With more than 900 overseas school pupils in Aberdeen alone, the City and wider region plays home to pupils and students from more than 70 places of origin, speaking more than 70 different mother tongues.
Every international student contributes £16,000 on average to Scotland’s economy each year, and this year, Aberdeen has earned £36,656,000 from its international Higher Education students.
Now, the area’s education providers have joined forces to launch the Northern Lights competition in a bid to find out exactly what our international students think of the area.
Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils have teamed up with Aberdeen College, the University of Aberdeen and the Robert Gordon University to create the competition for students of all ages from outside the UK who are currently studying at primary or secondary school, or further or higher education level in the North East. Students have been invited to submit a letter, essay, video diary or artwork representing their experience as an international student studying in the North East of Scotland*.
“International students form a significant, and important, part of our student population in the North East and it is important that we find out more about their perceptions of living and studying in the region,” said Aberdeen City’s Lord Provost John Reynolds. “In considering their study options, location is an important factor for international students.”
“The Scottish Higher education sector brings more than £195million each year into the Scottish economy from overseas, and every three overseas students who study in Scotland create one new job in the Scottish economy,” said Aberdeenshire Provost Councillor Raymond Bisset. “It is important that we recognise and reward their contribution to life in the North East.”
A prize of up to £500 is available for the winner of each of the four categories, two of which are sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management and Jarvis University Partnerships Programme. The closing date for all entries is Friday, 23 April 2004. For more information, visit www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/northernlights .
Any organisation interested in co-sponsoring one of the categories should contact Jill Moir, Head of Communications, at the University of Aberdeen, on (01224) 272012.
For more information on the competition, log on to http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk
*All written work must be no more than 1,000 words or five minutes long for the video diary.