoming students from all five continents this year to study on its ever growing range of programmes. Students from some 67 countries now study at the Institute. The largest group of international students enrolling at the Institute this year is

WIT is welcoming students from all five continents this year to study on its ever growing range of programmes.  Students from some 67 countries now study at the Institute.The largest group of international students enrolling at the Institute this year is from Brazil, with 180 Brazilian undergraduate students accepting places at WIT.  The majority of these students are amongst the first cohort of students on the Brazilian Government Scholarship Programme ’Science without Borders’ (Ciência sem Fronteiras).

This scholarship programme is providing funding for approximately 1,200 students to come to Ireland this year. WIT is the number one choice for Brazilian students amongst all of the higher education institutions in Ireland ‘which is a testimony to the ever growing international reputation for academic excellence of WIT’, said the Institute President, Dr Ruaidhrí Neavyn.

“These students will bring a valuable contribution to the classroom and a welcome dynamism to campus life and the City, making Waterford Ireland’s new ‘Little Brazil’’ said Don O’Neill of WIT’s International office.

The Brazilian ‘Science without Borders’ programme will fund 101,000 students to spend a period of study at higher education institutions throughout the world and is scheduled to run over the next four years. The initiative is particularly aimed at up-skilling young Brazilians in the areas of Engineering, Science and Technology as well as enhancing students ‘linguistic and intercultural competence’.

In recent years, WIT has developed partnerships with some of Brazil’s leading universities in the cities of São Paulo, Campinas, Brasília and Vitória, hosting recent visits from academic staff from these institutions.  Plans for closer cooperation between WIT and Brazilian universities are an important part of WIT’s international strategy.

According to Sinéad Day, International Manager “Next month, the Minister for Education, Ruairí Quinn will lead an Irish Education mission to Brazil at which an exciting new venture between Irish and Brazilian higher education institutions will be launched”. The initiative, to be known as Research Brazil Ireland (RBI) funded by Science Foundation Ireland is spearheaded by Dr Willie Donnelly, Head of Research at WIT and Jim Clarke of WIT’s Telecommunications Software Group (TSSG).  For the last number of years, Mr Clarke has been working closesly with Brazilian researchers as Co-ordinator of the EU FP7 Project, Building International Co-operation for Trustworthy ICT (BIC), funded by European Commission’s DG CONNECT Unit H.4, Trust and Security. This active engagement has been instrumental in the success of the setting up of the RBI.

The project will aim to drive a coordinated national approach to promote Ireland´s scientific and technological reputation in Brazil and to highlight Ireland’s attractiveness as an international research partner. In addition, WIT is also set to welcome doctoral researchers from Brazil in the coming weeks, who will spend three years at the Institute as part of the Brazilian government scholarship programme.

For further information please go to www.wit.ie/international/.