Anonymous donor gives €500k to UCD Smurfit School – 12 grads benefit

28 Mar 2012

Twelve graduates who may have thought a business master’s was beyond their means are now going to get to attend the UCD Michael Smurfit Business School, thanks to the donation of €500,000 by a mystery donor.

The successful graduates will have 50pc of their chosen programme fees paid for.

The donor is giving half a million euro to the Aspire scholarship fund as a contribution to the recovery of the Irish economy. The scholarship fund will send 60 students to UCD Smurfit School over five years.

The 2012 Aspire Scholarship Programme, which is being launched today, is offering up to three MBA and nine MSc scholarships. More than 20 previous scholars have already benefited from the private donor’s generosity since 2010; some of these scholars have already graduated and are now employed in leading companies such as Google, Citi, KPMG and PwC.

The closing date for entry is Monday, April 30th 2012 and applications can be made online.

Making the grade

“The selection of candidates will be based on financial need and ability,” Prof Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, dean, UCD Business Schools, explained.

“We want to ensure that these scholarships go to students who are worthy recipients. Education makes a difference and this scholarship will help change the course of their lives. UCD Smurfit School has an alumni network of over 20,000 graduates in over 100 countries.

“Joining the school will provide these scholars with the chance to learn from the very best academics, network with industry leaders and position themselves for a successful career in business,” Ó hÓgartaigh added.

UCD Smurfit School is the only business school in Ireland and one of less than 60 worldwide to hold the ‘triple crown’ of accreditation from the three centres of business and academic excellence; AACSB (US), EQUIS (Europe) and AMBA (UK).  

Less than 1pc of the world’s business schools are triple accredited. The school’s programmes are consistently ranked by the Economist and the Financial Times amongst the top 100 in the world and it is the only Irish business school to appear in these rankings.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com