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De Montfort University’s ambitious institutional strategy:

#DMUglobal

Rachel Jessop#DMUglobal Manager

Adapt your strategy to fit your institution and your student demographic

DMU: • is committed to equality and diversity• focusses on employability through strong links with industry • is dedicated to volunteering via links with the local community • has the student experience at its core

DMU’s demographic includes: • Mature students • Students with caring responsibilities • Non-traditional students • Students with a lower socioeconomic status• Students with a disability

The #DMUglobal strategy• Focus on short-term faculty-led study programmes embedded in the

academic curriculum and linked to a specific module/degree programme

• #DMUglobal UK: on-campus and UK-based opportunities

• Accessible to all students, regardless of circumstances

• Innovative marketing and communication campaign

• Building on our history• Negotiating with current Erasmus+ partners • Developing agreements with third party providers • Working with Work Based Learning Units to offer international placements• Working with international contacts to create bespoke opportunities

Following the US model • Global trend towards shorter

international experiences

• Vast majority of US students abroad are on short term programmes

• US best practice: NAFSA e-learning ‘Mapping Short Term Education Abroad Programs’

Short Term: 8 weeks or less

Mid Term: 1 semester

Long term: 1 year

http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data/US-Study-Abroad/Infographic

Open Doors 2014

#DMUglobal opportunities abroad 2014/15

Short term: 2 weeks or less

Medium term: over 2 weeks to one semester

Long term: one year

• Faculty-led programmes

• Summer schools• Internships • Volunteering• Erasmus+• International

Exchange• Placements

Why short-term faculty-led programmes?• More affordable • Appeal to:

• students who might not be able or willing to consider a longer-term option • non-traditional students • students with caring or part-time employment commitments• first generation students

• Allow students to complete their degree within the same timeframe as their peers

• Enable a very specific and focussed experience – directly linked to learning outcomes (1)

Reconceptualising study abroad• “The key finding is that solid program design and structured cross-cultural interaction

produces the type of long-term effect and networks traditionally associated with [long-term] immersion programs.” (2)

• “Faculty and international study administrators need to take care in designing short-term study abroad programs to ensure that the desired learning objectives are met. Students will need to make an extra effort to describe their experiences in such a manner that convinces prospective employers that their time abroad developed the intercultural competencies.” (3)

• “When coupled with an adequate pedagogical framework, short-term study abroad could serve as an educative opportunity for fostering transformative learning environments where new experiences and perspectives may be developed.” (4)

Types of opportunitiesSummer Schools/StudyInternshipsVolunteeringField Trips

Number of opportunities

17

Number of countries12

#DMUglobal Pilot 2013/14

Number of students206 on a new opportunity

44% increased international activity

Types of opportunitiesShort-term faculty-led programmesInternational studyInternships Volunteering Work placements

Number of opportunities

90

Number of countries25

#DMUglobal 2014/15

Number of studentsOver 1000 abroad

1500 UK

#DMUglobal in 2015/16• Working with faculties to develop a #DMUglobal opportunity in every

programme at every level: UK-based opportunity or faculty-led programme abroad

• Implementing international best practice

• Centralising management of Erasmus+ and International Exchanges

• Working with Careers & Employability and academics to help students become aware of and articulate their learning

• Sourcing more international work placements, internships and volunteering placements

Which three words summarise how you feel about your #DMUglobal experience?

Impact on students• Youth and Community Work students, 10-day development school in The

Gambia, exponential academic and personal learning for 15 students: Students made extended fundraising efforts before and after travelling live-at-home students often from lower socioeconomic backgrounds with fewer

contacts for significant fundraising Students have formed a lasting relationship with the co-ordinating charity, some

have become managing committee members or returned to The Gambia to undertake more development work.

• Nadim Chenia studied Indian Language and Culture at Daly College, Indore, India for a week. He subsequently took part in a faculty-led business visit to Copenhagen and is now in pre-departure stage for a teaching placement in Kenya summer 2015. “I came back from India a different person. I thought about how many millions of Indian children have a lack of adequate education. Education is something that I shall never take for granted.”

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A taste of #DMUglobal

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Contact #DMUglobal

Tel: 0116 2577613

Email: dmuglobal@dmu.ac.uk

Web: www.dmuglobal.com

Twitter: @DMUglobal

References(1) Short-Term Study Abroad Programs: A Diversity of Options, The Journal of Human

Resource and Adult Learning Vol. 6, Num. 2, December 2010

(2) The Short-Term ‘Bridge Model’ Study Abroad Program: Peacebuilding in Latin America, Jeff Pugh, American Political Science Association, 2013

(3) Designing Study Abroad Programs to develop global competencies for the twenty-first century organisation, Vicki TenHaken, International Journal of Business and Management, 2014

(4) More than a vacation: Short-term study abroad as a critically reflective, transformative learning experience, Lane Perry, Lee Stoner and Michael Tarrant, Creative Education Vol 3. No. 5, 2012