Global CEO Excellence Awards 2020

CEO MONTHLY / GLOBAL CEO EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2020 39 , Best Student Education CEO 2020 (Republic of Ireland): Bernie Carroll Founded just over a decade ago, Student Programmes Ireland began life as an answer to the numbers of international students wishing to travel to Ireland in search of English language study skills in both primary and secondary schools. European students in particular, were keen to travel and learn English across many of Ireland’s schools. CEO Bernie Carroll may have started the business that would go on to become a truly fantastic advocate for studying internationally, though she initially worked for twenty four years in the dairy industry as a finance operative. After the company she worked for was taken over, Mrs Carroll was afforded the opportunity to take voluntary redundancy. She did so, and decided that she wanted to work for herself. Thus, the idea for Student Programmes Ireland was formed. Having always enjoyed travelling and meeting new, interesting people, Mrs Carroll soon found herself with an opportunity to take over an existing summer student- focused business. Leaping at the opportunity, Mrs Carroll worked on the business between 2002 and 2008, but always felt that there was room for development to make it into a business that was viable all year round. Having sat on this idea for some time, Mrs Education is key across theworld. Students of all ages, races, andbackgrounds shouldbe able to have access to the best education they can, learning all about theworld around them. Student Programmes IrelandLtd. is anaward-winning companybased inCharleville, Cork, andwas set up in2009 to cater for the increaseddemand for international students to come to Ireland to improve their English language learning skills. At thefirm’s head is CEOBernieCarroll.We spokewithMrs Carroll to learnmoreher personal andprofessional success. Jun20051 Carroll set about identifying a gap in the market. After doing some educational research which involved asking schools whether they would be willing to take international students in if Mrs Carroll herself sourced them, Student Programmes Ireland became a reality. During that first year, Student Programmes Ireland worked with two students from Germany which proved successful. It was in 2008 however, that the business really began to grow. One morning in 2008, Mrs Carroll received a chance phone call from a principal of a school in Ireland regarding a fax message from the Slovakian Embassy in Dublin, asking them to take some students. The principal agreed that if Mrs Carroll worked with the Embassy and sourced the families, she would take the students into her school. What followed was a subsequent three-year contract between Mrs Carroll and the Ministry of Education in Slovakia that saw more than 140 Slovak students placed in more than seventy secondary schools all over the Republic of Ireland. Since that fateful phone call, Student Programmes Ireland and Mrs Carroll have grown from strength to strength. Key to Mrs Carroll’s success has been working and partnering with the best in the business. Now firmly established as a business that is beneficial for the education of young European students from all over the continent, Mrs Carroll is able to work with agents in Spain, Italy, France, and Germany, and are currently sourcing students from other countries. The agents are responsible for interviewing and preparing the students for studying in Ireland. Once they have gathered all the relevant information, Mrs Carroll and her team in Ireland do all the work necessary to be ready for the students’ arrival. From meeting the students at the airport, to finding them suitable host families with children of a similar age, to enrolling them in the best local schools, Student Programmes Ireland is always there, and offers a 24/7 co-ordination service for those with any questions. Each student has their own bedroom, study area, local coordinator, and orientation meeting after two weeks of arrival in Ireland to ensure that everything is going as well as it possibly can for them. All of the host families are police-checked, and the price is fully transparent to ensure that no hidden fees are there to surprise these students. Education is a vital part of so many people’s lives, and every student should have the chance to educate themselves anywhere in the world they choose. Student Programmes Ireland is instrumental in making that happen, and giving opportunities to young students from all over the European continent. Company: Student Programmes Ireland Ltd Contact: Bernie Carroll Website: www.spil.ie