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[Chris Chang; Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Global Engagement and Student Life]

Chris Chang: We have a strategic partnership with Edith Cowan University in Australia, particularly for students who have not travelled abroad or lived abroad, that gives them the opportunity to experience a dual degree. The design of our programmes means that we have developed the programme from the ground up, which doesn't require you to study that much more time for a degree programme.

[Heather Massey; Course Leader, BSc (Hons) Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences (Dual Degree)]

Heather Massey: There's lots of reasons why people might want to come and study this dual award course at the ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿. Learning in a different environment from different tutors and the facilities that they have at Edith Cowan are absolutely first-class.

Chris Chang: Students have the opportunity to travel for a year and the question that some students will have is "how will I be able to afford this?" Now the UK Government has launched the Turing programme and what this programme does is fund them to do study abroad, internships, placements. It makes it accessible to all students from different groups, whether they are international students or students from the UK.

[The ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿'s participation in the Turing Scheme is subject to annual approval.]

[Credit: Tourism Western Australia] 

[Dr Sarah Reynolds; Programme Lead, BSc (Hons) Environmental Science and Management (Dual Degree)]

Dr Sarah Reynolds: Experiencing life in a different country. You would mature and develop your confidence during that time and definitely walk out of the degree, I think standing up a bit taller than if you hadn't.

Chris Chang: Now the benefits of this is that you can actually show to employers that you have two degrees from two different universities in two different countries. Jobs these days have changed quite substantially. Your future job may not be in the UK and employers are looking for the kind of employees that are able to work in different contexts, different cultures be able to work in multidisciplinary and multinational teams.

One of the other benefits of this programme is that you can actually travel around, not just, Australia but around the ASEAN region because from Perth it's a very short flight to Hong Kong; to Singapore; to Malaysia.

[Credit: Tourism Western Australia] 

Heather Massey: It's an amazing opportunity to learn both from experts in their field, but also learn about how different people in a different culture operate.

Chris Chang: There are inter-semester breaks of two-three months and you should use that opportunity to see the world. The other thing that you have is having studied a year abroad, you will make friends who could in the future be your supporters, be your allies, and be your collaborators of the future.
 

[Dr Leah Fox; Course Leader; BSc (Hons) Counter Terrorism, Intelligence and Cybercrime (Dual Degree)]

Dr Leah Fox: Even though they're geographically away. They'll still be able to get access to that same level of support as they were getting in Portsmouth. They'll have access to wellbeing, they'll have access to financial services, they'll have access to personal tutoring.

Chris Chang: These courses that we have delivered so far: Global Sport Management, Cybersecurity, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, Environmental Science and Management are all in very specialist and niche areas. Means that wherever you end up working or living, you're prepared for it. The demand for these courses are high, so we want highly motivated students who will benefit from this programme and benefit from a year abroad.

Dr Leah Fox: We're looking for an applicant who wants to make a change, who is open minded and prepared to be confronted with a number of challenges. But overall, someone who is curious and wants to learn.

[ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿] [Edith Cowen University Australia]

Amber: So I think doing a year abroad in Australia really sets me apart from everyone else. It's something I've always wanted to do. I've had family come out to Australia and tell me how great it is. There's so many opportunities that I've been given coming out here.

Michelle: I think you see it's a great place to start collecting your thoughts and see what your life could be later on.

Henry: My name is Henry Harris. I'm studying cybercrime security intelligence in a dual degree partnership with ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ and Edith Cowan University. The courses at ECU are definitely very hands-on. The lecturers are very easy to talk to. The classes are very small as well, so there's a lot of one-on-one time with the lecturers.

Michelle: I think the teachers have been amazing. They come from a really experienced field. They all seem pretty confident and I didn't have any difficulty on communicating with them.

Amber: Edith Cowan has been such a welcoming environment for me. The campus has been so friendly. Living on campus I'd spend so many evenings walking around and you see beautiful sunsets, loads of kangaroos.

Henry: Rottnest is still probably gotta be one of the top for cause seeing all those quokkas. When travelling to like Thailand, Bali, I think one of the best things is how easy and how accessible it is from Australia.

Amber: When I did my road trip we went all the way to Bremer Bay and we got to see orcas. I've never met anyone who's seen that before, so that was definitely a bucket list opportunity.

Michelle: I've been to Rottnest Island, saw the quokkas and I'm going to Margaret River in like a couple of weeks from now.

Henry: I have really enjoyed the beaches trying to learn how to surf.

Amber: You just get to experience something so unique and at such a good point in your life. Didn't think I'd ever travel this much at my age. I've seen so many amazing things.

Henry: I think a dual degree will influence my career quite a lot because it'll give me an understanding of how I can multitask with two different courses, the international benefit will definitely help my case in any interview that I've got.

Amber: I can't recommend it enough. It has been such a good course and it's perfect for me and so many other people I know. All my friends on my course love it. They've been loving Australia.

Henry: If someone is contemplating doing a dual degree, I would tell them they definitely need to have a go at it. From what I've experienced, it has probably been the best decision for me to do.

Michelle: I would recommend Edith Cowan University. It's a great uni to start your career. They do have experienced professors. Take your time to study and make the best of it.