France, the closest neighbour of Ireland in the European Union
The bridges between France and Ireland in the education sector are particularly strong. In a day dedicated to Ireland on 5 July 2022, Campus France published a new Focus review to present everything there is to know about the Irish higher education system, student mobility and cooperation agreements with France.
The visit of French president Macron in Ireland on 26 August 2021 was an opportunity to give greater visibility to the university and scientific cooperation between France and Ireland. The joint determination to boost exchanges and improve bridges can be seen in many new flagship projects.
As Vincent Guérend, Ambassador of France in Ireland reminds in the forewords of the Focus Pays release on Ireland, “France is seen and positions itself in Ireland as the closest neighbour in the European Union”.
Higher education: a strategic focus in Ireland
In Ireland, higher education is mostly taught by universities, universities of technology (regional centres resulting from the merger of institutes of technology) and colleges of education. Many additional third level institutions teach specialised fields such as arts and design, medicine, business studies, rural development, theology, music and law.
Since 2000, Ireland leads a proactive policy in terms of education and higher education. Since 2020, for the first time, professional training, higher education, research and innovation depend on a ministry in full-service.
Student mobility with Ireland
In 2019, Ireland welcomed about 25,000 international students in degree programme mobility. The majority were Indian students: over 3,600 in 2019. In second and third position are Chinese students (2,900) American students (2,400) whose number sharply increased in five years (+74% and +84% respectively). The French come in 7th position and are the first nationality of students from the European Union in Ireland.
In 2019, more than 15,000 Irish students were in international mobility. The UK is by far the first destination, with 9,700 students in 2019, but this figure has been constantly decreasing over the last ten years.
720 Irish students were registered in the French higher education system in 2020-2021 (exc. Erasmus), a figure that has risen by 15% in 5 years.
Ireland is the main partner of France as part of the Erasmus+ programme. In 2019, 783 Irish students were in mobility in France. It is the first Erasmus+ destination, with more than one Irish out of five in exchange choosing France (21%).
The impact of Covid-19 on the Irish higher education system
The Irish higher education system was deeply impacted by the pandemic. Full reopening of Irish higher education institutions was only announced in January 2022. The International mobility of researchers was also deeply impacted, with a complete stop of short-term physical exchanges for about 2 years.
University and scientific cooperation with France
In June 2022, six consortia of institutions have both Irish and French partners. Several joint degrees support mobility between French and Irish institutions in law, engineering, management, business administration or art.
The conclusion of the declaration of intention in relation with the improvement of bilateral cooperation in higher education and professional training in May 2022 is an example of the determination to improve partnerships in all areas of training.
The French-Irish network about culinary arts, hotel management and tourism (Ficaht) groups in 2022 87 specialised institutions specialised in gastronomy, hotel management and tourism (70 in France and 17 in Ireland) and 35 partners (including the private sector).
Over the 2014-2020 period, 925 Horizon 2020 projects were funded by France and Ireland.
Saluted for the kick-off of scientific cooperation agreements and the support to new cooperation agreements between France and Ireland, the Hubert Curien partnership (PHC) Ulysses facilitates scientific mobility about joint research projects. Operators are the IRC for Ireland and Campus France for the Minsitry of Europe and Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation on the French side.
Campus France Ireland, relay of French higher education institutions
Since 2012, the Campus France Office in Dublin is the relay of French higher education institutions in Ireland. Its action aims at welcoming more Irish people in France through the Erasmus programme or joint degrees.
The Campus France Ireland team improve its presence in Irish universities, participates in local promotional events and provides advice and tailor-made follow-up to applicants to studies in France, including online. The promotion of joint degrees and research are also included in the missions of the Dublin Office.
Since 2017, Campus France Ireland manages the local France Alumni network boasting 443 members as of today.
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