Aidan Cotter, chief executive, Bord Bia and Anne Hogan, C&C brand manager for Bulmer’s Pear Cider, at the Bord Bia food and drink industry awards. The second year of UCD fellowships is now open to 25 graduates.

Bord Bia and the UCD Smurfit School are offering 25 graduates with at least two years work experience a chance to take part in the second annual Bord Bia Marketing Fellowship. Successful candidates will be based full-time in overseas markets, working on assignments for 100 Irish food and drink companies, while also completing academic modules and ongoing assessments at UCD Smurfit School.

Fellows can avail of a funded bursary and tuition fees, worth over €22,000, and upon completion successful fellows will be awarded with an accredited MSc in marketing practice from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School in Blackrock, Co Dublin.

The first marketing fellowship programme, a €1 million investment by Bord Bia, was launched last year and has 25 fellows working across 12 overseas markets. A review of the programme showed that of the Irish food and drink companies involved, 80 per cent said they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied”.

Almost 90 per cent expressed an interest in participating in the programme in 2010. Speaking at the announcement, Aidan Cotter, chief executive, Bord Bia, said that over 70 per cent of companies involved in the current programme expect a major business impact in the next 12 months.

The programme blends a year-long foreign industry placement with a ‘block release’ academic business education programme at UCD Smurfit School. As well as a minimum of two years work experience, many placements will require a second language.

Applications close at 4pm on Friday, April 23.  For more details, visit www.smurfitschool.ie/bordbia