Students from one of India’s leading universities will be able to transfer to engineering degrees in Athlone following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions.
Bharati Vidyapeeth University (BVU ) and Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT ) have agreed to enable students on undergraduate programmes in advanced information technology, mobile application development, and embedded systems at the Indian university to transfer to the final year of related honours degree courses at AIT.
Head of the school of engineering at AIT, Austin Hanley, said that the transfer arrangement would benefit both academic institutions.
“AIT has a recognised strength in computer and software engineering and design boasting well-recognised undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. In addition, it hosts an established research institute in communications and software development. Students coming from BVU will bring the benefits of their own education and training in one of India’s most prestigious universities, which will create a powerful and dynamic learning environment,” he said.
AIT president, Professor Ciarán Ó Catháin, highlighted the increasing number of international partnerships which AIT enjoys.
“We have relationships with over 220 higher education institutions around the world, while 10 per cent of our full-time students come from overseas. This is far in excess of other institutes of technology and highlights the very high regard with which AIT is held. As well as creating a multicultural campus, Irish students also benefit enormously from learning, researching, and interacting with other learners from around the globe. This is a hidden benefit of studying at AIT, but one that will yield dividends in time to come,” he stated.
Meanwhile, two AIT postgraduate students are to travel to Canada in the coming months to explore business links between Ireland and Canada. The focus of the research trip will be the ways in which the Irish-Canadian diaspora can assist businesses in Ireland.
Shane McCaul and Stefano Dellai are postgraduate students of the MA in Accounting and have been awarded scholarships under the auspices of the Ireland Canada University Foundation (ICUF ) and sponsored by Atlantic Corridor Ireland, based in Tullamore.
According to Mr McCaul and Mr Dellai, this is an area which offers considerable potential for business growth.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs has recently undertaken a review of Irish-US relations which found that ties between Ireland and America needed to change in order to develop business, economic and technology links. Our research reflects that framework, but seeks to apply it in the context of Canada, which has also been a popular destination for generations of Irish,” said Italian student Mr Dellai.
Mr McCaul, from Athlone, said that they were looking forward to applying their professional training to an area that could yield significant dividends for Irish enterprise. “This is an exciting opportunity to gain international research experience and to utilise the knowledge and expertise which we have acquired. It will hopefully also prove to be a primer in terms of how Ireland can maintain a meaningful relationship with the millions of people around the globe who claim a connection with this country,” he said.
