Students jet-setting thanks to University’s new Pacific links

30 October 2023

This year, University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) has sent students on educational and professional experience placements provided by Think Pacific for the first time.

A palm-fringed coastline, deep blue sea, and thickly forested mountains in the distance.

Funding has been made available to UWTSD students in order to facilitate international experiences that will broaden horizons, perspectives and prospects of those who partake. Some of this money is awarded through a Welsh Government scheme called Taith.

Taith is the Welsh Government funded international learning exchange programme for Wales. Taith “is for people in every part of Wales, in every education sector […] and every education type – formal, informal and non-formal” (Taith website, October 2023).

First Minister Mark Drakeford recently made a statement about Taith, saying: “International learning and exchange builds our confidence, our independence and our resilience. It opens our eyes to new ideas and new ways of thinking and gives us new skills to carry forward in our lives.”

University of Wales Trinity Saint David has a global outlook, helping students get abroad in a number of ways to many different countries. Recently UWTSD built links with Think Pacific, an award-winning volunteering, internship and placement provider focused on providing work experience opportunities to students and graduates in Fiji or Indonesia. There are specific placements on Mental Health and Wellbeing available in Bali.

Think Pacific placements involve living and working in a small community and being fully integrated into village life, which offers an enriching alternative to touristic travel while giving the locals and the students a measurable outcome at the end of each placement.

Joshua Todd, wearing an orange shirt with black butterfly motifs, sits on the veranda of a Fijian house.

Joshua Todd, who studies Energy and Environmental Engineering, spent two months in Fiji over summer 2023 with Think Pacific, between his second and third year of study. He says to people who might be thinking about the scheme: “If you’re worried about village life, or adapting, or being far away from home, don’t be too concerned. In this village we’ve been very fortunate, we’ve been quite connected, but also the village is so welcoming that you don’t feel left out or not at home.

“If you do come, take the opportunity to ingrain yourself in local life – everyone’s so welcoming you’ll probably have to tell five people that you can’t come to lunch because your [village] mum has got lunch waiting for you!”

Kath Griffiths, International Regional Manager at UWTSD’s Wales Global Academy said: “UWTSD is committed to giving students an international opportunity, whether through study, work or volunteering abroad. As well as improving graduate outcomes and employability, these experiences help students develop an understanding of the wider world and our place within it, providing enhanced engagement with both local and global society.”

To find out more at Go Global with UWTSD or email goglobal@uwtsd.ac.uk.