The role of technology and education in the development of Ireland

Before the presentation, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Kim had a meeting to welcome Mr. Damien Cole to the School. The Vice President briefly introduced the School and said that this presentation by Mr. Damien Cole was the first step towards a more developed relationship between the School and Irish universities.

In response, Ambassador Damien Cole also expressed his desire to act as a bridge between Irish universities and the USSH, especially in the development of the International Development Studies major that is expected to be established at the Faculty of International Studies. The Ambassador said that Ireland has many educational institutions with expertise in this field and can cooperate with the USSH.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Kim briefly introduced the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Photo: Tran Minh)

In his presentation, Sir Damien Cole said that Ireland is a European country that has been independent for less than 100 years but has close relations with the UK and especially the US. This is a country that has progressed from an agricultural economy to a high-tech economy. So how did Ireland achieve this?

According to Ambassador Damien Cole, the answer lies primarily in Ireland’s education policy. In Ireland, there is close cooperation between universities and technology units. Universities always have technology centers that help students do research internships to gain work experience in high-tech zones. Ireland has used 1/3 of the funds provided by the European Union to invest in education and has achieved great results. It can be said that education is the foundation for the development of any country.

Education is one of the top priorities of the Irish government (Photo: Tran Minh)

The second factor contributing to Ireland's economic development is the policy of attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). A typical example is that large companies such as Google and Yahoo are headquartered in Ireland. The Irish government also establishes a circle of connections between businesses, researchers and universities to create a great connection between education and the economy. Universities in Ireland attract successful businessmen to teach to ensure output for students. In turn, businesses also regularly connect with universities to find bright candidates for themselves. In short, education and investment policies are two main factors that have contributed greatly to transforming Ireland from a country that only exported agriculture to the UK into a highly developed country in technology and able to reach out to the world.

Dr. Vu Anh Thu asked Ambassador Damien Cole (Photo: Tran Minh)

During the presentation, Ambassador Damien Cole received many interesting questions on issues such as the relationship between Ireland and the United States, the relationship between Ireland and Vietnam, the role of social sciences and humanities schools in Ireland's development, the difficulties in converting from an agricultural economy to a high-tech economy, Ireland's preferential policies for foreign students...