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Alumni and embassy help new fellows prepare

In July 2013, a pre-departure event was organised in Hanoi, Vietnam, for 2013-14 Irish Aid scholarship awardees - with input from three recent fellowship graduates.

New Vietnamese awardees with alumni and embassy staff

Before starting their studies in Ireland, 26 new fellows from Vietnam attended an embassy- organised orientation day in July - and got tips and advice from those who had gone before.

The purpose of the event was to give scholars the chance to learn about living in Ireland through participation in team-building activities and to benefit from the experience and knowledge of returned fellows from previous years.   It also aimed to introduce this year’s fellows to one another and to develop a support network for the coming year.

Irish Aid gave a presentation on its role and that of the embassy, the IDEAS scholarship and an introduction to the UCD Smurfit Business School, including accommodation arrangements and pointers for further information.

A great deal of information pertinent to Ireland’s economy was covered by an Education in Ireland presentation delivered by Enterprise Ireland, which also introduced their role in promoting Ireland internationally.

Three alumni (Ms Hoang Thuy Linh, Mr Nguyen Manh Hung and Mr Pham Tung Lam) joined the event and were able to  provide insights and feedback on the information contained in the presentations, including on Ireland as a country, its people, culture and customs. They also attended an open Q&A session to discuss the experience of study and living in Ireland. This session was regarded as the most useful and interesting session of the day. Fellows covered topics ranging from preparing for their courses to travel opportunities.

Garvan McCann, Head of Development at the Embassy of Ireland, joined the session at the closing to deliver a message of congratulations and support to the scholarship recipients and provide insights into student expectations from the perspective of the Embassy.

Feedback from the participants, who had all received one year Masters scholarships under the IDEAS and Fellowship Training Programmes, indicated that they valued the day workshop in terms of information sharing and team building.