This past summer, Mohammed Al-Tahs and Marouf Azad, two computer science students from Dublin Institute of Technology represented Ireland in Seoul, South Korea, in the web development segment of Microsoft's global Imagine Cup competition.

To get there, they had already proven their programming mettle, beating off competition from hundreds of international students to reach Seoul as one of six finalist teams.

When they took one of the top awards, the two - one an immigrant refugee from Afghanistan, one an international student from the United Arab Emirates - ran to the podium for their award proudly draped in tricolours.

Bryan Duggan, their faculty advisor, says Mohammed is one of the finest students DIT has ever had in its computer science programme, entering at age 15. He is now, at 18, starting a masters at the London School of Economics.

Though he is in London for the next while, Mohammed says: "My ideal job would be working for the United Arab Emirates and Ireland, as both countries' economies and industries are booming. I would like to be part of that evolution. I'm thinking of setting up an IT or investment company in the near future."

Marouf arrived in Ireland via Iran with his family on a programme organised by the UN and Irish government.

In his final year at DIT, he is also working part time as a technical support engineer in Fexco. "After finishing my BSc, I might continue postgraduate studies, or else, I will apply for a job in the IT area," he says.

He is a poet and critic as well, writing in Persian and his first collection of poetry is getting published in Iran.

He says he "definitely would like to start working in Ireland, as I am living here for past five years and I have many friends and my family live here."

Would he hope to set up his own company? "Who doesn't? As I am studying computer science, it would be a wise thought to think about some sort of software development company, but it is very soon to think about that."