In line with Student Support and Wellbeing Service’s strategy of developing transformative student experiences, championing inclusion, and leveraging global impact, Study Abroad launched its first Widening Participation (WP) Summer Study Abroad Programme in Thailand (15-21 June 2025). Teaming up with long-standing medical elective provider for UCL’s Medical School, Mahidol University , the fully funded, week-long programme strengthened ties in the region and offered a unique opportunity that removed many of the barriers students usually face when studying abroad.
With its highest number of applications to date, the department narrowed down 199 undergraduate applications from all faculties to a cohort of just 15. Successful students needed to meet at least one WP/Underrepresented characteristic and demonstrate their desire to develop their cultural IQ, resilience, and leadership skills.
Through a series of lectures, workshops, site visits and cultural activities with students from Mahidol, students returned to the UK transformed. Inspiring sessions on business, sustainability, leadership and innovation were delivered by academics and leading Thai companies like Tropicana Oil and Yoguruto, the latter founded by a Mahidol alumnus and now the country’s leading yoghurt drink. Students learnt about the similarities and differences between Thai and British ways of working, reflecting on how they could also think entrepreneurially about their own careers.
Insightful visits to Rattanakosin (Grand Palace) Exhibition Hall and Wat Arun (Dawn Temple), and immersive activities such as Thai dance and Thai boxing pushed students outside of their comfort zones. It was a rare opportunity to dive deeply into traditions and customs with expert guidance from teachers and students.
The week was capped off with group presentations where students showcased what they had learnt over the past week, both on and off campus, through incidental cultural encounters like navigating the night markets, learning a new language, enjoying a new cuisine, and creating meaningful relationships with UCL and Mahidol students.
Study Abroad’s flagship WP Summer Study Abroad Programme has become a staple of UCL’s international offerings that promote short-term mobility and accessibility towards overseas learning. The transformative impacts of the programme are summed up in a reflection from Gazi Zakir, Y1 Mechanical Engineering with Business Finance MEng,
" This has changed the way I have viewed my life to be completely honest. I was risking a lot of things to just focus on academics and career and was not enjoying my day to day life at all for the sake of professional success but this experience has made me realize that there is so much more to life... I look forward to balancing my academic ambitions with more experiences like this where I can travel abroad and meet new people and immerse myself in new cultures."
Staff and students can find out more about UCL’s Study Abroad Opportunities and Support for WP and Underrepresented students in the links below.
- University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT (0) 20 7679 2000
