‘When I added up the costs of college in Dublin or Galway, it was as cheap or cheaper to go abroad’

“When I was finishing secondary school, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I looked through the course lists on the CAO, but didn’t see anything that I felt I wouldn’t regret doing.

“I considered accounting, business and journalism, but none of them clicked for me. Then I learned more from Eunicas about how I could go to a European university. I talked it through with them, looked at the courses and found some I felt would be the right fit for me.

“I am studying artificial intelligence with a minor in journalism at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. It’s a three-year course but I took a longer route, coming over a year before the course started to work and to prepare for the course by learning how to code.

“The academic standards are high: they expected me to know coding, whereas you might learn it on a college course in Ireland.

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“I think I have a good mix of subjects in artificial intelligence and journalism, and that mix wasn’t on offer in Ireland.

“Finances played into my decision to go. I am from Co Clare, and when I added up the costs of college in Dublin or Galway, it was as cheap or cheaper to go abroad. I knew the culture would be welcoming and there are hundreds of Irish people in Groningen, as well as three Irish bars. I have lived in three houses and everyone is Irish. There are 25,000 international students in the city, amounting to about 10 per cent of the population. English is spoken in lectures.

“I come from a rural background, and going to college abroad has given me a lot of independence. I’ve also reflected on cultural differences: Irish people tend to have a lot of shame and reticence, whereas Dutch people tend to say what they want to say, simply and upfront. I find that openness refreshing.

“At the same time, being abroad has made me appreciate Ireland. I do miss it, and I miss the culture, but I feel more connected to it than ever.

“I could not imagine doing it any other way.

“Out of seven in my friend group, five of us have either moved abroad for third-level or will be moving in the next few months.”