UCL awarded £1.5m towards study abroad initiatives

UCL has received £1.5m in funding through the UK government's Turing Scheme to increase opportunities for students to study and work abroad. The funding will support a range of international activity in the 2021-22 academic year, with a particular focus on widening access for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds or underrepresented groups. Through the Turing Scheme, UCL will look to boost and broaden the numbers of students who are able to access international opportunities, enhancing the student experience, equipping students with new global skills and intercultural competences, and preparing them for global lives and careers. It will diversify the duration and types of international opportunity available, including growing UCL's short-term mobility offer. There is increasing evidence of the benefits of short-term mobility, particularly for students from underrepresented groups who may not have otherwise considered a period abroad, as they can more easily fit this in around their existing commitments. Professor Stella Bruzzi, Dean of UCL's Faculty of Arts & Humanities and chair of UCL's Study Abroad Working Group, said: "At UCL we have always recognised the importance of outbound mobility to student success; education will always be enriched by an international component and we are committed to providing a range of opportunities for our students to broaden their university experience by going abroad to immerse themselves in the cultures and languages of others.