Cappuccino-sipping and wine tippling, shopping, beautiful beaches and Bono are just some of the attractions of the Ireland pictured on the brochure of the Irish Universities and Medical Schools Consortium.
The accompanying soft prose ("Above all, its towns are lively, its countryside is peaceful and its people both friendly and welcoming.") masks a decidedly hard sell. For the consortium is a successful business collaboration between four Irish universities, selling Irish medical and dental education to overseas students.
Conn O'Brien of UCC, academic secretary to the consortium, says it "confidently expects to recruit directly about 100 international students for medicine for admission in October this year." He estimates that the consortium has the potential to generate €10 million annually in fee revenues, with a further €10 million boost to the economy from living expenses etc. The four university medical schools and the two dental schools (UCC and TCD) graduate about 400 medical and 80 dental students each year.
The consortium was established in the early 1990s, following the first student-recruitment visit to the Far East organised by An Córas Tractála. It is a unique collaboration between competing institutions, with the students divvied up between the colleges on an equal basis. Profits have funded developments in all of the colleges.
Students are recruited from Europe, Africa and the Far East with key markets being Malaysia and Botswana, where the governments sponsor medical and dental training.
The consortium competes with colleges from Britain, the US, Australia and Canada.
