By Aimee Sheppard
A new agreement between Memorial’s Faculty of Business Administration and the School of Accounting and Business studies at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) in Waterford, Ireland, will help bridge the physical gap between the two institutions and make it easier for students to learn about international business abroad.

“The City of Waterford, Ireland is twinned with the city of St. John's, and we see tangible results of this partnership through the collaborative relationships between our educational institutes,” said Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams during a recent trip to Ireland. “The Waterford Institute of Technology's School of Business has recently signed an agreement with the Faculty of Business at Memorial University of Newfoundland for a student exchange program. This will provide a means for studying Ireland's recent economic growth, and will facilitate an exchange of business and economic development ideas.”

The agreement provides exchange opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at each institution. A maximum of four students per year per institution will be able to take advantage of this exchange. In September, Memorial will be sending three students to WIT and receiving four students from that institution.

“Ireland is definitely a popular exchange location for our students,” said Susan Vaughan, director of the Centre for International Business Studies at Memorial. “Memorial’s business students have been able to study in Dublin since 1995. Our partnership with Waterford Institute of Technology gives our students the opportunity to experience a more regional setting and to build upon the variety of initiatives that have been taking place between WIT and Memorial in recent years.”

This new agreement builds on the faculty’s existing relationship with Waterford. Last year while studying in Harlow, a number of business students who were also representatives of ACE Memorial, traveled to WIT to help students there set up a similar organization focused on promoting youth entrepreneurship. The Centre for International Business Studies also placed six interns with companies in Waterford last year. Waterford students will be also able to participate in student case competitions at Memorial and WIT’s Business School will now be part of an international network of 35 business schools

The linkage also encourages faculty exchanges and other learning opportunities. Faculty and staff from both institutions have visited Newfoundland and Waterford and guest lectures have been delivered on various topics including innovation, management control and foreign direct investment. Research and business-to-business linkages have also been identified.