This year, staff and students have had amazing opportunities to take part in international activity - funded by the TAITH Programme - to countries such as Canada, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, with planned activities to Sweden and Kenya.
With Internationalism at the heart of our mission, the International Office has been very busy organising these visits and ensuring that GCS is a truly global College with international activities at the forefront for staff and learners.
Last year, two students received a fantastic scholarship to attend the Humber College Summer School in Toronto which has over 25,000 students and state of the art facilities. This provided a super opportunity for our students and we were keen to develop the partnership with such a prestigious institution.
After a number of meetings, this materialised into them agreeing to host our Creative Media students in February this year. The students who attended were astonished when they saw the advanced equipment and software available. Visiting Niagara Falls was also a high point of the trip, as well as the impressive landmarks and cultural opportunities they found when exploring the city of Toronto.
With many of the group having never travelled abroad before, they all felt they changed for the better after this trip, and learning about VR and 3D printing allowed them to consider more career opportunities. Developing this partnership will be priority for the College as there are likely to be many spin offs from this visit - so watch this space!
The second visit this year was a return to ROC Midden in the Netherlands, one of the largest colleges in the country and one of our oldest partnerships. Our Motor Vehicle staff were keen to support our students on this mobility as they have witnessed how our learners benefit from the two week placements in first class franchised dealerships including Volkswagen, Audi, Ford, Citroen, Honda and KTM to name but a few. The experience has
not only helped the students enhance their CVs but has allowed them to gain new skills, both technical and practical, by being more independent and entrepreneurial as they gain confidence. Two of our students were even offered employment!
A group of Level 3/4 Sporting students also travelled to Benfica FC in Portugal. This mobility has always been a huge success as they all received an excellent programme of training and coaching where they gained invaluable experiences from Sport Lisboa e Benfica’s training camp, with theoretical sessions delivered by top experts/athletes.
They also had the opportunity to coach with some of the best in the world, whilst gaining insight into how a multidisciplinary team (coaches, sport science, medical) operates in a professional club, in a different country and culture.
The experience overall also enhanced their transferable and employability skills. This knowledge will provide them with the skills and experience to ensure they are better equipped in the future as well as enhancing their CV.
Parents have also appreciated the work that staff have put into this mobility, as one parent commented: “Many thanks again for the wonderful experience you have provided for my son. He thoroughly enjoyed and has lifelong memories to take with him as his time at Gower College Swansea comes to an end. Please pass on my thanks to all the staff involved.”
TAITH funding has helped to unlock opportunities for nearly 60 of our students so far this year, enabling curiosity and enthusiasm for the world at large and creating global citizens.
The College, like Welsh Government, are keen to provide students from all backgrounds greater opportunities to flourish and we encourage our students and staff to take part.
As some of our students come from socially deprived backgrounds, participation in international exchanges can be a life changing experience. This year several students didn’t even have a passport and had never travelled abroad before, which has therefore definitely broadened their horizons and impacted on their desire to achieve and continue in education and learning.
Our Esports team helped to staff Dreamhack in Jonkoping in Sweden, having been invited back after the sterling performance of last year’s students. And let’s not forget our visit to Kenya on the 20th anniversary of our KCEP charity for Madunga School!
