Embedding Success for All initiatives with international opportunities

In June 2023, NTU students studying on the BA (Hons) Social Work course, were invited to The University of Applied Sciences Potsdam (FHP) as part of an international exchange programme. NTU and FHP have historically facilitated exchange trips for their respective social work students, but these trips had naturally gone through a hiatus during the Covid Pandemic. Given that Social Work is broadly recognised as an international profession, I was naturally keen to resume the exchange programme in order to offer work-like experiences to students. Very positive feedback was received from NTU students who took part; this reinforced the value of cultural exchange and the potential transformative experiences these international opportunities can offer our students.

The exchange

The social work students from Potsdam visited us in April 2023. Their visit included attending workshops with final year Social Work students at the NTU city campus, and agency visits in Nottingham to organisations who support people affected by homelessness. The German students also joined year 2 students on a field trip to the Galleries of Justice museum.

During our four-day trip to Potsdam and Berlin in June 2023, NTU students had the chance to take part in seminars at the Potsdam university campus with German social work students and visit a variety of German social care agencies. These included a school in Potsdam which had employed an “in-house” social worker, a “safe use” centre in Berlin for adults experiencing substance misuse issues, and an art gallery and café in Berlin which exclusively employs vulnerable adults.  All of these activities offered great work-like experience to students, as well as opportunities to develop intercultural knowledge.

Key takeaways

Collaborative professional learning and work-like experience

Active collaborative learning was a key part of the exchange, which was important given that most of the students who took part had characteristics identified in NTU’s Success for All initiative, including black and mature students. Working alongside German Social Work students in small groups came with a raft of benefits. Aside from the important social aspect, collaborative tasks allowed students to have professional conversations with their international colleagues about a range of pertinent topics. Supporting students to discuss complex issues such as substance misuse, making comparisons between different approaches, and formulating solutions to social issues allowed all students to be actively engaged with their learning, and do this within new and exciting environments of Berlin and Potsdam.

Although the students did not have to complete any formal or summative assessments for this trip, the tasks involved, such as working with other professionals, and visiting social care agencies also aligns with the authentic assessment element of our Success for All initiative. After the trip students were able to clearly articulate the professional learning they had taken, which included drawing parallels with the UK and German systems, and evidence-informed perspectives on why they felt some German policies appeared more effective than those in the UK.  Seeing alternative provision, such as “safe use” centres encouraged critical analysis of current English approaches to substance misuse and galvanised the student’s interest in promoting effective policy change. Overall, the authenticity and work-like nature of the tasks students took part in were a fabulous opportunity to develop students’ professional skills for further placement learning and employment.

Personal development

In addition to the significant professional learning gained on the trip, all NTU students who took part felt that the experience helped them to grow on a personal level. All but one of the students had never been to Germany before, and travelling internationally made them feel more independent and more confident in their own ability to navigate new situations. Students felt a real sense of pride for putting themselves in an unfamiliar environment and for pushing themselves to do something outside their comfort zone. One student even went as far to say that the trip was the “best thing I’ve ever done”, and that she now felt more confident to put herself out there and meet new people. I firmly believe that providing students with opportunities for personal growth such as this aligns with our access and participation plan, particularly in relation to reducing attainment gaps for students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds.

It was heart-warming for me as course lead to see our BA students socialising and having fun with their German colleagues in such a beautiful European city. The trip was clearly transformative for our students, and all who took part unanimously recommended that other Social Work students put themselves forward to take part.

Lessons taken forward

Despite the overall success of the trip, there were some elements which did not work so well, hence our approach being adjusted for upcoming exchange trips.

We had arranged for our NTU students to stay with the German students who were also taking part. Whilst it was initially thought that this may make the cultural exchange more authentic, the feedback we received after the trip indicated that whilst NTU students felt very welcome, they would have preferred to stay all together in the same location so they could travel around the city together with the support of academic staff. It has been agreed that for future exchange trips, NTU students will stay in hotel or hostel accommodation with NTU staff.

Students who were less experienced in travelling overseas and navigating large cities found air travel, initial arrival in Germany, and the navigation of the transport system in Berlin quite overwhelming at times. Although students were able to reflect that pushing themselves to take on new challenges was ultimately very conducive to personal growth, more detailed briefing information will be provided before future trips to Berlin to help manage the anxiety of less experienced or confident students.

Final thoughts

The Potsdam Exchange programme has been a great chance for me as an academic to embed our Success for All initiatives, and creatively achieve aims outlined in our Access and Participation Plan. Taking part taught me, and colleagues about the potentially transformative personal and professional experiences international travel and intercultural exchange can offer for our students.  Supporting our students to develop intercultural competences is needed if our social work graduates are going to stand out in an increasingly global work environment (Pelaez and Ciriano, 2020).

I was pleased to be able to facilitate a further trip to Potsdam in June 2024 which included students from both our BA, and Apprenticeship Social Work courses. A more in-depth evaluation of student experiences will be carried out in relation to this trip. I hope that this will highlight even more clearly how the trip enhances essential skills for employability, intercultural communication, and overall better attainment for participants.