Cogs in the Smart Economy

FROM WHERE I SIT, problems appear with Ireland's hopes for a smart economy. That's because student grants are at risk under the cost-cutting knife of the Minister for Finance. This means talented students who are learning core skills required in the smart economy may need to focus on getting part-time jobs instead of continuing third level education full-time. Reduced grants will affect the attention students at right can give to learning how to do things well. I am still trying to piece together the real fall-out of Budget 2010 but the spirit of austerity runs through it. My household income has fallen nearly EUR 9000 since last Christmas. There is no way any of the mature students in my creative multimedia studio could continue full-time academics if they took a similar hit. They're worried about absorbing a cutback to their grants while simultaneously being hit with rising costs for fees and equipment.

If I was a benevolent philantrophist, I would create a well-endowed fund that would serve third and fourth level students pursuing degrees that would qualify them for meaningful work in the smart economy.

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Photo snapped during Limerick Open Coffee.

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