Harmonising Irish university applications processes will benefit Magee, MLAs say - video Dailymotion

Harmonising Irish university applications processes will benefit Magee, MLAs say

Transcript

00:00We live on one island. Our communities are connected. Our students are ambitious.

00:06Yet for too long, the systems and structures that we have inherited continue to divide and to disadvantage our students.

00:14It's time we face this head on.

00:16The reality is this. If you're a student in Donegal and you want to study in Derry,

00:22given the great chances already at Magee and the future plans for more to come,

00:27you're more likely to face barriers than if you were to study in Galway or in Cork.

00:32That's not just wrong, it's absurd.

00:35These barriers come in many forms.

00:38A lack of joined up information on courses across Ireland,

00:42differences in fee structures and funding supports,

00:46complexities in the recognition of qualifications,

00:49and, let's be honest, decades of underinvestment and of political indifference

00:54to the potential of all-Ireland cooperation and collaboration in education.

01:00But here's the good news. We can change this.

01:03This motion calls for a coordinated effort on an all-Ireland basis

01:07to harmonise student support and to ensure fair access to funding,

01:11regardless of which part of this island a student is from.

01:14To strengthen cross-border pathways in further and higher education

01:18and to recognise the need for alignment in both the CAO and the UCAS result states

01:23to ensure that students can choose which option is best for them

01:27and to create greater harmony between the two systems.

01:32Crucially, we want to create a shared strategy to make all-Ireland student mobility a reality.

01:37Prosperity is possible when we overcome these nonsensical restrictive barriers

01:42when it comes to academia and to education.

01:45This will help create new opportunities for young people from both the North and the South

01:49to live and learn and grow together.

01:52If we are serious about building a new Ireland,

01:55we must foster a shared identity through things like education, health and, of course, employment.

02:00Greater alignment between higher education institutions, both in the North and the South,

02:04will also benefit the Magee campus and the wider North West.

02:09With stronger cross-border partnerships and streamlined admissions,

02:12Magee can become a thriving educational hub, particularly in fields like medicine,

02:18helping us reach the 10,000th student target as soon as possible.