A letter of intent hopes to create degree partnership between GBC and the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dublin, Ireland

Laura Jo Gunter (middle left) Senior Vice President Academic at George Brown College, Toronto, and Dr. Annie Doona (middle right), President of IADT with delegates from George Brown College at the signing of a Letter of Intent on Oct. 1, 2014. Photo courtesy of George Brown College.

For students at George Brown the world of post-secondary education just got a little smaller.

On Oct. 1, George Brown College (GBC) signed a letter of intent with the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) in Dublin, Ireland.

As described on the IADT website, “the purpose of this letter of intent is to establish the foundation for a joint exploration of opportunities for collaboration between the two institutions.”

According to GBC’s website, Laura Jo Gunter, senior vice president of academic said, “our institutions share the same commitment to student success. We too are committed to supplying well educated graduates to the creative and cultural industries. This collaboration with IADT will offer our students new and exciting opportunities to (compliment) their learning on a global level.”

Across the ocean, the president of IADT, Doctor Annie Doona, expresses similar sentiments saying, “IADT recognizes the importance of international collaboration and its contribution to education.  We are delighted to be signing this letter of intent with George Brown College and will be looking for collaboration opportunities across many areas.”

According to Doona, one of the possible areas of focus for the future could be design, explaining that “given that the year of design in Ireland will take place in 2015, collaborations in this area will be particularly timely.”

This letter of intent is builds off the partnership between Colleges Ontario, who represents the 24 public colleges in Ontario, and the Institutes of Technology Ireland (IOTI); this allows two-year diploma graduates to get an honours degree with two years of study in Ireland. in some cases graduates of three-year programs can complete the degree in only one year.

Applications are currently being accepted from Colleges Ontario graduates, and must be submitted by May 31 for entry in September.