US MISSION:THE TRADE and education mission by Tánaiste and Minister for Education Mary Coughlan to the US should help toward growing income from overseas students to €1.2 billion this year, head of Enterprise Ireland Frank Ryan said.
The aim of the trade mission was to help Irish educational institutions to build relationships with high school counsellors and contacts in the US and attract more students to study in Ireland.
The 16 Irish universities and colleges taking part paid approximately €3,000 each, exclusive of flights and accommodation.
The first event, which was to have included the Tánaiste yesterday, was a breakfast in Boston with high school counsellor contacts. Ms Coughlan was then to visit Boston College and an education fair. She should also have met the president of the senate in Massachusetts, Senator Therese Murray, and been interviewed by the Boston Globe.
The Minister will now be able to attend engagements in Chicago tomorrow and St Louis on Thursday including the National Association for College Admission Counselling annual conference in St Louis.
And she will have dinner with Irish Honorary Consul Joe McGlynn and mission participants.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s News at One yesterday, Frank Ryan, chief executive of Enterprise Ireland, the body responsible for the growth of Irish business abroad, emphasised the importance of the Tánaiste’s attendance.
The trade mission was centred around the counsellors’ annual conference, he said, and there would be an opportunity to reach a large number of counsellors at the event. “It is through that sort of an event that we reach both business contacts in government and also educational contacts,” he said.
Last year, the economic spend associated with foreign students in Ireland was €900 million and there were plans to grow that to €1.2 billion.
