University of Warwick

Placements are planned in 40 countries, particularly in Asia, Continental Europe, North America and Africa, after the university was awarded a grant of £2.6 million. 600 of the participating students should come from less advantaged backgrounds as the university aims to improve access to study abroad for these groups. This is also a key focus of The Turing Scheme.

Global networks

Professor Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick, said: “Studying abroad enhances students’ education experience in so many ways: developing their language skills, building confidence and independence in a different culture, and boosting their employability around the world.

“The chance to live and learn in another country has always been part of Warwick’s identity. It helps our students to expand their horizons and gain global networks — giving them access to new ideas, friends, and mentors across the globe.

“I am very proud that so many members of our Warwick student community want to take up these global opportunities and am delighted that this significant Turing Scheme funding award will enable them to do so.”

Through the proposed Warwick Global Opportunity project, Turing Scheme funding will enable students to undertake both long-term and short-term mobilities, including year-long placements throughout the world as well as shorter-term activities through programmes such as the university’s International Undergraduate Research Support Scheme, Warwick in Africa and a range of international summer schools.

Eye-opening, life-changing year

Michael Ojetunde, a third year French and Economics undergraduate at Warwick, has undertaken a study period abroad, having spent a year studying and living in Paris from September 2020. He urged other students to take advantage of Turing Scheme opportunities to do the same.

“I think everyone should study abroad as part of their university education,” he said. “You learn so much about yourself, about other people, and you discover different ways of living and learning. Even despite going during the COVID pandemic, it was an eye-opening and life-changing year for me.

“Living in another country allowed me to see the world through a new lens, to take a step back and examine my life in a different context, without the cultural pressures of home. I have come back with a greater sense of who I am, what I want to be like in the future, and how I relate to people.”

Warwick is one of the world’s top 100 universities, and one of the ways it has achieved that position is through establishing global connections. Its staff and students learn, work, and research as part of an international community and the Turing Scheme funding will facilitate this further as well as allowing the university to build new relationships, particularly with institutions and employers outside the European Union.

Read more about higher education opportunities under the Turing Scheme on our dedicated webpage.