Largest ever International Summer School begins

In a new development, Exeter is also hosting the UK Fulbright Summer Institute. Four Fulbright scholars will complete an additional ‘Fulbright week’, exploring the issues of leadership, sustainability and the environment in the South West.  The programme combines lectures and workshops with academic visits to the University’s research institutes such as the European Centre for the Environment and Human Health at our Truro campus.  The students have been blogging their experiences back to colleagues in the United States.

For over 60 years, the University of Exeter had run summer school programmes, but by the late 1990s they had ceased to exist.  The University’s current Internationalisation Strategy identified the renewed purpose of an ISS as an effective means of reinforcing our links with partners, by introducing students and accompanying faculty to what life is really like at a leading British university. 

Since the establishment of the first ISS, the number of participants from around the world has grown rapidly from 23 students in 2010, to 68 in 2011, 108 in 2012 and 154 in 2013. 

The ISS offers a wonderful opportunity for students at Exeter’s partner universities to experience our campuses in Devon and Cornwall.  Fudan University is sending 15 students, East China Normal University (14 students), the University of South Florida (11 students), the University of Hong Kong (9 students), Tsinghua University (6 students), and Peking University (4 students). 

In addition, members of faculty from partner institutions the National Law School of India University, and the College of William and Mary will teach on the programme, and professional service staff from Tsinghua University will also be in attendance.

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Neil Armstrong, said: “In the midst of a glorious English summer, we are absolutely delighted to welcome some of the brightest and best students from around the world to Devon and Cornwall.  I believe that our International Summer School is unique within the UK due to the quality of our credit-rated courses, the quality of our faculty teaching those courses, and the fantastic opportunity we offer to explore the South West of England.” 

The popularity of this unique experience is growing thanks to consistently high feedback and enhanced promotional efforts. Applications were up 40% compared to 2012 – with 55 countries represented as opposed to 20 last year – while quality was such that offers rose by 75%.