Broadening students horizons and boosting their employability by studying abroad with Erasmus+
Robert Gordon University (RGU), based in Aberdeen, received more than €300,000 in funding last year through Erasmus+ to send over 100 students abroad - to take part in a work traineeship or to study in one of its partner institutions in 19 countries across Europe.
Gillian Young, a student of Applied Biomedical Science, took the opportunity to study abroad in Universite d’Auvergne, Clermont Ferrand, France in 2014.
“Being pushed out of my comfort zone truly showed me what kind of individual I can be (cheesy I know!) I really enjoyed working in the Neuro-dol laboratory in France. I felt I was properly contributing to the scientific community – I’ve been told to look out for my name on a paper some day! I was so pleased to get an A for my overall research project, because it always worried me that being in a different country would put me at a disadvantage compared to my peers who stayed in Aberdeen – obviously it’s not the case!
"Knowing that I can survive and thrive in France without speaking the language made me pretty fearless in when it came to deciding on my future after university. A lot of employers now, who are multi-national companies, look for proof that you can live and work away from your home country successfully – three months in a foreign country is proof that you can.”
Gillian’s new-found confidence encouraged her to apply for a role with the British Council, and she is now teaching English to high school students in China. She added: “I would never even have considered doing this job without my time in France. I found my time in France to be a practice and a warm-up for starting my career and my life after university – and I didn’t have to waste any precious post-university time doing it.”
Julia Kennedy, International Exchanges Manager and Erasmus Institutional Coordinator at RGU, said:
We believe that Erasmus+ helps our students to gain vital skills – personal, academic and professional. The period abroad will not only broaden their horizons but it will also help their employability. Our university is passionate about giving all our students the opportunity to be geographically mobile and Erasmus+ enables many of them to achieve this. Erasmus+ not only provides the funding to support students to live and study abroad but it also gives them a sense of security.
Find out more about how to get university funding on our apply for HE funding page.
