Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O'Sullivan has today concluded a six day trade and education mission to the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, São Paulo and Campinas.
During this mission, the Brazilian government confirmed that it has awarded scholarships to 1,077 students to study in Ireland this year under the Science Without Borders programme - this translates into an investment of over €30m into our universities and institutes of technology, as well as the wider Irish economy. The announcement of phase II of this programme later this year is expected to see a further increase in the value of this investment into Ireland.
While in Brasília, the Minister met with the Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ireland and Brazil, as well as the acting Education Minister. She also met with the heads of all of the agencies involved in the Science Without Borders programme, as well as those involved in funding research in higher education.
Minister O'Sullivan was accompanied on the mission by representatives of nine Irish higher education institutions, and witnessed the signing of 11 memoranda of understanding between those institutions and their Brazilian counterparts. These memoranda are focussed on research agreements and exchanges of students and staff, and will further develop the links between Irish and Brazilian colleges.
To underpin the support of the Irish government for further developing our links with Brazil, the Minister announced that half of the scholarships being granted this year under the Government of Ireland Scholarship Programme would go to high-achieving Brazilian students - these 15 scholarships have a value of €375,000. Institutes of Technology Ireland and the Irish University Association also announced new scholarship schemes for Brazilian students.
Commenting on these developments, Minister O'Sullivan said: "The Brazilian government has shown great faith in the quality of the Irish third-level system. Under the Science Without Border programme, Ireland is now the fourth most popular destination in the world for Brazilian students. It is appropriate that we recognise the significant and ongoing investment that the Brazilian government is making to send students to Ireland, and I am very pleased that the Irish Government, as well as our universities and institutes of technology, have provided funding for this year that will support more Brazilian students to come to live and study in Ireland.
While education formed the central part of this six-day mission, the Minister also participated in receptions for the Irish communities in Brazil, and met with Irish businesses working in Brazil, and Brazilian businesses considering investment in Ireland. This was the first time an Irish Minister has led a St. Patrick's Day mission to Brazil.
"As part of the Government's St. Patrick's Day drive to increase investment and tourism in Ireland, I was delighted to be involved in the greening of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, the Juscelino Kubitschek bridge in Brasília, and four major landmarks in São Paulo. I was also delighted to inaugurate the new Consulate General in São Paulo - one of eight new missions being opened by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, focussed on key emerging markets for Irish trade and tourism”, she said.
“Getting a chance to see first-hand the work of Irish companies such as Kerry in Campinas and Icon in São Paulo made clear to me the enormous possibilities that exist for Irish companies to do business in Brazil. As a result of the investment by both the Brazilian and Irish governments in supporting Brazilian students studying in Ireland, the links between our countries are getting stronger each year. That is hugely advantageous to the many Irish companies who are considering entering the Brazilian market, and I am convinced it will also see significant investment by Brazilian companies in Ireland over the coming years. I will be asking our agencies to further explore how we can strengthen the connections between Brazilian students in Ireland and Irish companies who could benefit from greater links into Brazil."
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
The Science without Borders programme was launched by the Brazilian government in 2012, and will see 101,000 Brazilian students study for a year overseas between 2012 and 2015. A second phase of this programme, which will operate from 2016 to 2019, is expected to be announced later this year.
The new Consulate General in São Paulo is part of the Irish Government's expansion of our network of embassies and consulates, particularly focussed on key emerging markets for tourism and trade. Further details are available from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The details of the 2015 Government of Ireland Scholarship Programme were announced earlier this week, and are available at Press release.
The Memoranda of Understanding signed this week were as below:
1. Trinity College Dublin / Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF)
2. Trinity College Dublin / Universidade de Brasilia (UnB)
3. Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) / Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
4. Trinity College Dublin / Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP)
5. Waterford Institute of Technology / Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo (POLI-USP)
6. Trinity College Dublin / Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP) (two agreements signed)
7. University of Limerick / University of Sao Paulo (USP)
8. Trinity College Dublin / Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)
9. Waterford Institute of Technology / Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)
10. IT Sligo/ Federal Catarinense Institute (IFC) and the Technology Incubator Luzerna (ITL)
*Further images are available from the press office upon request.