10 August 2012

Hundreds of international youngsters enjoy the Dundee experience

The last of the 800 young international students to have been learning English at the University of Dundee over the summer will return home next week.

Groups of students aged between 11-18 from Turkey, Italy, France and Spain began arriving on campus in June to study English as a foreign language. The programme is delivered by tour operator Greenwich Viaggi, and Monday, 13th August will see the last group depart for home.

The students enjoyed a rich programme combining English language studies, sport, cultural visits and other recreational activities. The visitors stayed in the University student's residences, took meals in Dundee University Students' Association (DUSA) and attended classes on the campus.

The University has been welcoming European students to the campus in the summer months for over a decade, and the youngsters bring an economic benefit estimated to run into hundreds of thousands of pounds to the city, according to Elizabeth Shearer, Corporate Services Manager at the University.

"This is an important piece of business for the University and it makes a huge difference to the campus and city at a time when the student population is otherwise low," she said.

"We have a range of high quality facilities on campus to offer the language school and endeavour to provide a professional support service while they're with us, with a degree of flexibility built in.

"Despite this summer's low temperatures and frequent rain, the feedback from the groups has been very positive and we are now looking ahead to next year."

Professor Francesco Roderigo of Greenwich Viaggi has been bringing language students to Dundee for many years and has witnessed many changes as campus facilities have developed and improved in that time.

" We have enjoyed a long association with Dundee University. I like this campus very much - the quality of the facilities is excellent and suits our requirements very well. Our students always enjoy their Scottish experience and we look forward to returning next year with perhaps even more students."

Greenwich Viaggi run summer language schools in other parts of the UK as well as in Ireland, Canada and the United States.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277