Your personal
development:
extracurricular
learning opportunities
Initiatives, including
internships and special
funds, enable students
to enhance their
learning experience,
build their confidence,
improve their
employability and
broaden their horizons.
The Vice-Chancellor’s International Travel
Fund
The Vice-Chancellor’s International Travel
Fund was set up in 2010 with the sole aim
of supporting students who wish to take
part in study or research abroad. The
annual bursary funds travel, either wholly
or in part, for suitable overseas academic,
professional or vocational activities. These
overseas projects enrich students’
academic experience, broaden their
outlook on the world and help them to
make a real contribution to their field or to
serving society’s needs.
This financial support enabled Debra
Rickett, an occupational therapy student,
to take up a placement in Canada at the
Veterans’ Care Programme at Parkwood
Hospital in London, Ontario. Debra
worked with the residents, both men and
women, who were veterans of the Second
World War and Korean War.
Debra said: “I gained valuable experience
working with people in an outpatient
mental health setting in Victoria Hospital. I
found this to be very beneficial to my
learning, particularly the time I spent with
the therapeutic recreation specialists,
behaviour analyst and music therapist.”
Neil McLeod, a first year film and media
student, applied to the Vice-Chancellor’s
Fund to help finance his travel and living
costs as part of the Study China
Programme.
His successful application to the Fund
allowed him to study Chinese history and
culture, as well as learn Mandarin in
Shanghai last summer.
Neil said: “This is a huge opportunity and
I’m extremely excited to be a part of it. I’m
honoured to have received an award from
the Vice-Chancellor’s Fund. Without it, I
would have not been able to fund my time
with the Study China Programme.”
Other recipients of awards included Niamh
Allum, an occupational therapy student,
who also completed an eight-week
placement in an outpatient mental health
setting in Victoria Hospital, Ontario,
Canada. Bernadette Dooley, MSc
Gastronomy student, used the award to
visit Ostersund, Sweden, to collect data to
investigate the Swedish National Centre
for Small Scale Artisan Food Processing
(Eldrimmer). Grace Farhat, a PhD Public
16
Health Nutrition student, received the
Vice-Chancellor’s Fund to attend the
Experimental Biology Meeting in San
Diego, USA.
For more information on the Vice-
Chancellor’s International Travel Fund, visit
our website at www.qmu.ac.uk/
alumni-and-friends/opportunities-to-give/
our-funds/
The Saltire Scholarship
The Saltire Foundation provides paid
inter nships in international businesses to
Scotland’s most talented students – an
opportunity to which they may not
otherwise have access.
Katie Graves-Morris, an applied
pharmacology student has completed a
communications internship with global
healthcare company, GlaxoSmithKline
(GSK), thanks to Entrepreneurial
Scotland’s Saltire Scholar Internship
Programme.
Katie spent nine weeks as part of the
communications team at GSK in
Montrose, Angus, where she worked on
improving graduate recruitment and
retainment. She then spent the final week
of her internship at the GSK headquarters
in London as part of the company’s
Leadership Week.