Imperial celebrates transformative impact of global experiences for students

Student ambassadors at the Global Opportunities Reception.

Imperial has celebrated the experiences and achievements of students who took part in international programmes over the past year at a special event.

The Global Opportunities Reception at Imperial’s South Kensington Campus highlighted the transformative impact that international experiences can have on the education and training of STEMMB students.

The event also provided a showcase of the diverse range of opportunities at Imperial for undergraduate and postgraduate students, such as those supported by the UK Government's Turing Scheme.

"The experiences represented tonight are one of the many ways in which our students are encouraged to develop the skills they will need to thrive in and beyond their studies as members of a broad and diverse global community." Professor Peter Haynes Vice-Provost (Education and Student Experience)

The Turing Scheme provides funding for students to undertake international experiences of between four weeks and 12 months in any country around the world. In 2023/24, 214 Imperial undergraduate and postgraduate students received funding from the Turing Scheme to support their research, medical, study and industrial placements at universities, research institutes, hospitals and companies in 40 countries.

Opening the event, Professor Peter Haynes, Imperial’s Vice-Provost (Education and Student Experience), said: “Imperial is an international university as you all know. The experiences represented tonight are one of the many ways in which our students are encouraged to develop the skills they will need to thrive in and beyond their studies as members of a broad and diverse global community.

“It is fantastic to see so many examples of our student community who have embarked on these experiences. They’ve made new friends, they’ve made new connections around the world, and gathered new skills and perspectives which they can bring back to their studies and to their community here at Imperial.”

Professor Peter Haynes speaking at the Global Opportunities Reception.

Imperial offers a range of opportunities for students to work and study abroad, such as the International Research Opportunities Programme (IROP), the Global Fellows Programme, and the Enterprise Lab Venture Treks.

The Imperial Global network of science and technology hubs in Ghana, USA, Singapore and India (opening later this year) also offers a new platform for the development of department- and faculty-led student experience opportunities. The network aims to bring more of Imperial’s work to the world through international outreach and collaboration, providing opportunities for our staff to pursue new partnerships.

One way that the network can do this is through the Imperial Global Connect Fund which provides funding for staff to develop collaborations across the Imperial Global network in three thematic areas: interdisciplinary research consortia, innovation and enterprise, and education and student experience.

Once-in-a-lifetime experiences

At the Global Opportunities Reception, attendees heard from eighteen ambassadors who shared their experiences of travelling abroad with speeches and poster demonstrations.

Jolie Meawad, a Mechanical Engineering student who went on UG Study Abroad to the National University of Singapore, said: “Being able to meet people from diverse cultures and perspectives has helped me to grow a lot personally with the way I think and interact with others.”

"I would urge everyone to seek out these opportunities. Learning with other people is one thing, but learning with other people in a new environment teaches you what you value and what you enjoy." Rohan Shenoy International Research Opportunities Programme (IROP) participant

She added: “To be honest, I was unsure before I first applied and I was unsure up until I got on a flight to go to Singapore, but [for anyone considering studying abroad] I would say do it.

“It is a fantastic opportunity and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Of course, it is scary to leave home and to leave your friends and family, but you will gain so much and see somewhere new, meet different people and really expand the way you think.”

Rohan Shenoy, a Mathematics student who participated in IROP last year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), said: “I would urge everyone to seek out these opportunities. Learning with other people is one thing, but learning with other people in a new environment teaches you what you value and what you enjoy. You get to learn about yourself too when you put yourself outside your comfort zone.”

Student ambassadors also shared how working abroad helped to provide important opportunities to learn about the social context in different countries.

Jennifer Crow, a PGR doctoral student in the Department of Brain Sciences who took part in the bi-lateral Imperial-African Institute for Mathematical Sciences Global Fellows Programme in Ghana, said: “It was challenging in some ways because we all had different perspectives and work in different ways, but it was a fantastic opportunity for inter-cultural learning and understanding the importance of the context [in Ghana].

“Being in Africa, things work differently there, so you need to be willing to be pushed out of your comfort zone. You need to be willing to try new stuff, meet new people, do things in different ways. If you are willing to do that and you are open to that, your learning curve will be super steep.”

Students sharing their experience of studying and working aboard at the Global Opportunities Reception.