When the dust settles, about 15 juniors and seniors at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) will be bound for Ireland next fall to inaugurate a semester abroad program at University College Dublin's (UCD) Quinn School of Business. Enrollment in the program ended March 9, and applications far exceeded the initial limit of one dozen.

"This is a great opportunity for our students because UCD is not only a terrific university, it's a portal to the European Union," said Harry Katz, dean of ILR, who co-signed a memorandum of agreement with the dean of UCD's School of Business late last year. "The remarkable economic and social changes in the EU coupled with the fact that the Irish economy is one of the strongest performers in the world in the last 20 years make UCD a very interesting place to be in terms of studying economic growth and labor issues in Ireland and on the Continent."

The co-sponsored and co-designed Dublin program is the first step in an initiative toward a comprehensive educational and professional collaboration between the two schools.

UCD is Ireland's largest university, with more than 20,000 students in degree programs that span several colleges. The university's internationally accredited School of Business is the largest in Ireland and "widely acclaimed both for the superb quality of its academic programs and the exceptional vitality of its campus life," said Clete Daniel, ILR professor and director of the school's off-campus credit programs.

"The Quinn School's curriculum places a special emphasis on illuminating the most important issues of work and workplace relations affecting the 27 member nations of the EU, the world's largest trading bloc," he said. "Students enrolled in the ILR-UCD Semester in Dublin Program will not only expand their understanding of the global field of industrial and labor relations, but will also be further enriched through their participation in a variety of engaging social and cultural activities designed by UCD staff."

The UCD program is one piece of an expanding ILR role in supporting education abroad. The school supports student internships and programs in China, Hong Kong, Africa, Europe and Latin America.