Ninth Level Ireland

“Many lecturers and support staff at Queen’s University (QUB) and Ulster University (UU) are beginning eight days of strike action on Monday. The action by University and College Union (UCU) members is due to disputes over pay and pensions. The strike is expected to continue up to and including Wednesday, 4 December …” (more)

[Robbie Meredith, BBC News, 25 November]

“The National Council of the Union of Students Ireland (USI) have voted to support bilingual signage for Colleges in Northern Ireland, among several other motions discussed at a meeting held in Trinity. The union’s National Council have also taken the decision to support free period products and and voted to establish a partnership between the USI and a Crisis Text Line, as well as authorising the union to begin work on gathering data on students’ sexual experiences …” (more)

[Jessica Hobbs Pifer, Trinity News, 16 November]

“There has been a slight fall in the number of 18 year olds in Northern Ireland applying to go to university. That is according to figures just published by the University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Almost half (46.9%) of all 18 year olds in Northern Ireland applied to UCAS by 30 June 2019, a fall of 0.7% from 2018 …” (more)

[Robbie Meredith, BBC News NI, 12 July]

“Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if students domiciled in Northern Ireland who wish to enter third-level education in institutions here in September 2020 and in the years following will be considered non-EU students; if they will be required to pay the non-EU rate of student fees; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 4 July]

“European Union (EU) students starting university in Northern Ireland in 2020 will pay the same tuition fees as local students. The Department for the Economy (DE) confirmed they will be guaranteed ‘home fee’ during their courses. It follows similar announcements in England and Scotland …” (more)

[Robbie Meredith, BBC News NI, 8 June]

“Applications to Trinity from Northern Ireland have dropped by around 20% this year as a result of uncertainty surrounding Brexit, according to Provost Patrick Prendergast. This drop is on top of a 20% decrease in applications from Northern Irish students last year …” (more)

[Emer Moreau, University Times, 30 April]

“Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to ensure that Irish students domiciled in Northern Ireland will have access to Erasmus programmes here and elsewhere after 2021; if Irish students can study in the UK after 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 26 March]

“More than a quarter of students at universities or colleges in Northern Ireland have experienced unwanted sexual behaviour, a survey has revealed. Over 2,200 students took part in the survey on consent and unwanted sexual behaviour, conducted by the National Union of Students-Union of Students in Ireland (NUS-USI) …” (more)

[Gillian Halliday, Belfast Telegraph, 28 March]

“It was perhaps unclear, on June 23rd, 2016, just how destabilising Britain’s Brexit vote would be to the European economy as a whole. Ireland, as the UK’s nearest neighbour and one of its closest trading partners, is particularly exposed to these destabilising forces. It quickly became clear that myriad sectors of the Irish economy would come under significant strain, especially in the event of a no-deal Brexit …” (more)

[Matthew Murphy, University Times, 20 March]

“Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) organised a symposium aimed at opening dialogue on how Institutes of Further and Higher Education can work together to develop a blueprint for successful cross-border collaboration in the North Leinster South Ulster region. The ‘DkIT Symposium: A Changing Cross Border Landscape for Further and Higher Education’ brought together more than 80 policy-makers, academics and industry representatives from North and South to discuss challenges and opportunities surrounding BREXIT and the implications it may have on Further and Higher Education network in the region …” (more)

[Talk of the Town, 11 May]

“There has been a sharp drop in students from Britain and Northern Ireland applying to study in the Republic amid continuing uncertainty over Brexit. A breakdown of latest Central Applications Office (CAO) figures for 2019 shows applications from Northern Ireland are down by 18% annually while those from Britain are down 13% …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 9 March]

“A new ‘Celtic Connection’ of higher education institutions across Ireland – north and south – and Scotland and Wales is being forged to help protect the sector from the fallout of Brexit. It aims to strengthen links between individual colleges to allow for ease of movement for staff and students and to ensure institutions are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to research funding handouts …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 6 March]

“The Provost of Trinity College Dublin has said arrangements for Northern Irish students must be ‘copper-fastened’ after Brexit. Dr Patrick Prendergast was in Belfast yesterday to address an audience of Trinity alumni. In January there were concerns a hard Brexit would see fees soar for local students wishing to study in Irish universities …” (more)

[Allan Preston, Belfast Telegraph, 1 March]

“When you hear the words Northern Ireland and Brexit, I know you automatically think ‘backstop’, but the focus of media on the backstop issue, whilst completely understandable, has had the unintended consequence of diverting attention away from the other likely implications of Brexit on Northern Ireland that are not directly backstop related. Take, for example, the issue of higher education …” (more)

[Cathy Gormley-Heenan, Irish Politics Forum, 21 February]

“Emigration has played a huge role in moulding the Republic, affecting all aspects of society and the economy. For most of the last century, as many bright and innovative young people left, its impact was generally unfavourable. In recent decades, however, the pattern has been rather different. While many still go, most of them come back, often enriched by their experience abroad …” (more)

[John FitzGerald, Irish Times, 15 February]

“The number of Northern Ireland students applying to university has fallen – but remains higher than other UK regions, new figures show. Just under half of 18 year olds (46.8%) have applied to start a full-time undergraduate course in September 2019 – down 0.7% …” (more)

[Allan Preston, Irish Examiner, 7 February]

“Northern Irish universities made only 10 unconditional offers to prospective undergraduates in 2018. That is far lower than most universities in England or Wales. An unconditional offer guarantees a pupil a university place regardless of their A-Level results …” (more)

[Robbie Meredith, BBC News, 31 January]

“The National Union of Students Northern Ireland has welcomed proposals by the Irish Government to mitigate potential impacts of Brexit on tuition fees for students studying on a cross-border basis in 2019. Dublin has confirmed it will continue supporting students applying to universities in the United Kingdom, as well as Northern Ireland students wishing to study in the Republic, after Brexit …” (more)

[Cate McCurry, Belfast Telegraph, 12 January]

“The government has confirmed it will continue supporting students applying to universities in the United Kingdom as well as Northern Ireland pupils wishing to study here after Brexit. Pupils from Northern Ireland expressed concern over whether they will be treated as non-EU students after the UK leaves the European Union in March, meaning they would have to pay much higher fees …” (more)

[BreakingNews.ie, 11 January]

“The Government is hopeful that students will be able to study north and south of the Border without incurring hikes in student fees in the event of a hard Brexit. About 1,200 students from the North attend colleges in the Republic, while more than 2,000 students from the Republic attend colleges in Northern Ireland …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 3 January]