A group of Warwick students attended the inaugural “Commonwealth Horizons Conference” in London in October. Organised by the Council for Education in the Commonwealth, the conference gathered students, leading employers and policy makers to engage with some of the big questions facing education and employment in the UK and other Commonwealth nations. “It was a wonderful opportunity that exceeded my expectations” said Juliette Robinson, a School of Modern Languages and Cultures student.

The group of students had all recently returned from studying or volunteering abroad. Tom Trainor, who spent last summer volunteering with the Warwick Laksh Project in India commented that “the conference was highly thought-provoking and will help me consider the skills that I have developed and how I can demonstrate these to employers”.

“I found the discussion on intercultural skills in UK higher education really interesting” said Yin Li Toh, who has recently returned from an exchange year at Monash. “There were many personal stories shared regarding the segregation of cultures at universities, for example international students mixing with British students. I shared my experiences of the Intercultural Training programme at Warwick and my hope is that other universities could perhaps develop a similar programme for their students”.

Funding for the students’ attendance was provided by the Office for Global Engagement. “We were delighted to sponsor the students as part of our Go Global Initiative and are thrilled they found it so beneficial” said Claire O’Leary, Assistant Director for Student Experience. “This underlines our ongoing commitment to help all of our students develop the global perspective and intercultural skills that employers are looking for. I would urge everyone to follow Yin Li’s example and take advantage of the Intercultural Training programme, which is now open to all students on campus”.