International Students in Ireland What lies behind the data? Gill Roe

Global Statistics:  Demand for tertiary education has grown by 50 million ( )  Regional disparities are evident  Percentage of those choosing to study overseas has remained statistically stable  Currently 3 million international students, expected to increase to 5.5 million by 2020 (UIS)

Ireland’s Statistics:  Over 25,000 international students in H.E.  Two thirds based in the universities  54% are female  36% from EU Countries  23% at postgraduate level  30% taking humanities/liberal arts  66% are full-time students  Most important countries of origin : USA; China France; UK; Germany; Spain, Malaysia, India & Canada

PhD Students  2114 International PhD Students in Ireland  Come from 111 different countries  One third from the EU  40% of PhD students are female  Studying across all subject areas (particularly science)

Gender of International Students  Overall 54% are female  Country discrepancies are evident  11% of students from Pakistan are female  24% of students from India are female  33% of students from the USA are male  24% of engineering students are female  Just over 30% of humanities students are male

Issues for consideration…  Why are we involved in international education?  Do we wish to deeply integrate internationalisation into our institutions or  Are we pursuing something less which has been referred to as “internationalisation lite”  What sort of philosophy lies behind our national & institutional strategies?

Issues for consideration continued  What will internationalisation in Ireland look like in 5-10 years time?  Is there a moral context associated with what we do?

International Students in Ireland Thank you!