New term, new start

For students up and down the country this week it’s back to uni. Christmas home comforts (namely cooked dinners and free laundry services) are replaced with househunting for second year and looming exams. So to mark the beginning of the new term we share some of the illuminating student stories shared at the recent British Council Erasmus Awards ceremony.

Living like a local

This was the theme of the British Council’s annual ‘Your Story’ competition for UK Erasmus students. The current Erasmus programme enables higher education students to study or work abroad as part of their degree and staff to teach or train in 33 European countries. Students were asked to share how their Erasmus experience abroad had allowed them to become a part of their new country, rather than pass through as a tourist, and the impact this has had on their lives, education and future careers. Participants could capture their stories in written essays or photographic portfolios which were celebrated at an awards ceremony held in central London. As I chatted to some of the award winners and runners-up about their Erasmus adventures, within seconds I was presented with tales of new friendships, shared cultural experiences and some well meant, although slightly embarrassing, mishaps when bravely tackling new foreign languages. With the Erasmus+ programme offering a range of funding opportunities for further education students and staff, it was all the more exciting to look forward to the future. Read the rest of this entry »