Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln celebrated the breadth of its international activity by staging a BG Global conference on 22nd April.

The keynote speaker was Vivienne Stern, Director of the UK Higher Education International Unit, who spoke about issues affecting the higher education sector in internationalisation and attracting international students to the UK.

The conference also provided an opportunity for BGU to launch its Internationalisation Strategy, which has been developed by the university’s new International Manager Wayne Dyble and a group of colleagues from across the institution.

Dr Ruth Sayers, Executive Dean for Learning Teaching and International at BGU, welcomed the delegates, some of whom were the university’s students. She described the range of activities represented at the conference as impressive, including presentations on international research activity, mobility programmes overseas, institutional partnerships and special projects.

BGU has a long history of working with partners in many international settings, including China, Nepal, Thailand, the Gambia, Norway, Uganda, Brazil, Tanzania and India.

The conference also offered academic staff an opportunity to discuss how they are internationalising the curricula in innovative ways, supported by a project led by the Higher Education Academy.

“The conference represents a sea change in our international work,” said Dr Sayers. “We celebrate the many activities that have gone before, but we look forward to a much more strategic future, in which internationalisation will permeate all our activities and the new International Office will drive forward the strategy that was launched at the conference.”

Notes to editors:

• Bishop Grosseteste University was established in January 1862 and celebrated its 150^th anniversary in 2012.
• It is an independent higher education institution based in Lincoln which awards its own undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
• It changed its name from Bishop Grosseteste University College to Bishop Grosseteste University in November 2012.

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Jez Ashberry
Shooting Star PR
01522 528540
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jez@weareshootingstar.co.uk
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