I’ve been in your shoes, working and studying in another language/culture
I’m a former international student myself (in Japan), and had to write essays, make speeches and complete an internship in Japanese as part of my undergraduate degree. At work I’ve managed teams using Urdu, French and Italian, attended meetings in Japanese, received VIP guests in Arabic, negotiated contracts in Italian, liaised with suppliers in German and managed events using a combination of languages, depending on location. I know the challenges you face, and how important it is to get this right.
And because from an early age I’ve lived and and worked in several countries, working in several languages, as well as having studied Social Anthropology - the study of human societies and cultures - at Master’s level, I’m able to understand my students quickly at a deep level, identify potential obstacles and devise a solid plan for their success.
I have expert, current knowledge of the UK university System...
My qualifications from three British Higher education institutions - two more traditional and one ‘post-1992’, mean that I’m very familiar with the distinctive approaches to higher education taken by both categories. The latest of these was gained in 2014, giving me first-hand knowledge as an ‘end-user’ of the latest teaching approaches and technologies, including virtual learning environments, as well as current practice in student learning and assessment. Since 2008 I’ve supported numerous international students during their UK university studies, and all of them have obtained their desired qualifications with very satisfying results. You can read their comments on my Client Testimonials Page.
...and inside knowledge of how UK universities work
Since 2003 I’ve regularly worked with the University of Cambridge, and more recently with the University of London, in a variety of roles including admissions, academic support, managing high level international academic collaborations and research centres, as well as teaching English for Academic Purposes to international students both pre-sessionally and during their degree courses. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some world-class university researchers and to learn from some very talented and dedicated teachers. Now I share this information as well as my own university experiences with my students, in order to provide a road-map for their individual studies.
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I’ve witnessed my international classmates’ challenges
Each time I attended university, it was as a member of a highly diverse and international cohort. I studied alongside and became close friends with students who’d travelled thousands of miles for their education. From them I learned more about the specific challenges that many international students can face.
Current university study support is limited
If you’ve ever visited a British university’s Academic or Study Support office, you’ll have seen that it’s a very busy place. Their expertise is in high demand (and the staff there do a terrific job with what they have) but time, resources and staff numbers are often not quite enough to meet that demand. For example, at present, written skills are given a lot of teaching time (for good reasons). And yet, my students often approach me for coaching in academic presentation skills, seminar skills or help with listening for key information during lectures, all of which are currently given very little, if any, teaching support attention at university. CSC is able to fill these skills transfer gaps, so that international students are able to perform at an academic level that reflects their true abilities.