AIT initially took on a small batch of Saudi students three years ago for eight-week courses to develop their teaching skills. The Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) program in Saudi Arabia sponsored the initiative. Courses included language development, and methodological and technical training for the classroom.
It was a successful tryout because now the Saudi complement of students at AIT alone by the end of 2010 had reached 58 spread over two academic years of a three-year degree program. By mid 2011, there will be Saudis in all three years of the degree program. “That’s when it will really gel,” said Ó Catháin.
The aim, he said, is to boost the numbers to 120 — all of whom would be funded by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Scholarship Program. Other major technical colleges in Ireland, notably Galway and Waterford, have Saudi students as well.
In most respects, Saudi and Irish cultures are very different. One of the similarities, thought Ó Catháin, is the central position of family values in both societies. “Central I think is the whole concept of the family. The nucleus of the family is very important to both. They have taken to us and we to them,” he said.
“That commonality has been central to the integration of Saudi students into the local community. Although, in the early stages the students lived in dormitory accommodation, they soon moved in with local families or independent dwellings and none have elected to return to the relative isolation of their early accommodation,” he said.
He told the story of a shopkeeper in the town who broke his heels and ankles in an accident. He said that one of the Saudi students, Latif, ran him back and forwards to hospital for an entire winter and often helped out in his shop.
“He said to me later that if I had told him he would have had a Muslim at his Christmas dinner table this year, he would have told me that I was off my head,” said Ó Catháin.
He added that all the students have really got involved with the community, mix very well and were first at the sandbag filling stations when Athlone was hit by a flood from its local river, the Shannon.
“We know from the feedback from the students that they are very content,” said Ó Catháin.
Inside the college, the Saudis are mixed in with the student body that is very internationalized and Ó Catháin thought it useful as it “broadens their outlook and the cultural mix.”
As with any new project, both sides had to proceed into new waters. AIT has a large international element in its student body but Saudis were a first. “We wanted Saudi students coming to Ireland because from the cultural perspective it’s good for the country to have people from the Muslim world coming in who are seen as normal as opposed to the picture that is sometimes created,” commented Ó Catháin.
“That’s a very beneficial thing for the Muslim community worldwide. They have been very much welcomed here in Athlone.”
He felt the secret to the success of the venture was communication and dialogue as the students arrived — the ground rules for both sides were made very clear, each voicing their expectations of the other.
“We made it very clear what we expected from them before they came and had a Yemeni post doctoral student here for months translating to reinforce this and to establish what they expected from us. We have kept a very open dialogue with them,” he said. He added that it’s about building a relationship. “You have got to build the friendship and the understanding. I find that in Saudi Arabia the personal relationships you build are critical to how business works,” he said.
AIT has a close interest in the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) program in Saudi Arabia and over the coming years looks to expand into the Kingdom, both to assist with its delivery and develop the number of students it hosts on the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Scholarship Program. In the foreseeable future Ó Catháin hopes to open a joint AIT/ Waterford/Galway institutes office in Riyadh. Already, AIT has received enquiries to run a new technical college in Jeddah.
“We are not in it simply for the money, but to provide a great education and have ambassadors, Saudis included, leave here and go all round the world promoting us and Ireland.” If you can get them to leave, that is.
