More than 200 Imperial students travelled abroad last year via Turing Scheme

by Stephen Johns

13 March 2024

More than 200 Imperial students travelled abroad last year for study or work placements via the Turing Scheme and other programmes at Imperial.

Imperial has a number of programmes for undergraduate and postgraduate students to undertake placements from a week to up to a year, in other countries around the world.

Imperial’s students have spent time in places such as the USA, France, Japan, Brazil, Ghana and India.

The progammes available to students include:

UG Study Abroad, Year in Industry
UG Industrial Placement or Final Year Project
International Research Opportunities Programme (IROP)
UG Medicine Placements (Electives)
PGT International Placements
PGR Global Fellows Placement
PGR Global Fellows Programme

The Turing Scheme was set up by the UK government in 2021 to replace Erasmus+ and supports students to spend up to a year studying or training overseas.

In the last year, 226 Imperial students received Turing funding to support their research, medical, study and industrial placements at universities, research institutes and companies in 44 countries.

"It is fantastic to see so many examples of our student community embarking on international experiences, making new friends and connections around the world." Professor Peter Haynes Vice-Provost (Education and Student Experience)

The scheme also provides enhanced funding for students from underrepresented groups.

The number of students who received enhanced funding to support their placement experiences doubled in the second year of the scheme.

Imperial hosted a special event to hear about the inspiring stories from some of the students who had taken part in both the Turing Scheme, and Imperial’s Global Fellows Programme.

The Global Fellows Programme is a 5-day workshop hosted at partner universities to work on global research challenges and expand international networks for Imperial’s students.

Imperial's students talked about the benefits of spending time abroad expanding their networks

Professor Peter Haynes, Vice-Provost (Education and Student Experience), said: “It is fantastic to see so many examples of our student community embarking on international experiences, making new friends and connections around the world and gaining new skills and perspectives which they bring back to their studies and to the community at Imperial. We are very keen to support the mission of the Turing Scheme to widen access to these opportunities to as many students as possible.”

Aina Binti Anwar Syahrin and Feng Shen Foo did the UG International Research Opportunities Programme (IROP) at Cornell University in the USA

Siddharth Puri did the UG International Research Opportunities Programme at MIT, USA

Zhengang Guo did a International Research Opportunities Programme at Cornell University, USA

Laurentiu Marchis did the did the UG International Research Opportunities Programme (IROP) at TUM, Germany

Joao Costa took part in UG Study Abroad at University of Sydney, Australia

Ashraf Nayel took part in the PGR Global Fellows Programme NTU-TUM-Imperial at NTU, Singapore

Fabio Feser did the PGR Global Fellows Placement? at University of Toronto, Canada

Yangshuo Hu took part in the PGR Global Fellows Placement at AIMS, Rwanda

Abigail Hoover, a taught postgraduate student from the Dyson School of Design Engineering, completed a placement at Keio University Graduate School of Media Design in Japan. Abigail said: “Funds like the Turing Scheme give you the space to experience what is around you in a less risk adverse way, and to dream of different project possibilities that could become a reality. The experience made me a stronger designer which will influence my impact as I move forward.”

Shannan Huang, a third-year student from the Department of Chemical Engineering, spent time at the University of California, Berkeley in the USA. Shannan said: “Funding from the Turing Scheme made study abroad a possibility for me. Going to UC Berkeley was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I couldn't pass up. If you’re wondering whether studying abroad is right for you, I can guarantee that the pros massively outweigh the cons. The process helped me grow more confident and learn a lot about myself.”

Fater Akuhwa, a postgraduate research student from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, took part in the bi-lateral Imperial-African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Global Fellows Programme in Rwanda. Fater said: “The beauty of the Global Fellows Programme was in its ability to gather intellectuals from different fields and parts of the world, thus adopting a global perspective in order to solve African problems. The programme in Rwanda was enlightening, educating, inspiring, fun and in every sense of the world, global.”

Apply for the Turing Scheme

The Turing Scheme is the UK government’s global programme to study and work abroad. The scheme provides funding for international opportunities in education and training across the world.

The scheme provides funding for students to undertake international experiences of between 4 weeks and 12 months in any country around the world.

Find out more and apply