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NUI Galway has detailed specific supports and protocols it is putting in place for the coming academic year to help international students coming from outside Ireland.
There has been speculation all summer that the number of international students coming to Ireland for the 2020/21 academic year and beyond will drop considerably due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
NUI Galway is particularly vulnerable to this, as the university has a strong reputation for taking in large numbers of students from around the world.
As the university prepares to reopen for the new semester starting on September 21, it has introduced a number of new measures to make things easier for foreign students coming to Ireland to comply with pandemic regulations.
Under current COVID-19 restrictions, anyone arriving from a country that is not on the green list is required to quarantine for 14 days on arrival, and avoid the use of public transport.
NUIG has introduced a “green and transfer” system from this week, where international students will be met at the airport, and transportation to Galway arranged for them.
In Galway, NUIG has set aside space in its own accommodation, which students can use free of charge for their quarantine period.
The university has also said that it is liaising with other accommodation providers locally in the event that its accommodation is full, or no longer available for supporting restricted movement.
International students will also be able to sign up for a meal delivery service for their quarantine period to help limit interactions.
“Once students have completed their period of restricted movement they have fulfilled the safe arrival in Ireland requirements and no longer represent a greater risk in terms of COVID-19 transmission than any other person in Ireland.”
“From then on, as with the rest of our community, we will focus on collaboration so that we all continue to adopt safe practices and do our utmost to limit the spread of this virus.”
