The Business Education Initiative (BEI) is a study-abroad programme run initially by the Department for Employment and Learning

Department for Employment and Learning

The Department for Employment and Learning , formerly the Department of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment , is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive...

, but since 2006, is delivered by the British Council

British Council

The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...

 in association with the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

.

Activities

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

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 college

College

A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

s and universities

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

. 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 degree

Academic degree

An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...

 or HND

HND

HND may refer to:* Higher National Diploma, a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom* Hexanitrodiphenylamine, a World War II explosive with the chemical formula C12H5N7O12* HND, the ISO 3166-1 three-letter code for Honduras...

 students studying at a Northern Irish higher education

Higher education

Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

 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
    St. Mary's University College (Belfast)
    St Mary's University College was established in 1985, but can directly trace its existence to 1900 and the foundation of St Mary's Training College, which focused mainly on the training of women as teachers...
    
    
  • Stranmillis 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, and has approximately 700 students today and offers the BEd, PGCE and TESOL, as well as other courses....
    
    
• University of Ulster
  University of Ulster
  The University of Ulster is a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Northern Ireland. It is the largest single university in Ireland, discounting the federal National University of Ireland...
  
  
• Belfast Metropolitan College
• South Eastern Regional College
  South Eastern Regional College
  South Eastern Regional College is a regional 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 Ireland. These were East Down Institute, Lisburn...
  
  

Participating U.S. institutions

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

External links

• Official Site
• British Council
• Department for Employment & Learning
• History of the Business Education Initiative
• A history of the programme is available here