Senior Lecturer of the Buisiness School Mark Ridolfo
Mark Ridolfo responds to Guardian’s article entitled Should international study be at the heart of higher education? acknowledging that it is difficult to get students to study abroad.
Mark says that many overseas universities now offer courses delivered in English, which makes the prospect of studying abroad much more palatable. However, there remain numerous other barriers to students studying overseas, stating simply,
“Some are cultural, others practical, some financial. And of course there is the fear of failing!”
Outlining that obstacles include financial restraints when it comes to living arrangements,
“For example, very few university or private landlords are willing to give students short tenancy agreements, say for one half of the academic year. Therefore, studying abroad for a semester becomes problematic from the point of view of accommodation.”
Continuing to admit that studying abroad can be expensive, and the things BU have done to help combat this issue,
“One thing we have done in our Business School is to introduce a fee waiver for students studying abroad in Semester 2. This has enabled students who might not otherwise have considered this option to apply. Interestingly, since introducing these initiatives, as well as others, our inward-outward flows (of exchange students) have equalised – for the first time in years.”
