Harris announces €2m in funding for higher education students in North

Funding of €2 million to support higher education students in Northern Ireland hoping to study elsewhere for a period has been announced by Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris.

The funding is a “permanent commitment” to help students in Northern Ireland avail of academic mobilities and internships across Europe after Brexit and will be in place for as long as eligible people wish to avail of it, or until an alternative mobility model emerges, according to the Minister.

Academic mobility refers to the movement of students and teachers in higher education to another institution inside or outside of their own country to study or teach for a limited time.

“We know that students’ higher education experiences are enriched by undertaking a mobility in another country. It is not just about learning in a partner university; it is also about building relationships with other students, and increasing cultural awareness and understanding,” Mr Harris said.

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“During my many engagements in Northern Ireland, including with the universities’ vice-chancellors, the loss of access to Erasmus programmes was constantly being raised. I understand that,” he said.

“However, it is more than that. Many students in Northern Ireland choose to pursue internships in Ireland in key employment sectors such as financial services and technology. This experience is vital and aligns skills development with the island economy.”

Mr Harris also said fulfilling the promise would deliver on the Government’s commitment made during the UK withdrawal from the EU, and the funding would help the financial capacity of institutions to meet the mobility needs of their students.

“It is a cost of about €2 million a year based on the current numbers of students in Northern Ireland, accessing Erasmus. This is an investment,” he said. “It is an investment in relationships between institutions North and South. It is an investment in our island’s next generation, and I think it’s a really practical, sensible way of continuing to co-operate post-Brexit.”

Officials of the Department for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science are due to finalise arrangements with the Northern Ireland higher education institutions in the coming weeks to ensure supports are in place for their students for the forthcoming academic year.

This announcement comes following confirmation earlier this week of a new agreement between Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University and the Department of Further and Higher Education, and the departments of Health, both North and South.

Under this agreement, 200 places in nursing will be made available to students from the Republic to be funded by the Department of Health and it is proposed that the students would avail of these places on the same terms and conditions as other students on the programmes.

A further 50 places will be available in therapy disciplines in Ulster University, including 20 in occupational therapy and physiotherapy, and 10 places in speech and language therapy.