Drogheda Institute of Further Education (DIFE) recently hosted their annual Open Day with a record attendance from prospective students and their families.

The event provided a valuable opportunity for attendees to explore a wide range of employment focused and academic courses, meet staff and current students, and get a feel for life in DIFE.

Visitors were given the opportunity to tour the campus, participate in hands-on workshops, access guidance support to gain information on career pathways and attend informative talks about the college’s exciting courses, including the10 new courses on offer for 2025.

“The Open Day has been an incredible success, with an overwhelming response from future students eager to discover what DIFE has to offer,” said DIFE Principal, Davy Mc Donnell. “We’re excited to assist students in the region to make informed choices about their future education and career opportunities available in DIFE.”

Chris Murray and LMFM radio were on site for the event and held a series of interviews with students and Deputy Principal, Shane Williams. In his interview, Mr. Williams, outlined why Further Education is a fantastic option for those looking to progress to higher education or indeed to employment and encouraged prospective students to consider a one-year course in DIFE to open pathways to an exciting future career.

Current learners Robyn Chidgey, Pre-University Law & Criminology, Clara Gilsenan, Dental Nursing and Deirdre O’ Grady, Fashion Design spoke eloquently on why they chose a course in DIFE, their experience in the college and plans for their future education and employment.

Award Winning College 

Drogheda Institute is the largest Further Education and Training (FET) provider in the Northeast Region, providing a wide range of PLC & Pre-University courses to school leavers and adults returning to education.

The college has established itself as one of the leading FE colleges in the country providing pathways to both higher education and employment. The college was awarded Best Further Education Provider in Ireland in 2024 by The National Education Awards, which is the 4th time in 5 years the college received the prestigious accolade.

New Opportunities for 2025

DIFE has announced ten new courses on offer for the 2025/26 academic year commencing in September 2025.  Each programme will include a mandatory work placement within industry with learners gaining on the job skills in addition to their academic studies. All new courses have excellent progression links to employment and/or related degrees in Universities/IT's here in Ireland, UK and Europe. 

New Courses

• Speech & Language Therapy Assistant                           
• Pre-Dental Nursing
• Pre-University Biomedical & Biological Science             
• GP Practice Assistant
• English Language & IT Skills for Employment             
• Nail Technology 
• Advanced Computing, Data Analytics & Software             
• Renewable Energy Technology
• Electrical & Renewable Engineering Technology            
• Advanced Business & Tourism

Pathways to Higher Education & Employment

All DIFE courses have excellent pathways to both Higher Education and/or employment. DIFE graduates can progress to Higher Education with places reserved for FET learners in Universities and Institutes of Technology in Ireland, UK and in Europe. Additionally, DIFE and Dublin City University (DCU) have confirmed agreed pathways to a range of DCU programmes in Nursing, Science, Law, Business and Education. The exclusive agreement between the Institutions ensures successful DIFE graduates a guaranteed pathway to further their studies in DCU in the above disciplines. 

Many courses are also employment focused for those looking to gain industry recognised qualifications in a short course and progress directly to employment (childcare, healthcare, beauty therapy, hairdressing, pharmacy, animal care, dental nursing, health, and fitness sectors etc). 

For more information and to apply for any of the 70+ courses, please see the college website www.dife.ie