Three Derry~Londonderry schools recently joined forces to learn more about the international opportunities available through British Council Northern Ireland.
St Joseph’s Boys’ School, St Cecilia's College and Oakgrove Integrated College got together to take part in a careers workshop, which examined how studying or working in another country can help broaden job prospects.
The workshop ran as part of British Council’s International Education Week 2014.
Speaking about the workshop, Darran Currie, Head of Careers at St Joseph's Boys' Derry, said: “Workshops such as this one through the British Council are a great way to bring schools from across the city together. We don’t often get the opportunity to do so, but it’s always great for our students to mix together, share ideas and collaborate on projects.
“When it comes to looking to the future and to their careers, a lot of students don’t think much further than outside of Ireland or the UK — so it’s been great to open their eyes and show them that there are opportunities out there — they just have to be willing to go out and grab them. I hope today’s workshop will have planted a few seeds and made them think about internationalising their studies.”
The workshop focused on British Council’s Study Work Create campaign, which aims to internationalise young people in the UK through opportunities to study, work, volunteer, or develop creativity abroad.
Programmes available through British Council Northern Ireland include Study USA, IAESTE, Erasmus+ and Generation UK- China, and while at university, students could find themselves spending a year studying at a US college, gaining technical experience during the summer in Slovenia or spending a term at a host university in China.
British Council’s International Education Week, which takes place from November 17-12, celebrates the work by schools to prepare children for living in a global society and working in a global economy. This takes many forms, including developing partnerships and projects with schools in other countries, carrying out international study visits and exchanges, online collaboration, hosting Foreign Language Assistants, and more. International Education Week provides a chance to reflect on the achievements of the last year.
Speaking about International Education Week, Jonathan Stewart, Deputy Director at British Council Northern Ireland said: “International education activities are vital in helping our young people to develop the skills they need for life in a global society and work in a global economy. With so much fantastic international work going on in our schools, International Education Week is a great opportunity to celebrate global connections and the enormous benefits they bring.”
This year the British Council is using International Education Week to launch a campaign to bring back school exchanges as a way of inspiring more young people to gain international experiences and learn languages.
Schools can find out everything they need to know about international education at British Council Schools Online: http://schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org/
For more information on British Council Northern Ireland visit http://nireland.britishcouncil.org of follow on Twitter: @BCouncil_NI