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Ulster Business Course Wins All-Ireland Award

26 April 2012

A University of Ulster business course has been named Postgraduate Course of the Year at an all-Ireland Awards ceremony in Dublin last night.

The Ulster Business School’s MSc/GradICSA in Management and Corporate Governance, which runs at the Jordanstown campus and in Dublin, beat off competition from Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork, Queen’s University Belfast, NUI Galway, Dublin Institute of Technology, University of Limerick and Dublin City University, to win the 2012 Gradireland Award.

Course Director John Thompson said: “This Award is recognition of the collaborative efforts between the University and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA), all who teach and contribute to the course and, of course, the students.

“The true test of the success of an applied Masters is the success of its students in gaining employment. Over 80% of the students in the last three cohorts have obtained graduate level roles in relevant professional areas despite the continued downturn in the economy.

“We would claim almost 100% job placement as the remaining graduates choose to seek employment in other areas or pursue further qualifications/interests.

“Our links to Irish and international employers are excellent and employers return each year to recruit. The Irish employers include all the major accounting and law firms and approximately 40% of the firms in the Irish funds Industry. International companies include Eversheds (Manchester), Baille Clifford (Edinburgh) and a range of Trust companies including Barclays Wealth in Offshore islands: Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.”

Head of Department of Management and Leadership, Professor Heather Farley said: “We always work closely with employers and professional bodies, to embed business and professional relevance in all of our courses, as well as providing a high level of student support. We are delighted with this award, acknowledging all the efforts of John and his course team.”

Dean of the Ulster Business School, Professor Marie McHugh, said:“We are delighted to have won this prestigious award. It provides public recognition of the Ulster Business School’s commitment to providing top quality programmes that produce much sought after, and highly employable graduates. Through our collaboration with the ICSA in relation to the MSc in Management and Corporate Governance, we demonstrate our leadership in providing professional education for professional life.”

Last night’s gala dinner and awards ceremony was attended by Ireland’s most respected employers, third level careers services and professional bodies, making it the biggest gathering of the graduate recruitment community in Ireland.

The winners, voted for by students and judged by an independent panel of industry experts, were announced at the Mansion House in Dublin.

The website, gradireland.com, is the official graduate careers publisher for Ireland, north and south, in partnership with the Association of Higher Education Careers Services.

Details of the MSc can be obtained from Course Director, John Thompson, by emailing je.thompson@ulster.ac.uk.

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