IT Sligo has announced the appointment a Commercial & International Sales Manager as part of its plan to significantly increase its number of EU and non-EU students.
Patrick Lynch assumed the role this month and he said that internationalisation is a key strategic priority for the higher education sector at both national and institutional level; “I am looking forward to working with colleagues across the three academic schools, and collaborating with stakeholders such as the IOTI (Institutes of Technology Ireland) and Enterprise Ireland to deliver on IT Sligo’s internationalisation goals in key priority markets.”
Mr Lynch has worked with the Institute since last year, promoting of its international strategy abroad by completing bilateral university collaborations and trusted agent relationships in several priority non-EU markets which include China, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Canada and the United States.
Commenting on the appointment, Head of Development and Business Operations, Gordon Ryan, said that the Institute aims to double its number of international students to about seven per cent of its total full-time student population by 2015, through a balance of EU and non-EU students. “We currently have up on 100 international students studying at the Institute each year, the majority of which come here through Erasmus Programme which facilitates mobility of EU students. Our online courses are also gaining more and more traction in the overseas market and in the last month we have had students sitting exams in South Africa, Sierre Leone, Canada, New Mexico, Arizona, New York, Israel, Holland and the UK.”
“We already enjoy partnerships with institutions in the USA, China and across Europe and we’re focused on building on that in the coming years. This type of activity provides opportunities for exchange for our own staff and students and also introduces a welcome multi-cultural element to our student cohort,” he said.
Mr Lynch predicted that the 24th annual conference of the European Association for International Education which is being held in Dublin from September 11th to 14th will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase education in Ireland to a truly international audience .
“Very exciting things are happening already. Increased collaboration at institutional level has helped foster the ‘Education in Ireland’ brand. This improved awareness is paying dividends in the form of bilateral institutional agreements, and approval as a receiving Institute for receiving state funded scholarship students”.
A former Regional Director with Bank of Scotland Ireland Ltd, Mr Lynch holds a BA (Hons) in Economics, from UCD, and a HDip Business Studies and Masters in Business Studies (Finance), from the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, UCD.
One of his passions is soccer. He was a schoolboy international and played for UCD and St Patrick’s Athletic FC in the League of Ireland. During his tenure as CEO of Sligo Rovers Football Club, he jointly founded the Sligo Rovers/IT Sligo Scholarship Scheme.
Image Caption: Patrick Lynch has been appointed Commercial and International Sales Manager at IT Sligo.