Ireland needs to "brand" itself much more effectively if it is to compete seriously in the international education services market, a major conference on the internationalisation of the education sector heard yesterday.
In his keynote address to the conference in Dublin, John Lynch, chief executive of the International Education Board, said universities, private colleges, further education colleges and second-level schools were attracting increasing numbers of international students here.
There are an estimated 22,000 non-Irish students in higher education in Ireland, generating around €150 million a year for colleges, and over €300 million for the economy. A further 200,000 come to Ireland each year to study English, contributing over €300 million to the economy.
While the universities continue to attract the largest number of international students, Department of Education and Science figures have shown that more than 11,000 second-level pupils - or 3 per cent of the total - are classified as coming from overseas, Mr Lynch said.
"The universities have come under severe pressures over the past year or two, which could pressurise them into more active recruitment of larger numbers of full fee-paying international students for financial reasons," he said. "If Ireland is serious about expanding and developing its international education services, it needs to brand itself much more effectively and widely. This will need considerable investment."
The conference, attended by more than 120 senior policymakers and representatives of the English as a foreign language sector, also heard that in an increasingly aggressive international market, Ireland needed to understand what it is that differentiates it from other destinations.
Prof Colin Gilligan, a British specialist in marketing and strategy, said Ireland had much to learn from the experience of Britain, where institutions had worked together to create a strong Education UK brand.
"Listening to today's speakers, it is quite clear that there is a lack of unity of vision," he told The Irish Times.
"I'm arguing very strongly for an initiative enabling co-ordination across the sector." Such an initiative must be funded properly by Government, almost as "seed money", he added.
Earlier, Prof Ferdinand von Prondzynski, president of Dublin City University and chair of the Council of Heads of Irish Universities, warned of the need to develop the international market for the right reasons and in the right way. A decision to encourage international students to come here should not be based only on the financial benefits which this would offer, he said.
Opening the conference, Minister for Education Mary Hanafin said the number of students worldwide pursuing higher education was expected to grow by nearly 200 per cent during the next 15 years.