The Business Education Initiative (BEI) is a British study-abroad programme for students from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It was run initially by the

Department for Employment and Learning The Department for Employment and Learning (DEL), ( ga, An Roinn Fostaíochta agus Foghlama; Ulster Scots: ''Depairtment for Employ an Learnin''), was a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The min ...

but, since 2006, is delivered by the British Council in association with the Department for Employment and Learning in

Activities

Each year approximately 100 students are selected to study business related subjects at participating

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

s and

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. The majority of the student's transport and living expenses are met by the British Council while the US host-institution grants the students a fee-waiver or scholarship.

History

The programme was established in 1994 and to date approximately 1,350 students have participated. It has proven to be a once in a lifetime experience for the majority of the students who have graduated from the program.

Eligibility

Applications are accepted from pre-final year

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

degree Degree may refer to: As a unit of measurement * Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement ** Degree of geographical latitude ** Degree of geographical longitude * Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics ...

HND HND or H&D may refer to: Transport * Haneda Airport, serving Tokyo, Japan * Hanborough railway station, in England * Henderson Executive Airport, in Nevada, United States * Hinterland Aviation, an Australian airline Other uses * Croatian Journ ...

students studying at a Northern Irish

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

college or university. In the past, the majority of students on the programme have come from the following institutions: * The Queen's University of Belfast ** St. Mary's University College **

Stranmillis University College Stranmillis University College is a university college of Queen's University Belfast. The institution is located on the Stranmillis Road in Belfast. It had students in . The school offers the BEd, PGCE and TESOL, as well as other courses. Hi ...

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

* Belfast Metropolitan College *

South Eastern Regional College South Eastern Regional College (SERC) is a further and higher education college in the south-east of Northern Ireland. SERC was created following the merger of three institutes of further and higher education in the south-east of Northern Irela ...

Participating U.S. institutions

A list of participating U.S. colleges and universities for the 2010-2011 academic year is availabl
here ''(external link)''

External links

British Council

Department for Employment & Learning

* A history of the programme is available {{Education in Northern Ireland Business education in Northern Ireland Higher education colleges in Northern Ireland Organizations established in 1994 United Kingdom educational programs