Distinguished and venerable - that's the Shannon College of Hotel Management. It's reputation for quality and hands-on training is a distinguished one, both at home and abroad.

The college's venerable place among the country's catering schools has been earned in the nearly half century since it was founded by Dr Brendan O'Regan. Anna Cunningham, a marketing lecturer at the college, points out that the student/lecturer ratio is low, that they take in only 55 students a year and that there are 110 students in total on campus.

"Students spend two years of their four-year course working on the Continent," she says. "Before going out on placements, they get a very good grounding in all the practical areas. They work in hotels and are very closely supervised."

Prospective students are interviewed twice. A streaming process means there is a choice of combining their Shannon diploma in international hotel management with a diploma in business studies from NCEA or a B Comm from UCG.