The two new pathway programmes aim to ease entry to Maynooth University in County Kildare and Dublin City University for international students at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level.

“EduCo is very proud to add Europe to our portfolio of destinations”

Students on the pathway programmes will be fully integrated into their chosen university’s campus, but will benefit from smaller class sizes.

The pathways “will provide unique and exceptional academic opportunities” as the company moves its pathway offering into Europe for the first time, according to the company’s CEO, Joff Allen.

“[EduCo] is very proud to launch the partnerships with these world-renowned universities and to add Europe to our portfolio of destinations,” added Allen.

“Ireland offers a remarkable combination of quality education, industry-linked universities and a safe and welcoming environment for international students.”

Explaining the decision to enter the Irish market, Jacob Kestner, managing director of EduCo International in Ireland, noted: “There is some uncertainty around traditional destinations such as the UK at the moment and the timing of the launch has created a lot of excitement.”

Unlike some other pathway providers, which operate branded courses on university campuses, EduCo acts as a white label partner, and so the new programmes won’t be marketed under the EduCo brand.

This also means the company won’t take over admissions for the new programmes, but will help with recruitment by promoting the courses in source markets and presenting qualified candidates.

As well as pathway provision, EduCo also operates student recruitment and conversion campaigns, on-campus academic provision and student support services.

Its existing partners include the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in the US, Acsenda School of Management in Canada and Southern Cross University in Australia.