Turing grants worth £850,000 awarded for 2024/5

The money will be used to support around 400 ‘widening participation students’ in overseas work placements, with plans to secure places in China, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, the Philippines, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, USA and more.

Carlos Santos e Sousa, International Opportunities and Exchange Partnerships Manager, said: “The University is committed to providing students from widening participation backgrounds with the opportunity to have a practical experience overseas.

“An overseas experience is transformative and improves students’ employability prospects. In the four years of the Turing Scheme, the University has secured £2.4 million and awarded around 1,000 grants. In 2024/25, we will produce and publish a report about students' satisfaction with Turing Scheme funding and their overseas placements experience.”

The figure represents a significant uplift in the amount of money available to fund overseas work placements for students. Previous years’ awards were: 

• 2023/24: £763,135

• 2022/23: £478,918

• 2021/22: £363,000

A student doing a four-week placement can receive a Turing Scheme grant of around £2,000, and a student doing a nine-month placement can receive about £5,500.

The Turing Scheme replaced the Erasmus scheme that was in place prior to Brexit. It also further underpins the University’s work on ‘making a difference’ by widening opportunities for underprivileged students.

Case study #1

Jaipal Bachra, BSc Clinical Sciences, who undertook a four-week placement in Greece 2023/24, said: “The first week of the placement was the first time I had been away from my family. I was extremely nervous. The placement changed my perspective on things, the staff were accommodating, which made me feel more at ease with the scenario, and my roommates invited me on a ferry trip within the first few days. This week of experiences made me realise that I had made the right choice in choosing this placement.”

Case study #2

Law student Laura Nibbs went on a four-week placement in Thailand. She said: “This was one of the most profound experiences I have encountered. When I arrived, it was a culture shock. How they live in comparison to the UK is very different. It is a fast-paced environment, and the language barrier can sometimes be difficult. I tried to learn some language, such as please and thank you. I feel that learning some of the law from a different country is extremely beneficial to my future in law and something that I would love to experience again.”

Case study #3

James Meehan, a BSc Physiotherapy student, went on a four-week placement in Tanzania. He said: “The benefit of doing an overseas placement is you get to experience different cultures and how other countries manage issues. What stuck with me is the positivity of the staff. A challenge I faced was the language barrier. I had to adapt my communication style. Overall, this experience will greatly impact my professional career."