Dr. Merike Darmody:

What was quite clear from our research was that there was probably limited awareness, even among the guidance counsellors, on what the options are in Northern Ireland. What could be done is to offer students an informed choice and not particularly to focus on other European countries or other universities here in Ireland but rather introduce students to universities in Northern Ireland. When we spoke to the stakeholders, some of them mentioned that students had initially gone to Northern Ireland on an Erasmus exchange and were very pleasantly surprised, saying they did not really consider a degree in Northern Ireland, but now that they had gone and experienced it, they were really considering it.

Also, on what Professor Smyth was saying about guidance counsellors in this country, while websites are useful, students would benefit from one-to-one help from a guidance counsellor. You cannot ask all the questions from a website that you may need, and some students may need more assistance than others, such as those who are not familiar with the higher education context.