Most of us are convinced of the immense value of the year
abroad, so too are employers and students who return from to university after
what many of them describe as ‘the best year of my life’. Indeed students at the University of
Edinburgh have established an award winning student society , Exchange 360 (http://exchange360.org/) to help them keep their memories of the year
abroad alive, to encourage and support those planning a year overseas and to
befriend international students studying in Edinburgh.
The British Academy, working in partnership with the
University Council of Modern Languages (UCML) and Thirdyearabroad.com, has
recently funded a project to gather evidence on the value of the year
abroad. A call for short case studies from
graduates who had spent time abroad during their undergraduate studies elicited
600 responses ‘illustrating the academic, cultural, intercultural, linguistic,
personal and professional benefits derived from the year abroad’. To read these, go to http://www.thirdyearabroad.com/graduates.html
A position statement , Valuing the Year
Abroad, has also been produced ( http://www.britac.ac.uk) articulating these benefits and proposing
recommendations to government, to universities, to employers and to
students. In the position statement, the
Government is urged to ‘minimise financial disincentives for the small but currently
growing number of students who wish to undertake a year abroad’. We are still awaiting the Government’s
response.
LLAS is organising a workshop on the year abroad to explore
these issues further. Working with colleagues in Scotland, the workshop will
look at how we can effectively articulate the value of residence abroad to
students, parents and university managers as well as exploring how we can
maximise the benefits of the year abroad experience for students. The event is being held on 23 May 2012 at
Strathclyde University. To register, go to http://www.llas.ac.uk/events/6547.
Liz Hudswell
Assistant Director, LLAS
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