Study Abroad at Leeds International Summer School

What position do you hold at Leeds International Summer School? What has been your career path so far?

Lisa: I am the LISS manager and am responsible for the overall program structure and delivery, from the academic courses through to the cultural activities and excursions. I studied abroad in Germany as part of my degree and so I know from personal experience the advantages of studying abroad – I am certain I wouldn’t be where I am today without my study abroad experience.

After my degree I wanted to work in international education to make study abroad an option for even more people in the future and initially worked within different departments at the University of Leeds before moving to the central Study Abroad office to take on the role of LISS Manager.

What does the future hold for Leeds International Summer School - any exciting new programs to share?

Lisa: LISS is constantly growing and evolving to keep up with student needs as well as trends within the international education industry. For example, new academic courses are added to the program every year and I am very excited about this year’s new courses: ‘Entrepreneurship and Society: Ideas, Opportunities and Value Creation’, ‘Introduction to Robotics and Autonomous Systems’ and ‘Monks and Monasteries in the Middle Ages: Origins and Impact’.

As integrating field trips into every academic course is a key aspect of LISS, we add new excursions each year to enhance cultural learning. For example, last year we ran a new trip to explore the stunning countryside of the Yorkshire Dales and visited a personal favorite of mine, the village of Bolton Abbey with its iconic ruined priory. Another priority for LISS moving forward is enhancing our students’ employability - we will provide support and guidance to LISS students to ensure they know how they can transfer the skills they have acquired during their time with us to their future studies and career.

Which study abroad destination is most underrated? Conversely, which is most overrated?

Lisa: Taipei is somewhere that if I could study abroad again I would be on the first flight! It is incredibly underrated as a study abroad destination: the national universities are of a fantastic standard with many courses now offered in English (plus the opportunity to pick up some Mandarin!), the cost of living is low, the excellent public transport makes getting around very easy and above all the contrast in atmospheres within one city is astounding: spiritual temples in direct contrast to ultra-high-tech areas such as Ximending, Taipei 101, the icon of modern Taiwan and then the long-established night markets all over the city selling everything from clothes to the tastiest morsels of street food you can find.

I don’t think there is somewhere that is completely overrated – in my experience it is worth giving every place you have the opportunity to travel to a chance. You will always find something of significance, even in the most touristy locations if you look hard enough!

What is the best story you've heard from a return student?​

Lisa: Often students love their time at LISS so much they return to Leeds for further travel, visiting friends as well as study or work. I love hearing from these students and finding out all the different reasons why they love Leeds and the UK and also what they feel that they have gained from the experience.

One student in particular loved his time at LISS so much that he returned after his summer in Leeds to first of all complete a semester abroad as part of our study abroad program and he then went on to successfully completed his MA in International Relations at the University of Leeds in 2012!

What does your home-country's culture​ value that is taught in your program?

Lisa: The University of Leeds is a research–led institution and is ranked in the top 10 for research in the UK. It is therefore unsurprisingly that we value the British culture of independent learning and research. This is a skill that we teach to all of our students and is something unique that LISS students can develop during their time with us.

Through LISS we also show how much we value our British heritage and culture. In particular we make the most of Yorkshire and include trips to cultural gems such as Harewood House stately home, the Roman-founded city of York, and the seaside town of Whitby with its ruined abbey, the setting for Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Tolerance and respect are essential British values and the University of Leeds welcomes over 5000 international students each year. The diversity of Leeds and LISS is something we are very proud of – last year we welcomed students from 11 different countries to our cosmopolitan, vibrant city.