QUEST EUROPEAN UNION
STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM
IRELAND
An Overview of the Program
WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT ?
The Quest Program has been developed specifically to develop your skills and confidence in the international arena. The Program is based essentially on the highly successful action learning system, which has proven so successful in Ireland.
This is a new Program. The last three semesters have produced outstanding results. It is a good time to get involved, because it is still a small and fresh Program. In fact, as with the past
three semesters, you will be able to work in a team with your fellow students. It will be challenging. It will be varied, moving through a range of different situations and cultures each week. But, most of all, it is real life - real life but a safe
environment. A safe environment to bring out those capabilities and strengths which reside inside you, awaiting discovery. Do not expect a conventional College set-up. Actually, you will be participating in the development of a new University in th
e heart of Ireland, the springboard into Europe.
WHERE WILL I BE ?
Quest Campus is based in Charleville Castle on the outskirts of Tullamore - in the centre of Ireland. It is 60 miles from Dublin and 20 miles from Athlone. There are regular train services to Dublin and Athlone.
Charleville Castle is Ireland's finest neo-gothic Castle. It is surrounded by 2,000 acres of primordial oakwoods and park lands. For a great number of years, since independence, this Castle lay empty and decaying. Phase 1 of the Restoration Program
is now complete and Phase 2 is underway - why don't you try out your skills at restoration? As with all Castles - the inside is often colder than outside - so, you will find yourself regularly at action learning meetings in front of a roaring fire.
Of course, you will also be spending a lot of time elsewhere. In the first place, you
can attend some classes in either Athlone Institute of Technology or LSB College in
Dublin, where you will mix with Irish undergraduate students. Separately, you
will be undertaking a special action learning program focused on history,
literature and the European Union, and also in IT.
Finally, you will work on a project with Irish people outside of the education system, both children and adults. You will be on the move.
WHERE WILL I LIVE ?
You have two choices. You can stay with a local family or share a house or apartment with your colleagues. It depends on your own preference, but also on your fellow students.
HOW WILL I MAINTAIN CONTACT WITH HOME ?
You will have access to a bank of computers for e-mailing and so on. Actually, there is also Video Conference equipment. The last group hired
cellular phones for the semester. This arrangement allows your parents and friends call you any time. You can use a call card to call them. You can also receive calls at the Castle and normally at your homestay.
WHAT ABOUT LOCAL TRANSPORT ?
Students can hire cars locally at a fairly reasonable price. Students can
group together to get a car and share the driving and the costs. You will need
your drivers license. In Ireland, we drive on the "wrong" side of the
road. The roads are small and winding and distances on a map are decieving.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON MY ARRIVAL IN IRELAND ?
At Airport Immigration, you will need to present your passport, the letter from Quest
and a letter from your home University. Your home University must confirm in the letter that
your costs are paid in advance, and that you will not be seeking paid employment in Europe. If you inform
us in advance info@quest-campus.com
we will arrange to be at the Airport.
Otherwise, there is a shuttle bus at the Airport to Heuston Station (Railway). You can
take the Galway or Westport train to Tullamore (1 hour). Call us anytime:
Tullamore (local) at 23040
Ireland (within Ireland) at 0506 23040
USA ( international) at 011 353 506 23040
There is a time difference of about 5 hours between the eastern U.S. and this part of Europe.
