Category Archives: King’s College London

Journeys of the mind: summer 2023 at King’s College London

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Dr Sarah Williamson is Executive Director of Summer Programmes at King’s College London.

People | King's People | King's College London

Escape through travel works…Seat-belt signs lit up, problems switched off. 

The Beach, A. Garland 

Travel is often key to finding proper time away from the endless rush of everyday busy lives. Although travel in the mind is frequently facilitated by that of the body, physical removal of oneself from one place to another is a wonderful, but not intrinsic component of travel of the mind, as we all discovered through pandemic lockdowns.

This week, I welcome many who have travelled physically to enrol in a summer course King’s College London. But many others too who have only travelled a few yards to join our learning community as visiting summer students. Together we will all be taking our minds on a journey. New ideas, new friends, new architecture. Not to mention new lunch options, new nights out and new memories to be made.

Some of those summer students joining King’s today made an important journey before they applied to study with us. To come to this country as a refugee or forced migrant from war and trauma. Our scholarships in partnership with @UNHCR are especially for those students now living in England and looking for opportunities to take an academic course and become part of a learning community.  

Others coming later in the month will join us in England due to King’s relationship with  Aare Afe Babalola, the Nigerian lawyer and philanthropist who has also recently made a visionary gift to establish a new centre for transnational education to enable talented young Africans to make an ever-greater impact on the world on the foundations of access to stellar higher education. 

Summer schools need all the perspectives they can gather in order to be the most interesting, challenging academic ride into mind expansion. Over the coming weeks, summer students can expect to find their usual points of reference challenged as our large, hugely diverse student group comes together to learn in classrooms and out and about in London. Filling up mind and body with new knowledge, understanding ideas and ambitions before heading onwards to the next stop of their life journey after the summer.

Tour of Strand Aldwych: A work in progress

The home of Summer Programmes. Picture: London Architecture Diary

 Diversity finds a particular space to flourish in the short courses of summer programming. Our courses fit into and around people’s wider lives. There is something for everyone with courses for learners from 16 to 80 (and beyond! there is no upper age limit!) 12,000+ learners from 85 countries have studied with King’s Summer Programmes over the last few years. ​ Some are at the start of the good stuff in their education journey; others are nurturing a life-long interest. Some spend months with us; others spend a weekend. Many are enriching consolidated professional experience; others are only just deciding on careers.​ The programmes we teach marry market interest to King’s specialist knowledge and produce a programme that is the right content, for the right people, at the right time and place (- ​If there is not already something for you, tell us and we will build it!)

These days King’s surroundings are a haven right in the beating heart of the city. The newly pedestrianised Strand is a shady garden, putting peace and a space for reflection back where once a busy highway ran. Some years ago, Londoners started reclaiming public spaces from the machinery – both mechanic and bureaucratic – of the city and with that has come a common realisation of the vitality that quiet human spaces bring to a metropolis. Quiet powerhouses of thought and being, which are fundamental in any journey of the mind to new realisations and therefore growth.

Welcome to all who start their classes this week.
Thank you for giving us this chance to both teach you and learn alongside and from you.
We feel fortunate that you are now part of our lives as we are part of yours.
A precious gift indeed. 

Summer Programmes shares expertise at international education conferences

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For the first time in years, international educators have come together in person at the key global conferences in Asia and the US this spring. King’s College London has a strong voice in these fora in the areas for summer schools and short-term international programming.

APAIE (Asia-Pacific Association for International Education), The Forum on Education Abroad and EAIE (European Association for International Education) are world-shaping international education network-led conferences and gatherings. We are pleased to report that following events by these three international organisations, the future of international education once again feels more open, fluid and rich in opportunity.

From left: Gorka Hernandez and Ben Jones at the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education conference in Bangkok.

Interacting with hundreds of participants, highly experienced teacher, Gorka Hernandez Ortiz, Programme Development Manager, and Ben Jones, Programme Developer, presented papers and held talks at APAIE’s conference in Bangkok on sustainabilities and the continuing case for short term mobility, in addition to focusing their practice-led contributions around Summer Programmes’ art-education based approach to pre-departure programming.

From left: Dr Alexander Heinz, Melissa Torres and Fahema Ettoubi at The Forum on Education Abroad conference in Seattle.

Dr Heinz subsequently joined a seminal meeting of the joint leadership for EAIE in Rotterdam in his elected role of Chair of the EAIE Summer Schools Expert Community, to shape decisions on restructuring the 24-year-old global network for a post-pandemic world. Talks on balancing the organisation’s size and shape with its CPD training responsibilities and industry’s need for networking were the principal areas of discussion and are strong areas of interest to Summer Programmes. The spring term concluded with the largest conference for international education globally, NAFSA in Washington DC. Dr Heinz, E-Learning Dean at NAFSA: Association of International Educators, gave a 15 minute interview to give testimony to the volunteer spirit of this remarkable organisation in its 75th year.

From left: Gorka Hernandez and Dr Alexander Heinz at the NAFSA conference in Washington DC.

You can find out more about each of the conferences here:

UKIERI Study India – A participant remembers ten years on

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The Summer Programmes team at King’s College London project managed the UKIERI Study India programme from 2009-2012, initially with the University of Birmingham. During each year, the innovative scheme took 200 students from across the UK for up to one month to India. The programme included an intensive schedule of learning interventions, a high degree of daily mobility and short work experiences. Eleanor Salt, now Partnerships Manager (Europe, Middle East, Africa) in Global Engagement, and Dr Alexander Heinz, now Senior Associate Director in Summer Programmes, were working with other colleagues on the programme and in their current roles continue their contributions to shaping the future of international work at King’s College London.

We interviewed Alexander Gerritsen (* 1992), a participant in 2012, in summer 2022.

In 2012, was your international outlook before you joined the King’s College London managed UKIERI Study India programme?

I am originally from South Africa and was quite well travelled prior to the Study India trip. In secondary school I had participated in an exchange program in China. I had to travel to places in Europe. I had a passion for history and politics in a global context and so I was aware of some of the major pressure points in the world, such territorial disputes in the South China sea and of course between India and Pakistan.

Why did you apply?

The opportunity was brought to my attention by my course leader Dr Rachel Utley from Leeds University. We had recently been studying India and evaluating whether it is or would become a Great Power in the 21st century. I had also been learning about the British Raj and in particular the Indian mutiny of 1857. I used this all in my application for the course and I was successful.

The programme sparked my career path. Without it, I would not have been aware of the opportunities available to working abroad and the excitement of being exposed to different cultures.

What are your favourite memories of being in Mumbai?

Mumbai is a great city with such a rich history and an overwhelmingly vibrant present. I loved walking along the seafront or to the Gateway of India but my favourite memories were just walking around in any part of the city as well as exploring the markets. It was helpful to have locals with us to guide us to all the best places and try all the street food.

What do you remember doing there?

All the learning activities organised by King’s and the Indian partners – we did we start with a Mumbai treasure hunt walk, which took us to the major destinations. We also had visits to the Dharavi slums and the Bombay Stock Exchange. We attended lectures on economics, history, culture and religion which was fascinating. We would also have lots of group activities on the roof of our host college, including Bollywood dances to attend. We also had local student buddies so we got to visit their house. I was even taken by my buddy Aman to the country clubs where his family had membership – which had a clear postcolonial taste. We had two free weekends so for the first one we took the train to a nearby hill station- buying a ticket was a mission. On the second weekend I organised with a few people to visit New Delhi and Agra to see the Taj. It was an adventure.

What stands out most in your memory?

For me the internship with Unmeed really stands out. This was a NGO for vulnerable children who have learning disabilities. The NGO dealt with a cross section of society and really provided support to these people. A doctor told one set of parents that their little girl would be unlikely to ever go to university. The father was defiant at first and then began to cry. It hit home how incredibly competitive education is in India. Our student buddies told us stories about it and I remember seeing the billboards with the student grades. On a slight side note, this point was also illustrated in a movie we went to watch at the cinema which was called the ‘Three Idiots’ and featured three engineering students. I remember the film clearly. It was an absolute emotional rollercoaster.

Alexander Gerritsen with friends in Mumbai 2012

Have you been back to India since?

I have sadly not yet had the chance. I was actually supposed to attend an educational event in New Delhi in April 2020 but the trip had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.

What has your career been since?

The programme was instrumental for my career as it brought me into contact with the British Council. I was able to take advantage of all the opportunities that they offer. I was selected to participate in the British Council teacher assistant course in Wuxi, China for a year and that was an incredible opportunity. I taught at a local school and had the opportunity to get to know my Chinese colleagues, learn Chinese. I then saw an opportunity in Lima, Peru, and I was offered the job to become a full time History teacher. This was brilliant and I stayed in Peru from 2015 to 2021. I travelled extensively around all of the Americas. I even swam with Great White sharks in Mexico. I did everything I could. Professionally, I advanced to teaching IGCSE and IB history and I even became a Head of department for the Theory of Knowledge. I started organising my own overseas programming, leading groups to South Africa and I participated in the Amazon raft race.

Alexander Gerritsen ten years on

What has the UKIERI Study India programme given you in hindsight?

The programme sparked my career path. Without it, I would not have been aware of the opportunities available to working abroad and the excitement of being exposed to different cultures. I fell in love with India and continue to follow their politics. On a practical note, to this day the programme allows me to have an immediate connection with Indians who I meet. We have many things to talk about!

Did you keep in touch with other participants for some time?

Yes, I certainly did for the first few years. We had reunions in London and were all involved in presenting about our experiences in UK schools. I am still connected with my friends on Facebook and Instagram. Many have been doing masters courses, either in the UK or Singapore. Some are in the United States. We occasionally catch up that way.

What are your plans now?

During COVID, I moved from Peru to Barcelona to undertake a masters in Diplomacy and International Organisations. Luckily, I am starting as a Blue Book Trainee at the Secretariat General of the EU Commission, with the duty of reporting directly to the Director General. I will be undertaking this traineeship until the end of February 2023 with the hope of finding a position in the EU afterwards.

Summer Teaching: A Professional Crossroads

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Stefan Mandelbaum

Dr Stefan Mandelbaum taught International Commercial Law on King’s Undergraduate Summer School in 2012 and 2013. He is now a Senior Lecturer in International Law at Anglia Ruskin University and a member of the Senate at his institution. 

Teaching for King’s Summer Programmes as a doctoral researcher turned out to be an important crossroad in my academic career. Coming from a strong legal-philosophical background and responding to a 2012 call from the Summer School for module suggestions, I initially proposed a course on “dispute settlement in international investment law”, simply because my doctoral work already focused on this subject matter. During the interview, Summer Programmes put to me that a course on International Commercial Law would give me the opportunity to merge different aspects of international law into one course. While the course development and delivery turned out to be as challenging as preparing a fairly new subject for HE teaching naturally is, the course, with me as a lead tutor in 2012 and 2013, eventually ranked among the most popular courses in the Summer School curriculum. The in-class, organisational and pedagogic challenges which only a summer course poses, together with being involved in considering an audience even before their application  became experiences which have shaped my lecturing style ever since. In the following, I would like to give two examples of the impact my summer school teaching had on my career as a teacher in HE, one concerning the acquired pedagogic skills when dealing with an array of educational and cultural backgrounds in class, the other addressing the direct link between the subject of teaching and my current position.

Peer learning

In both years, the summer module on International Commercial Law cohort consisted of students of very different backgrounds, ranging from first year UG students and Masters students of various subjects to judges and business people. Overcoming this welcomed but also challenging mix of sometimes very different abilities led me to develop an in-class tutoring scheme in which I prescribed an overall task (e.g. case study, moot problem) for all students while appointing the most senior class members as group leaders. This method enabled a study atmosphere where the junior class mates were learning from me and their peers whilst the more advanced students were recognized as leaders and had to learn how to teach what they already knew. While this model of hierarchical participation originated in the diverse composition of an international summer school class, it developed over time into a critical pedagogic method which I have continued using ever since. From good student feedback in my previous years to a 100 percent satisfaction rate in both my King’s summer courses, the facilitation of such an integrative learning environment had led my last semester’s course on “International Commercial Arbitration” to be among the 10 top-scoring classes out of 2.500 at my present institution, Anglia Ruskin University.

Shaping my career

Learning how to cater for the varying abilities and expectations of summer school participants, however, is only one of the pedagogic upshots for my career. The subject of “International Commercial Law”, rather peripheral at the time to my research expertise, has been pivotal in getting the lectureship that I am holding now. My teaching orbits not so much the very specific doctoral topic I was working on (the market for such a position is rather thin) and my first appointment outside King’s College London as well as the leeway to my permanent post now was via a “visiting lectureship” on “Transnational Commercial Law”. I can honestly say that if it would not have been for King’s decision to opt for the ‘commercial side’ of international affairs, I would not teach and do research in this field, and I would not be able to now expand my research collaborations to the business aspects of international sports law or management studies, both of which emerging into cutting edge fields of scholarship.

EAIE 2019 in Helsinki: Summer as a Creative Space

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In the coming week, members of King’s Summer Programmes team will be attending the EAIE Annual Conference in Helsinki. In a schedule packed with encounters with partners new and old, King’s Summer Education Programme will form a key part of the wider conference programme.

Dr Alexander Heinz, Associate Director (Research & Innovation), will be speaking on summer schools as a creative space for education; sharing a platform with Nita Kapoor, Director of the University of Oslo Summer School, and Jason Kinnear, Assistant Dean for Study Abroad at UNC Chapel Hill.

As Vice-Chair of the EAIE Summer Schools Expert Community, Dr Heinz will speak at and co-host a summer school health clinic, as well as a large reception for sector professionals.  He will also lead a campfire session for peers from around the world.Together with Lorraine Ishmael-Byers, King’s Associate Director for Disability Support and Inclusion, Dr Heinz endeavours to whet the appetite of other institutions to follow into the footsteps of Dialogues on Disability, a sector-leading programme by King’s, the University of Delhi, Humboldt-University, the Autonomous University of Mexico and others, and to encourage colleagues to think beyond national boundaries about mobility for and policy discussions among disabled students.

Fahema Ettoubi, Academic Services Manager, and Emma Carlile, Assistant Programme Development Manager, will attend EAIE for the first time and will be available to meet with partners and members of the wider international education community.  Both look forward to showcasing King’s Summer Programmes portfolio to current partners but also new institutions, enabling us to stand out from the crowd.

Ten Years of Summer at King’s: A Pivotal Space

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Professor Soelve I. Curdts, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, and Visiting Lecturer at King’s in July 2010, reflects on the value of transitionality.

Incredibly, almost a decade has passed since I taught at King’s Undergraduate Summer School in 2010. The experience turned out to be pivotal in ways I could not have foreseen at the time, and its layers grow more multifarious with each passing year. In fact, such layering over time is one of the things we – hopefully – share with our students beyond the subjects we happen to be teaching.

Arrivals and Departures

For me, 2010-2011 was a time of transition. I had studied and taught in Germany, France, and the United States, and was in the process of contemplating where to go next, both literally and metaphorically. The world was all before me – a prospect that filled me with a sense of uncertainty, to be sure, but also of exhilaration. The latter was fostered both by London as a pivotal space, and by the Summer School at King’s College London as a place that brought together scholars, teachers, and students who reflected on (their) transitionality in intellectually stimulating and productive ways. In a world where we increasingly discover states of transition as the norm they have perhaps always been, such reflection, which the summer school at King’s College London is uniquely positioned to enable by creating rare constellations of international students and teachers, is of crucial significance. In my own teaching and scholarship, I try to sustain a sense of those very moments of transition which, precisely as they claim neither origin nor end point, are constitutive of thought.

“The summer school offered a privileged space, where students could explore areas of inquiry they would not otherwise have engaged in.” Soelve Curdts

Thinking between arrivals and departures happened quite literally that summer at King’s, as a community of scholars and students gathered for a brief period of time. Our students came from—and would go back to—not only different parts of the world, but often entirely different fields of study. In this, too, the summer school offered a privileged space, where students could explore areas of inquiry they would not otherwise have engaged in. I would like to think that the occasional business student reading a work of literature, or the English major tackling the intricacies of a physics problem can make – has made – some kind of difference.

King’s College London welcomed me (back) to Europe after a long absence with a preciously open and heterogeneous vibrancy which spoke – to quote one of the poets I taught there – of something evermore about to be.

My inspiration for creating Berlin: City of Reinvention

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Dr Alexander Heinz is the last person on the right

Dr Alexander Heinz is the academic lead of “Berlin: City of Reinvention” and King’s Summer Programmes’ Associate Director for Research and Innovation

Three years ago, I wrote a new kind of short-term programme that combined what had fascinated me about current research in international education and my own personal experience. The programme was about the possibility of transforming the world through personal agency; but I called it “Berlin: City of Reinvention”. It has allowed over 100 King’s students from very different subject disciplines to spend a week of encounters and active learning in Berlin since.

Some of the genesis of the programme is very personal. I used to be a student myself in Berlin, once romantically in love and out of love with the city. Coming from a generation who was politicised by the fall of the wall, that most liberating and exhilarating of times that one can live through, I believe that Berlin is one of the places where students, who were born a decade after these events, can still discover and feel that initial sense of wonder and of human power to overcome what seems to be accepted in life. A recent US President said in his farewell speech, “the most important office in a democracy is being a citizen”. I have always believed that, perhaps also for all my student years spent as a scholar of the German National Scholarship Foundation, who gently instilled in us the ethos of taking initiative and of taking action for others.

Doris Sommer’s concept of civic agency and how art was a major factor in empowering us was a major influence for Sarah Williamson, Director of King’s Summer Programmes, and myself recently. The Humanities’ role in addressing issues in society is coming increasingly to the fore, in Germany the minister for education just last week announced a large Geisteswissenschaften programme to address issues of social cohesion, recognising the innovative potential of practical applications and hopefully an exciting opportunity for engagement with Germany in the future. At the same time, I build on my own research as a historian. I spent many years researching and writing a book on the stereotypes in Britain about Germans, and these perceptions are with us, in different formations, in all generations. Our learning about Germany will not be free from them; “the war” is still one of the first things that Generation Z Britons associate with Germany in our pre-departure classes. Nobody comes to this course as a blank sheet. It’s both astonishing and at the same time not a surprise at all. I wanted this course to acknowledge the ability for us to change how we think about things, even if our perceptions might be deep seated. Berlin with its broken history seemed to be the historical personification of this ability to change, to reimagine itself.

Yet, this is not a history course. The course is firmly in the present with its job market challenges, start up scene, refugee “welcome culture” or lack of. Berlin is not a beautiful place on the surface. Its main resource are its people. It reveals itself to the visitor, the temporary local, over time. “What makes Berlin’s citizenry so attractive”, our workshop in the middle of the week, is often a turning point for participants. A couple of sessions before, a discussion like this could not have happened. The centre of the course is in truth not Berlin either. It is easier if we first look at others, those Berliners and then think about ourselves. In reality, the course wants to be about each participant individually on this journey, and how we position ourselves vis-à-vis the situations we find ourselves in and the people who have power over us or who we have responsibility for. It is all too often not too difficult to say with hindsight, which side of history we would have stood on. Yet, when is resistance in our everyday required and legitimate, even though it might not be legal? The challenge is to think about our freedom for today in Britain, in our professional, social and our political lives.

The programme is thus challenging intellectually, physically and sometimes mentally, in a measured way. It has its painful moments and asks about the role of guilt to move on, the need for forgiveness to live in Germany, the responsibility of generations born long after an event. It is also demanding in other ways. It requires students not just to think as medics, as geographers, as scientists or literature students. It requires the courage to do so and the openness to listen. It asks of us to think about wider contexts and areas of our life that they might not have thought about, or not have talked about. Are the Stasi headquarters offices boring as the evil is banal? Is evil even the right word? Last year a student mentioned that she felt listened to for the first time in her life.

In the United Kingdom, the idea of creating international opportunities for non-traditional or first generation students is still a relatively new endeavour and the course is attracting interest from colleagues in this country and at large conferences internationally. Educationalists speak a lot about a sense of belonging at the moment. That sense might often have been there at school, but it needs to be built from scratch at university. I myself often felt that that sense would primarily come through making a meaningful contribution, but there are other, more effective ways of achieving this. We put a lot of emphasis on peer-to-peer support and learning in King’s Summer Programmes and the course is an opportunity to network and build friendships in a warm and safe atmosphere.

For many students on the module it is a first step to rediscover the power of the international in their own life and the cultural stake that they already have in it, perhaps in their own family history, that can serve them very well in the future. We are learning through looking at and encountering the lives of others and are arriving, with criticality, at a stronger self.

All this is exciting and we in Summer Programmes are set to continue to develop and refine this type of programming further in the future, using the academic disciplines within the College as a galvanising power. Berlin will remain a mirror, a destination, but there is so much more to discover on this globe and within ourselves.

Spring conferences: what matters next

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This spring King’s Summer Programmes are meeting with International Education leaders from across the world to discuss exciting innovations in the summer school sector. King’s Summer Education Programme contributes to and shapes the international debate on best practice and innovation in the field of summer learning and teaching.

At this year’s APAIE, the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education conference hosted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Dr Sarah Williamson and Mina Chakmagi spoke about ‘Improving Inclusion: Short Courses as an Opportunity for International Education’.

This week we are attending NAFSA, the large annual conference of the Association of International Educators in Washington DC, USA. Dr Alexander Heinz, Head of the Summer Education Programme, will be presenting together with Lorraine Ishmael-Byers, King’s Associate Director (Disability Support and Inclusion) on ‘Students Shape Policy Internationally: Dialogues on Disability’.

On campus in London, our Community of Practice which brings together summer tutors from all disciplines and programmes at King’s met last week to share best practice and their enthusiasm of welcoming students this summer. We have invited Dr Debbie Lock from Lincoln University who shared with the community her research into living and teaching for Chinese student cohorts.

Earlier in May Dr Heinz presented at the Going Global conference in Berlin, Germany, organised by the British Council, on ‘A Diplomatic Approach – Constructing the Academy from Flying Faculty and Online Learning‘.

Along with Katie Constanza from University North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Dr Heinz led a well-attended session at the Forum on Education Abroad in Denver, USA, on ‘Strategies for Building Student Resilience Through Integrative Global Learning‘.

‘The Impact of Preparatory University Programmes on School Students’ academic development will be at the centre of a plenary session at UCAS Annual International Teachers’ and Advisers’ Conference in Glasgow on 4th June. Dr Heinz will be joined by Dr Matt Edwards, Head of Sixth Form, Sevenoaks School and Lynette Peine, UCAS Lead and EAP Tutor at English Language Centre.

It is a privilege to share best practice and debate ideas with colleagues from across the world, working every day to provide students an enriching education experience.

The way we learn on summer schools

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Thais Russomano, MD, is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre of Human & Applied Physiological Sciences, part of the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine’s School of Basic & Medical Biosciences.
Thais teaches summer school students about body systems and how humans adapt when exposed to hostile environments.

 

If asked at the age of 16 what I wanted to be when I ‘grew up’, the answer university professor would never have crossed my mind. I knew what I wanted to be, it was simple – for as long as I could remember I dreamt of becoming an astronaut. This would be a difficult career path for anyone to follow, however, coming from a country (Brazil) that didn’t at that time even have a Space Agency made the task as difficult as climbing Mount Everest blindfolded! I wish at that stage of my life I’d had the opportunity to experience a course like the King’s Summer programme.

Exposure to material taught by an international professor in a ‘university-type’ form would certainly have given my confidence a boost and allayed many of the doubts I had about studying abroad and at a higher level. Nonetheless, I planned my journey, completing medicine in Brazil, then facing my fears and going oversees for a 2-year MSc in Aerospace Medicine in the US, and a PhD in Space Physiology at King’s College London, before working at the German Space Agency (DLR).

My academic career began at a university in Brazil, where I established the Microgravity Centre, a pioneering Space Life Sciences Research Centre, but my links with King’s always remained strong, and I eventually became the Deputy Course Director/Senior Lecturer of the Space Physiology & Health MSc course. Another constant in my life was dedicating spare time to teaching school-aged students about the life and works of astronauts during space missions.

Therefore, when asked to participate in teaching for the King’s College Summer Programmes, I was delighted to accept, as, from my own student experience, I knew the benefit this kind of interaction brings – I see it as a two-way win-win situation for both students and professors, both of whom encounter different learning styles and gain from an exchange of cultural values, which broadens perspectives and adds to personal and professional growth.

The design of the Summer Courses fosters this interaction of tutors/students and provides an enriching learning environment. Students gain a great insight into what life would be like studying at university level, and possibly experiencing for the first time a British way of delivering knowledge. This opportunity also gives a special experience to us as professors, entering a highly multicultural environment, bringing with it challenges as to how best to engage these young minds, but at the same time making the teaching-learning process more stimulating and special.

Given the short length of the courses, they can be no more than simply ‘taster’ experiences for both sides, however, the enthusiasm and curiosity of the students is evident from their willingness to participate in activities, and from their questions, which become more probing and frequent as the week progresses and confidence grows. And it is exactly this growth in confidence, this exposure to professors of a different culture, and this opportunity to mix with a different way of doings things that is the most invaluable lesson of the week for students, opening their eyes to potential new horizons.

Likewise, teaching pre-university students, and especially those from a culture for whom English is not their native-tongue, provides lecturers with a reminder that sometimes we must adapt our skills to better communicate the content of our classes, making the language we use more accessible, building on logical reasoning and employing good analogies that help in the understanding of more complex ideas. I am reminded that these skills are important within our practice at King’s, which is by its very nature, a very international university, with more than 40% of its student population drawn from 160 countries.

For me, the experience of teaching young students on King’s Summer Programmes is gratifying and enriching; something new to add to my lifelong learning portfolio. For the students, I hope they find their pre-university programmes inspiring and motivational experiences, bolstering their self-belief and turning the first page of their academic journey.

Personifying the King’s experience

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The teacher’s role in summer business education

Dr Andrew McFaull is a Teaching Fellow in Accounting and Finance in the King’s Business School. In the Summer, Dr McFaull teaches Business Management, International  Business, Accounting and Finance in London and Hong Kong.

Over the past few years of delivering summer schools here at King’s, it has become clear to me that the role of the tutor is much more than just teaching and is about delivering a memorable learning experience. The challenge for us as tutors and those who support us as we seek to offer a great summer school is to be aware of what kind of learning experience we want to offer.

To answer this question, I believe we need to view it from our students’ perspective and ask ourselves why would someone be willing to travel great distances, often at considerable expense to enrol for only two to three weeks in one of our short summer courses? As a business tutor, I would put this in business speak and term it our value proposition. Yet, what is it? In essence, why do large numbers of students come from across the world to our summer schools each year? It seems to me the only way to deliver the best possible programme of summer learning is to exceed our students expectations and to do that, we must first understand why they enrol on a summer school course.

It’s clearly not us personally as tutors that attracts the students. Regardless of our doctorates and other various learned credentials, it is safe to assume that none of our students will have heard about our teaching and/or research prior to enrolling upon our courses. Instead, it is almost certainly the opportunity to gain an education from an esteemed institution with a global reputation that attracts students in their hundreds year upon year. Therefore, we can perhaps conclude that the role of a summer school tutor is to personify the anticipated experiences and related expectations that comes with receiving an education from somewhere like King’s College London.

“I notice how much more heterogeneous the expectations of our summer students are.”

What complicates this process further is that this personification of a King’s education is not the same for all students and this is something I have increasingly observed of as I have been delivering summer schools on behalf of the business school. When I contrast my summer school teaching with our conventional undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, which I also teach upon, I notice how much more heterogeneous the expectations of our students are and we only have two or three weeks to fulfil and
hopefully exceed these expectations.

“Helping achieve long-term personal and professional goals”

As a broad generalisation, some enrol on our summer school programmes to advance their CVs and ultimately their future careers. Others are visiting us to be challenged intellectually and want a scholarly experience from one of the world’s leading universities. Then there are those enrolled on our summer school programmes who might be termed educational tourists, who are attracted by studying in different city or country for a few weeks. All these expectations are perfectly reasonable. Yet, the predicament we face when seeking to meet students’ expectations and hopefully exceed them to deliver a good summer school, is how do you deliver one course which meets many expectations?

The answer hopefully lies in the fact that each of these expectations mentioned before are not directly in conflict with each other and therefore by delivering in one area, we are precluded from delivering in another. Ultimately, in my mind, our goal in the summer school is to build a programmes of learning which is intellectually challenging, but simultaneously brings in both the King ’s and wider London experience and allows students to achieve their long-term personal and professional goals.

This brings me back to my original point that the role of summer school tutor is much more than teaching, it’s about cultivating a memorable learning experience both inside and outside of the classroom and this needs to be co-produced with the student, because ultimately it’s their learning experience.