The Minister of State for Training and Skills, Ciarán Cannon TD, accompanied by 13 higher education institutions, led a seven-day “Education in Ireland” mission to Vietnam.  The mission is part of the Government’s strategy “Investing in Global Relationships” to promote Ireland as a world-class destination for international education, and double the number of international students studying in Ireland by 2015.  Vietnam, besides Malaysia, has been identified as a priority market in this strategy.

Minister Cannon said: “This is the first education services mission to Vietnam by Irish higher education institutions. Vietnam has a very young population with a strong desire for quality education. More than 100,000 Vietnamese students travel overseas each year for higher education – we want to ensure Ireland has a share of that group."

In Vietnam Minister Cannon will visit Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to take part in a series of educational events and activities in relation to the partnership building with and the promotion of Irish education to various stakeholders from policy makers, educational and business partners, to students, reports MerrionStreet, Irish Government News Service