Have degree, will travel

"THE Young Europeans" they are not, for theirs is the world.

They know it, and they intend to have it. Their oyster. For these are the students of Dublin City University (DCU), children of the economic bloom, cheerful as the cherry blossom in the warm sunshine. Unlike their UCD predecessors of a decade ago those who were photographed for the multinationals in cap and gown and most of whom ended up as emigrants these students might stay, might go, but they will chose.

For this is the Cranberries generation, as much at home in Tokyo as Tullow, or Taiwan as Templeogue. Theirs is a smaller world, familiar wherever they are. They think in terms of continents, not countries.

Leading the way are the women. Over half the students at DCU are women. Many, like Lynda Nethaway (20) from Swords, are at DCU because travel is so much a part of the courses there. She is a first year student of Applied Computational Linguistics, a four year degree course eventually involving "the teaching of computers how to speak". Year three will be spent in France. She could have taken German as an alternative but she likes France, the French and the French language. She would like to work with NASA in Paris, and then maybe NASA in the US. Almost 90 per cent of those who do the course are placed in jobs on graduation.

A quarter of the students doing the International Marketing and Languages course take Japanese. As part of the course they spend a year in Japan and many go there to work after graduation. Others doing the course spend a year in. France or Germany. And some of the electronic engineering graduates have ended up working in Taiwan.

Anne Walsh (19) from Templeogue in Dublin, Ann Byrne (19) from Glasnevin in Dublin, and Glenn Malone from Tullow, Co Carlow, are all doing the four year Electronic Engineering degree course. Ann Byrne hopes to "travel a lot" on qualifying, then settle in Ireland. She knows plenty of electronic engineers who have travelled in many countries. Anne Walsh would like to spend "maybe five years" in the US, while Glenn Malone would also like "to travel, hopefully", see a bit of the world, then "maybe" settle here and establish his own business. They feel that job placements, whether at home or abroad, are good for electronic engineers, particularly for DCU graduates. The university has such a good reputation for its degrees, they say, and has good relations with companies in Ireland.

Their career guidance counsellors advised them to attend DCU, in preference to other universities at which Lynda and Ann had secured places or the DIT colleges. They are glad they took the advice so much so that they now joke about UCD being "DCU for dyslexics", for instance. They like to talk about the superiority of their courses to those elsewhere, the "atmosphere" of DCU, the "better teaching structures", "the smaller numbers which mean more attention."

Some of the male students, on the other hand, seem to be of a more stay at home frame of mind. Daibhid O Cluaid (23) from Athlone, Daire McKenna (18) from Balbriggan (both studying Computer Applications) and Warren McIntyre (19) from Blanchardstown in Dublin (doing Business Studies) would all prefer to stay in Ireland. Both Daibhid and Warren would like to teach, "to pass on knowledge". The structured life" appeals to them.

Not so Alan Soughley (21), a third year journalism student from Blanchardstown. He hopes to go into film making, preferably in Europe, then later he might go to the US. Next year he will spend three months in Germany, as part of his final year. He has already spent three months there, on his own initiative. Claire O'Connell (21) from Beaumont in Dublin has just spent a year in Lyons as part of her International Marketing and Language course. She studies German too. She would like to work for an export company based in Ireland, but eventually hopes to be an entrepreneur. Noel O'Reilly (24) from Dublin hopes to work in Britain on completing his Masters in Chemistry. "Graduates there are not of as high a quality as here," he says, "and there are more opportunities." Business Studies students Paul Lynch (20) from Swords and Leo Mulvany (23) from Glasnevin are both optimistic about getting jobs in Ireland. Paul hopes to go into management he has taken Spanish as his language. The job uptake for graduates in the course is high "about 68 per cent", he says.

Not so optimistic are Alan Byrne (20) from Coolock and Ciara Fitzpatrick (24) from Blackrock, Co Dublin. Both Communications students, they represented the only cloud on the otherwise silver lining that seems to be DCU these days. "The media is sewn up," Alan says. He might go to Canada and try to get work with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, or try the BBC or RTE. "They are the three best public broadcasting organisations in the world," he remarks wistfully. Then there is the possibility of independent production in Ireland. He doesn't know. It's hard to break in, out there.

Ciara would like to get into public relations, perhaps in the music area, but she has heard there are only 250 jobs in the whole country in the sector, and that people just rotate position. "There are not many jobs," she says, even for someone with German, Spanish, and French like herself. Then she has another year to go before hitting the marketplace.

But in the main all was sunshine and light at DCU when The Irish Times dropped by. Exams were taking place, the cherry blossoms were bursting out all over, and the atmosphere was calm, confident, buoyant. A good place from which to begin any journey.