Ireland's rising role in global higher education: A dynamic hub for student mobility
Ireland is a dynamic market for the higher education industry that shows promise on both sides, as a source market and as a destination market. While Ireland may seem like a small market for student recruitment, its interest towards several countries has grown over the past year. The most prominent growth is seen in interest towards Austria, Poland, Spain, and Switzerland. Interestingly, there is a striking increase in demand to study in Malta, yet the sample size is still relatively smaller than others.
In terms of Ireland’s potential as a market, the figure below looks at the tuition fees that enrolled Irish students captured in Studyportals’ database are paying for programmes. The tuition fees highlight that there is a credible number of Irish students willing to pay for expensive programmes (like ~592 for the up to 50K bracket of fees). This reinforces the growth seen from different destination countries that vary when it comes to their study fees. Additionally, 61% of Irish students enrol in ranked institutions across different countries, mainly the UK, the Netherlands, and the US.
Student potential – Origins
Ireland as a study destination country
Amid the changes occurring in the top anglophone countries, Ireland has emerged as a growing market for international students. Since 2023, countries such as the UK, Canada, and Australia have been grappling with the decline of student interest due to policy changes. In contrast, Ireland has experienced a notable increase in student interest, especially from the end of 2023 when the UK visa policies came into effect. Despite not making obvious efforts to actively attract students, Ireland appears to be benefiting from a natural shift, with some students redirecting their interest from traditional destinations towards studying in Ireland.
Irish institutions have various source markets that they can target that are not restricted to Europe. Aside from the biggest market, India, Bangladesh and the US show a significant increase of interest towards Irish programmes. Additionally, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Greece, and Italy also show promise as source markets for the country. Nigeria, on the other hand, shows a steep decline, predominantly due to the escalating political situation in the country.
The decline in the domestic market in Ireland suggests that while the country is sending more of its own students abroad, it continues to attract a significant number of international students. Currently, the key subject areas drawing international students to Ireland include Data Analytics, Nursing, Data Science & Big Data, Psychology, and Public Health, among others (represented in blue). The size of the bubbles in the figure below reflects the volume of demand captured in each field. While Computer Sciences has the highest level of student interest, it has experienced a slight decline compared to last year, as have fields like Design, Software Engineering, and Business Administration.
Ireland, strategically located close to the UK and other European countries, and offering English-taught programmes, holds significant potential as a hub for student mobility, both outbound and inbound. Interestingly, there is a noticeable exchange of students between Ireland and countries such as the US and Italy. In other cases, there has been an increase in the number of Irish students heading to destinations like Germany and Spain, while at the same time, the number of Spanish and German students coming to Ireland has declined. This dynamic interplay between countries offers various perspectives on Ireland’s position in the higher education industry.