Layout 2 - University of Central Lancashire

Since its launch in 2008, UCLan’s International
Travel Bursary Scheme has become a major
success story among the University’s staff and
student community.
The scheme, which involves a bidding process to
gain a cash award, enables students to add an
overseas work placement, study period or specific
project assignment to their educational
experience at UCLan.
Students can submit an individual bid or join a
collaborative School bid. Recent travel
destinations include China, Ethiopia, Hawaii,
Oman, Pakistan, Peru and Switzerland.
For the past six years, Tourism, Hospitality and
Event Management students, from the School of
Sport, Tourism and The Outdoors, have benefited
hugely from the scheme.
Each year over 100 students work in small teams,
as part of their Personal Development Module,
to create events that raise money for the Green
Gecko Project, a charity established in 2004 to
benefit the street children in Siem Reap,
Cambodia. During the six years the students have
been working on the project they have raised
over £28,000.
Senior Lecturer Mac McCarthy has led the
initiative since it began. He said: “For the last few
years we have used the project to help our
students develop management skills and team
working. Along the way they have contributed a
phenomenal amount to the Green Gecko School
in Cambodia.
“For the past three years, International Travel
Bursary funding has enabled our students to visit
Cambodia for a two-week experience. On the
last occasion we visited the country it was the
Cambodian New Year and our students were
able to sample a huge array of cultural activities
and participate in the fun. In the second week
we travelled to the Green Gecko School where
our students volunteered to teach and work with
the children.”
He added: “I think students gain a lot from these
experiences and at different levels. First and
foremost they gain problem-solving skills,
decision-making and communication skills.
Beyond that they deepen their understanding of
being in a different culture in a real and
meaningful way. The last thing, as many of the
students will testify, is that it’s a life changing
experience. It certainly gives them a very different
perspective on life and how they want to live it in
the future.”
Immy Valentino, a BA(Hons) International Tourism
and MSc International Business Management
student, said: “The children at the Green Gecko
School were amazing and so enthusiastic. They
wanted to see us and we wanted to work with
them, it was a fantastic experience.
“Opportunities of this nature are obviously great
for the CV but it’s so much more than that.
Working with the children and realising that
you’re making a real difference to their lives is so
rewarding. I think the experience has really helped
all the participating students grow as people.”
Final year student Sheilla Wakefield, BA(Hons)
Event Management, added: "It was a really great
experience and I'm so glad I had the opportunity
to be a part of such a different way of life. I've
always thought about eventually living and
working in another country but the Green Gecko
experience has created a significant change in me
and given me more focus - I'm now looking into
taking a course in TESOL so that I can do more of
what I did in Cambodia and make a difference to
the lives of others through teaching."
‘
Working with the children and
realising that you’re making a real
difference to their lives is so
rewarding. I think the experience
has really helped all the participating
students grow as people.
‘
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