12 graduates to benefit from €500,000 anonymous donation


21 Mar 2011

A €500,000 donation from an anonymous private donor will provide an opportunity for 12 graduates to attend UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

The 2011 Aspire Scholarship Programme is offering up to three MBA and nine MSc scholarships. The programme aims to give 60 (12 per year) bright and passionate business leaders of the future the chance to study at and graduate from UCD Smurfit School by 2015.

The successful graduates will have 50pc of their chosen programme fees paid for by the half a million euro fund, which is a contribution to the recovery of the Irish economy by the donor. 

“For many talented students, continuing their study is no longer an option due to lack of finance. The Aspire programme was developed to afford the opportunity to those who are passionate about their future and would like to study at UCD Smurfit School,” said Prof Tom Begley, dean of UCD Business Schools.

The scholarship applications will be reviewed by a high-profile selection board, which includes chair Cormac McCarthy, CEO of Ulster Bank Group and Prof Mary Lambkin, professor of marketing, UCD Smurfit School.

“The selection of candidates will be based primarily on ability and financial need. With over 172 applications received last year, we hope that this year’s programme attracts even more worthy candidates who can join the ranks of our alumni network, which consists of 33,000 in over 55 countries – many of whom are global industry leaders,” Lambkin, a member of the selection board, added.

Successful candidates will begin their studies in September 2011, and special arrangements are in place to allow students to borrow the balance of the fees, if necessary, with repayments starting two years after completing the course.

Students can choose to study any of the wide range of MSc and MBA programmes the UCD Smurfit School has on offer. 

UCD Smurfit School is the only business school in Ireland and one of less than 50 worldwide to hold the ‘triple crown’ of accreditation from the three centres of business and academic excellence: AACSB (US), EQUIS (Europe) and AMBA (UK). The school is consistently ranked by the Economist and the Financial Times amongst the top 100.

The closing date for applications is Monday, 25 April. Interested candidates can access application forms and more information online.