UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, in partnership with Bord Bia, today announced the launch of a €1m scholarship programme for 25 students.
This new programme, which is offering 25 scholarship and bursary positions, is designed to help increase exports of the Irish food and drink industry.
The programme is open to all graduates with at least two years of work experience. It will involve a combination of work placements with leading Irish food companies along with study for an MSc in market practice at UCD Smurfit School, in Blackrock, Co Dublin. Not only will students receive a bursary of €22,800, they will also have their college fees covered.
“This innovative programme provides the framework to develop leaders in the Irish food and drinks industry and allows Irish food and drink companies, one of the growth areas of our economy, to properly assess international markets and to plan their export strategy effectively. This is the third time that the programme has been run and it is estimated that the return on the investment stands at an impressive €12m,” said Michael Murphy, director of markets at Bord Bia.
Speaking on behalf of UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, Prof Damien McLoughlin said, ”We are delighted to partner with Bord Bia on this critical programme. As one of the leading business schools in Europe, we can provide the academic framework and our direct links with business is beneficial for the programme.”
The programme combines action learning, through a year-long, fully funded, foreign industry placement, with a ‘block-release’ academic business education programme.
Students can learn more about the programme online.
The closing date for all applications is Monday, 14 March at 9am.