Prem had done everything right. An engineer by background in India, he had spent months researching postgraduate options in Europe, received his offer letter, paid his tuition fees in full, obtained his Irish student visa, and boarded a flight with everything he had saved.
He arrived in Ireland on a Friday in October 2014 — nervous, excited, and ready. This was the start of the life he had worked toward.
The college had folded — an unaccredited institution that had taken international students’ fees and shut within the first days of term. Prem lost his entire tuition payment. No refund. No transfer. No warning. Stranded in Ireland, his student visa tied to a college that no longer existed.
Friday: Prem lands in Ireland. Fees paid in full. Visa valid. Ready to begin.
The following Tuesday: A permanent closure notice on the college door. The institution is gone.
Immediately after: No refund. No pathway arranged. No support. Prem faces the consequences alone in a foreign country.
Irish immigration law is clear: without active college enrollment, Prem had no legal right to remain. His residence permit was tied to a college that no longer existed.
He spent weeks contacting universities and colleges across Ireland — writing emails, requesting partial scholarships, doing anything to secure enrollment before his status lapsed. But the brutal reality: most institutions had already closed admissions for that academic year.
In 2015, after an exhausting search, Prem secured a place at a small private college to pursue a PG Diploma in Tourism and Hospitality Management — completely outside his engineering background. It wasn’t his choice. It was his only way to stay.
He completed the diploma with 70%. Simultaneously he worked every part-time job he could find — paying his own rent, saving every spare euro — with one goal in mind: applying to a real university on his own terms.
To preserve his legal status, Prem enrolled in a course completely outside his engineering field:
PG Diploma — Tourism & Hospitality Management
After completing his diploma and saving enough through a year of part-time work, Prem applied to Dublin City University (DCU) — one of Ireland’s top research universities. He applied for MSc Digital Marketing.
In 2016, DCU offered him a place — but not for Digital Marketing. His offer was for MSc E-Commerce. He accepted. Then immediately made the decision that defines everything about his character.
He enrolled full-time in MSc E-Commerce at DCU while simultaneously pursuing a Level 8 Certificate in Digital Marketing at the National College of Ireland (NCI) on a part-time schedule. And through all of this, he continued working part-time to fund his own expenses, and completed a digital marketing internship to build real career experience alongside his studies.
For nearly two years: full-time MSc student, part-time certificate student, employee, and intern — all at once.
+
NCI
🎓 MSc E-Commerce — Full-time, Dublin City University
📜 Level 8 Cert, Digital Marketing — Part-time, National College of Ireland
💼 Part-time employment — Self-funded every living expense
🚀 Digital Marketing Internship — Built real-world career experience simultaneously
Two degrees. One graduation week.
Two job offers — on the same day.
Full-time Postgraduate Degree
Part-time, completed simultaneously
Same Day
Within one week of graduating, Prem received two professional job offers — on the very same day.
After graduating from both DCU and NCI, Prem built his digital marketing career in Ireland — finally living the professional life he had fought so hard for. The journey from that Tuesday morning in October 2014 had taken him through paths he could never have planned.
But something stayed with him. He knew, with absolute clarity, how easily a student’s dream could be destroyed — by a fraudulent college, by a consultant who had never lived in these countries, by advice given for commission rather than for the student’s benefit.
In 2018, he married Sarah Ingrid — a study abroad consultant with 15 years of professional experience placing Indian students in European universities. She had the deep university networks, visa expertise, and professional credibility. He had something no qualification could give her: the unfiltered reality of what studying abroad looks like when everything goes wrong — and how to survive it.
They founded Sarem Education together. Named after themselves — SArah and PREM. Today, over 12 years after arriving in Ireland, Prem is an Irish citizen — living proof that the hardest starts can lead to the most extraordinary outcomes.
Prem arrived in Ireland in October 2014 with a dream and a fraudulent college receipt. Today, 12 years later, he is an Irish citizen, a DCU and NCI graduate, and co-founder of Sarem Education.
The two people
behind your journey
→
Prem
“I want every student who comes to us to know the reality — the good, the difficult, and everything no one else will tell you. I’ve lived it.”
Prem came to Ireland in 2014 as an international student and experienced the worst possible start: a fraudulent college that shut within days of his arrival, leaving him stranded and financially ruined.
Rather than give up, he worked part-time, completed a diploma outside his field, secured DCU admission, enrolled at NCI simultaneously, graduated from both, and received two job offers on the same day. Today he is an Irish citizen who has lived in Ireland for over 12 years.
At Sarem Education, Prem ensures every student receives honest, reality-based guidance — including the risks and challenges that most consultants gloss over to make a sale.
Sarah Ingrid
“In 15 years I’ve watched students go from small towns in India to the best universities in Europe. That transformation never gets old.”
Sarah Ingrid brings 15 years of professional experience placing Indian students in top European universities. She has guided 1000+ students through country selection, university shortlisting, SOP writing, scholarship applications, and visa documentation across UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Italy and beyond.
Her expertise is in matching who a student truly is with what genuinely exists in the world — not what looks impressive in a brochure. Her one non-negotiable: every student is counseled as if they were her own family member.
Everything Prem suffered became our promise to you.
Only Verified, Accredited Institutions
Every college we recommend is personally vetted. We will never send a student to an unaccredited, unstable institution. Prem paid that price in 2014 so you never have to.
The Full Truth — Not a Sales Pitch
We will tell you if a job market is difficult, if your profile needs strengthening, or if a country isn’t right for your goals. Honest advice, even when it costs us the consultation.
Public Universities First
For free-tuition European countries, our goal is always the best public university your profile can achieve. We never push private options when a better public one exists.
Support After You Land
Prem had nobody when his world collapsed on a Tuesday morning in 2014. Every student we place has someone to call before departure, on arrival day, and through their first semester.
Guidance From an Irish Citizen Who Started as a Student
When Prem advises you on Ireland, on visas, on part-time work — he speaks from 12 years of lived experience as an immigrant, student, worker, and now citizen.
Any European Country, On Request
Our core expertise spans UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria and Italy. But we guide students to any European country based on academic profile and career demand.
Official Guardian for Minor Students Ireland Only
For students under 18 coming to Ireland — Sarem Education acts as your official guardian. We are Irish residents. We are physically present. School liaison, welfare checks, accommodation oversight, and regular updates to your family in India.
We Come to You — Anywhere in Europe
If you face a serious crisis after landing — a university dispute, a housing emergency, an immigration issue, or simply a moment where you need someone physically present — we will travel to meet you. Anywhere in Europe.
From a fraudulent college in 2014 to Irish citizen and co-founder.
Prem lands in Ireland with fees paid and visa valid. Within days, the college shuts permanently. Fees lost. Immigration status at risk. Completely alone in a foreign country.
With university admissions mostly closed, Prem secures a place in a course entirely outside his engineering background — just to maintain legal status. Achieves 70%. Works multiple part-time jobs while saving to reapply.
DCU offers MSc E-Commerce. Prem accepts and simultaneously enrols part-time at NCI for a Level 8 in Digital Marketing. Continues part-time work and completes a digital marketing internship — all at the same time.
Prem graduates from both programmes in the same week. Within days, he receives two professional job offers on the exact same day. The years of sacrifice have paid off completely.
Prem marries Sarah Ingrid, a study abroad consultant with 15 years of experience. Together they found Sarem Education — her professional expertise combined with his lived truth — so no student ever suffers what he endured.
Prem is now an Irish citizen who has lived in Ireland for over 12 years. Sarem Education has placed 1000+ students in European universities. The student who was scammed in 2014 now ensures no student is ever scammed again.
“I arrived in Ireland on a Friday in October 2014, with everything I had saved — fees paid, visa stamped, plan in place. By the following Tuesday the college was gone. My money was gone. I took a course I never came to Ireland for, just to stay legally. I worked every job I could find. Saved every euro. Applied to DCU and got E-Commerce instead of Digital Marketing — so I enrolled at NCI simultaneously for both. Worked part-time through all of it. Did an internship on top. Graduated from two universities in the same week and got two job offers on the same day. Today, 12 years later, I am an Irish citizen. I built Sarem Education so that no student ever has to make that phone call home saying the college doesn’t exist anymore.”— Prem, Co-Founder · Sarem Education · Irish Citizen · MSc E-Commerce, DCU · Level 8 Digital Marketing, NCI
We don’t close your file
when you land.
Most consultancies end their relationship at the airport departure gate. Sarem Education begins a new chapter of it.
The consultancy that stays
long after you land.
Guardian support in Ireland. In-person visits anywhere in Europe. Lifetime journey support. Free counselling with Prem, Sarah, or a senior counsellor — no pitch, just honest guidance from people who have genuinely lived this.