The report, which was commissioned to reflect on the impact of the economic crisis on higher education throughout the continent, found that many governments have made significant cuts to funding for higher education and there are fears in many countries that further cuts are on their way.

The report states that there have already been major cuts in Latvia, Italy, Romania, Lithuania and the UK, among others. In other countries, although there have been no cuts, governments have discarded previously made agreements to increase funding. In some cases this could leave some universities with 15% less funding than they had been expecting.

“Only a small number of European governments have upheld their commitments or indeed provided new investments to fund higher education,” the EUA says.

However, there is some good news. In Germany and France, funding for higher education increased by as much as 5%. The report has also opened the debate into the nature of funding for universities. In many countries the possibility of private funding for universities is being discussed for the first time. In Scandinavia for example, opinion has always been strongly in favour of total public funding for universities but the option of private funding is now being considered.

It is hard to tell how the economic crisis will affect universities in the long run but it is clear that higher education institutions play an integral role in helping to steer countries back to prosperity. The EUA believes that an increase in funding will benefit us all in the long run.

The data was collected on students studying at 51 different institutions in Ireland; we’ve reproduced some of the key findings of the survey below:

• The number of full-time students has increased by 10%, to 66% of all international students (17,204).
• International students taking PhD programmes in Ireland have increased dramatically to over 2,000, 8% of the total and well above national averages. The numbers taking Masters programmes have also increased. Postgraduate study is particularly focussed on science related disciplines, but there is evidence of growth in every subject.
• Full-time EU and European student numbers have increased.
• The institutes of technology now host 17% of international students, almost 40% of whom are from EU countries and on exchange programmes.
• They key countries of origin for international students in Ireland are: the USA; China; France; the UK; Germany; Spain; Malaysia; India and Canada.
• Countries with a noteable increase in providing students to Ireland are: France; Canada; Nigeria; Saudi Arabia; Brazil and Romania.
• Humanities/creative arts and business and related subjects are the most important academic disciplines for international students in Ireland.
• International students paid €192 million in tuition fees in 2009/10.

To download the full report from Education Ireland, visit their website here.

To find out more about studying in Ireland read the latest i-studentadvisor Ireland Guide here.