EducationUK NewsAmericas • CANADA • Fall 2013

in this issue...

Educationuk.org/canada@EducationUK/BritishCouncilCanada

The new Canada website has just been launched

•

International Relations at the University of Edinburgh

EducationUK Online

Student Profile:Ania

Faculty Feature: John Tingle

Nottingham Trent University professor on UK law degrees

•

•Study FAQs

Common questions,answered

Greetings and welcome to our second issue of this quarterly newsletter. We’re confident you’ll find useful information on programmes and op-portunities for study in the UK.

In this issue, we tackle visa requirements (al-ways a question among prospective students), we hear from a professor from Nottingam Trent Uni-versity, and a Canadian who studied international relations in Edinburgh.

It was a busy month of September, with many universities making the trek across the pond for major education fairs being held in Toronto and across Canada. We were delighted to meet many of you at these fairs and thank those who paid the British Council booth a visit.

If you have any questions about anything you read here or beyond, feel free to connect with us on Twitter or Facebook, or you can send us an email at: ca-education@britishcouncil.org.

In the meantime, happy reading!

From the team...

@caBritish

British Council Canada

We value and promote equal opportunities and diversity

“�Our�reputation�for�graduate�employment�and�our�professional�links�mean�that�you�can�be�confident�we�can�help�you�achieve�your�goals.”

Professor Sir Patrick Stewart, Chancellor

24,000�students�study�a�range�of�programmes�over�seven�academic�schools.�All�of�our�courses�offer�the�opportunity�to�either�study�abroad�or�undertake�an�internship,�so�students�can�gain�experience�to�be�prepared�the�professions�of�today’s�global�working�environment.

Ranked�in�the�top�10�in�the�UK�for�integrating�internships�into�its�courses,�students�can�work�throughout�the�UK,�Europe�and�the�rest�of�the�world�at�companies�such�as�IBM,�Anna�Sui,�Coca�–Cola�and�Adidas.

More information on the University, including tuition fees and scholarships, can be found at:www.hud.ac.uk/international or contact Lyndsey Ashton, International Recruitment Officer, at l.v.ashton@hud.ac.uk

The University of Huddersfield is dedicated to helping our students expand their horizons, develop their skills and knowledge, and reach their career goals.

Inspiring Tomorrow’s Professionals

Fall Education FairsYou may have seen us at either Go Global Expo or Study and Go Abroad this September. We traveled to six cities across Canada and it was a pleasure to meet everyone who paid the British Council booth a visit.

British Council Canada and IELTS Canada visited six cities and held eight fair days this Sep-tember. We spoke to hundreds of Canadian students about the merits of studying in the UK. You had a lot of questions and we are so pleased to have been given a chance to answer them.

Be sure to come out for the next Canadian recruitment fair circuit taking place in March 2014! We will be providing infor-mation on UK universities, visa processes as well as scholarships and more.

This autumn, we represented the following partners:

Newcastle University

BPP University College

Plymouth University

University of Warwick

St. Mary’s University

IELTS

“�Our�reputation�for�graduate�employment�and�our�professional�links�mean�that�you�can�be�confident�we�can�help�you�achieve�your�goals.”

Professor Sir Patrick Stewart, Chancellor

24,000�students�study�a�range�of�programmes�over�seven�academic�schools.�All�of�our�courses�offer�the�opportunity�to�either�study�abroad�or�undertake�an�internship,�so�students�can�gain�experience�to�be�prepared�the�professions�of�today’s�global�working�environment.

Ranked�in�the�top�10�in�the�UK�for�integrating�internships�into�its�courses,�students�can�work�throughout�the�UK,�Europe�and�the�rest�of�the�world�at�companies�such�as�IBM,�Anna�Sui,�Coca�–Cola�and�Adidas.

More information on the University, including tuition fees and scholarships, can be found at:www.hud.ac.uk/international or contact Lyndsey Ashton, International Recruitment Officer, at l.v.ashton@hud.ac.uk

The University of Huddersfield is dedicated to helping our students expand their horizons, develop their skills and knowledge, and reach their career goals.

Inspiring Tomorrow’s Professionals

-

Nottingham

Professor John Tingle

Head of International Development & Reader in Health Law at Nottingham Trent University

Studying in the UK provides Canadian students with a number of benefits. Successful lawyers have an inter-

national focus. The law of international business is English Common Law and an international perspective is also essential for subjects such as Human Rights. Employ-ment job prospects can be enhanced by demonstrating an international experience of legal study.

Canadian undergraduate students can study our LLB Distance Learning degree from home over three years. Or, if you prefer to study in the UK, join us full-time on our LLB Senior Status course for two years of study. Alternatively a Canadian student could join our Graduate Diploma in Law followed by the Legal Practice Course (two years in total).

English Law Schools compete very fa-vourably with Canadian Law Schools in terms of cost.

Nottingham, one of the major cities in the UK and located in the heart of the coun-try, has a historic centre, a thriving social scene, major sports venues (that includes an ice arena where the Nottingham Pan-thers play hockey) and is a far cheaper place to live and study than London.

Why should Canadians consider studying law in the UK?

John TingleJohn Tingle is Reader in Health

Law and Head of a International Development at Nottingham Law School of Nottingham Trent Uni-versity in the UK. He has published widely in the areas of nursing law and patient safety and has a fort-nightly column in the British Jour-nal of Nursing. He has also written and edited chapters in a range of books.

The National Admissions Test for Law (LNAT), is an ad-missions aptitude test that was adopted in 2004 by eight UK university law programs (Uni-versity of Birmingham, Univer-sity of Bristol, Durham Uni-versity, University of Glasgow, King’s College London, Univer-sity of Manchester, University of Nottingham, University of Oxford, University College London).

The BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) is an aptitude test used as part of the admissions process for medicine, veteri-nary medicine or biomedical sciences at Oxbridge, Imperial, UCL, and Royal Veterinary Col-lege.

The UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) is a test used in the selection process by a consortium of UK university Medical and Dental Schools.

Study FAQsAll that pre-departure research certainly doesn’t top the list of most memorable things about studying in the UK, but once it’s out of the way you’re all set to let the real fun begin. This guide will help ensure you show up prepared!

CollegeTestsWhat are the differences

between colleges and universi-ties in the UK?

Some UK universities are made up of “colleges”.

A “futher education college” is closer to what we’d typi-cally associated with the word college in Canada: they’re most comparable to technical schools and more technically focused, whereas universi-ties tend to be more research intensive.

DurationHow long will my program

be in the UK? Bachelors (Hons) (e.g. BA/

BSc/LLB/BEng: three years (plus the potential for a one year work placement, bringing the total to four years)

Undergraduate Medicine/Veterinary Science/Dentistry: five years

Undergraduate Masters (e.g. MEng/MPharm): four years

Masters: one yearDoctorate: three to four

years

© Matt Wright

www.educationuk.org/Canada

We’ve just launched a new website in Canada!

Choose from over 150 courses at our state-of-the-art campus

Ranked 8th in the UK for graduate salaries (Parthenon Group, 2011)

World-class research with 77% ‘internationally recognised’ in most recent UK RAE

Diverse student community, with a third of students from outside the UK

Ongoing career support and access to placements in London, one of the biggest business hubs in the world

Find out more and applyEmail: americas@mdx.ac.ukPhone: (480) 471-5966

www.mdx.ac.uk

Prepa

ring y

ou fo

r care

er su

ccess

Q: Why are you at University of Edinburgh?A: I’m here for several reasons. The first is simply

that as a student of International Relations, I cannot have a full education by staying in one country. Every country sees politics through a specific lens, and limit-ing myself to Canada restricts my access to under-standing International Relations as a whole. Second, I knew exactly what program I wanted to pursue. I knew that I was interested in both comparative politics and International Relations, and my region of interest was the Middle East and North Africa. Unfortunately, most programs in Canada offer Master’s programs in gener-al Political Science. Although the student can choose to narrow their interests slightly, these programs lack the specificity I wanted. Finally, I had visited Edinburgh previously and had found it to be extremely beautiful, historic, and dynamic. I knew I wanted to live there at some point.

Q: Why did you choose the University of Edin-burgh over your other choices?

A: I choose Edinburgh for the program and for the city. The program (Msc International Relations of the Middle East with Arabic) was at the forefront in Arabic studies, offering both spoken colloquial Arabic blend-ed with classic written Arabic. Also, I studied in Egypt

as part of my program, doing intensive Arabic there. I also had the additional opportunity of volunteering and interning there, an experience that is invaluable for understanding my future career path and for fully understanding the implications of studying the region. Further, I choose Edinburgh due to its international standing and reputation. I knew that leaving Canada was a risk in terms of finding a job back in Canada again. However, this university is an internationally recognized school and I know that I will not have any problems marketing myself in the future. Finally, Edinburgh is the perfect setting to be studying. It is filled with quaint markets, shops, artistry, history, and beauty.

Q: Were you nervous or scared when you first arrived at Edinburgh? How long did it take for those feelings to dissipate?

A: I was extremely nervous when I first arrived! It was not so much that I had moved very far away from home, but more that I did not understand the educa-tion system in the UK.

Q: What is your favourite thing about the expe-rience?

A: I honestly love the program, the classmates, and the city. The program is more challenging than I

Ania Gaboune felt the best way to study International Relations was internationally! Where better than in the UK, the world’s crossroads?

© Matt Wright

thought, however, the classes are dynamic and en-gaging. My classmates also come from far around the world: we have British students, a Chinese student, two Italians, three Americans, a German, an Australian, a Norwegian, and of course two Canadians. Everyone has really interesting backgrounds but we all have a passion for the region and the language in common. It has been amazing connecting so well with people I would have otherwise never met. Finally, I cannot illus-trate enough how much Edinburgh has to offer. Both the city and surroundings are a goldmine for explor-ing and learning. I have been to castles, old chapels and churches, hiking up hills, celebrated pagan holi-days, watched fireworks, visited free museums, walked along canals etc. The list goes on! There are so many historic sites and the surrounding green space is beautiful as well. I love the restaurant scene in Edin-burgh as well. It caters to people with varying tastes but focuses on homegrown local ingredients.

Q: How has this experience changed you, your lifestyle, or both?

A: I would say that being forced outside of my comfort zone has allowed me to focus on my inher-ent prejudices; in theory we all know that we see the world from a certain limited view point or lens due to our upbringing and exposure to the world. How-ever, living in a place different from your own world constantly brings up issues where you compare what you have known as a way of doing things to what you know now as another way of doing things. Living in Edinburgh has allowed me to both appreciate and fully

criticize mindsets I have had engrained in me.Q: Has choosing the U of Ed opened any doors

for you, you feel you wouldn’t have had otherwise? A: Absolutely. I would say learning Arabic properly

has opened many doors, as has the opportunity to study in Cairo.

Q: Was there anything you learned about the UK that surprised you?

A: So many things! I was shocked to learn that I had free healthcare covered by NHS, considering I did not pay taxes. Additionally, I was registered municipally to vote because I was a resident! The weather also surprises me every day, changing every 15 minutes.

Q: What stood out to you as being the most “Scottish”?

A: The people are very friendly but the weather is a consistent topic of conversation. On days with a bit of sunshine everyone brings out their summer clothing regardless of it being only 13 degrees out-side. I have seen bus drivers pulling over to have a “wee chat” with elderly ladies about local politicians. Every festival or celebration features bag pipes, and on weekends getting dressed up means wearing your family’s tartan kilts out to dinner. I went to a Six Na-tions Rugby game that typified Scotland; everyone walked from the city centre to the stadium together, about a two hour walk, with people and their bagpipes accompanying us. Ultimately, the thing that has stood out for me most is the land. I went for a drive through the Highlands in October and the smells, sights, and scenery still epitomize typical Scotland to me.

Student FeatureAnia GabouneUniversity of Edinburgh

A world-renowned

University in a global city.

Choose the University of

Liverpool for inspirational

study opportunities.

www.liverpool.ac.uk/

international