Concerns Raised for the Welfare of Students Studying and Working Abroad at Queen’s University Belfast
Abby Davidson
Many students undertake compulsory or optional periods of study or work placements abroad while studying at Queen’s University Belfast.
Queen’s University offers a range of opportunities such as Erasmus, Canadian and Australian study programmes and study USA.
The Scoop has talked to several students who are currently abroad or who completed their time abroad recently, about their experiences.
These students travelled to Spain, France, Germany, Portugal or Gran Canaria for either a year or a semester. The range of experiences have been broad and, in some cases, include sensitive information.
Amy undertook a year of work in a primary school near Málaga, Spain. This was facilitated by the British Council and Queen’s University.
She told us that although her time away was “one of the best experiences of my [her] life”, Queen’s University “should have provided more support to students moving abroad, especially during the first few months when it was a big adjustment”. Amy also told us about how she experienced “major anxiety during my [her] first month in Spain, primarily due to the lack of support we received in relation to finding long term accommodation.”
Nicola who spent a semester studying in Germany through the Erasmus programme also found herself struggling mentally while abroad, “‘they [Queen’s University] didn’t check in at all, I was not doing well, I was lonely.” Nicola had already been disappointed by being refused the opportunity to go to Australia by the University despite being offered a space in The University of Newcastle, Germany was her second choice.
This last-minute change of plans made it very difficult to secure accommodation in Germany. She told us, “I did not find accommodation until a week before I moved to Germany” due to Queen’s Univerisity not explaining that she should have arranged accommodation there as a backup. The German system was very different than the Australian one she had prepared for, with students already on a year-long waiting list to get accommodation.
Another student who spent a semester studying in France through the Erasmus programme told The Scoop, that she was told that the university does not advise of accommodation or VISAs. She also explained that students who only went away for a semester were not entitled to the classes that students who undertook mandatory study or work abroad were entitled to, leaving them with little prior knowledge.
Sara, who went to Gran Canaria through the Erasmus programme told The Scoop that she had “ an absolute disaster getting organised” for her year abroad. She asked the university for help sourcing accommodation multiple times and was met with no response.
Sara told us that due to the fact that she went to the region completely alone and with little knowledge of the area, the lack of support took a “massive toll on my mental health over the summer from sheer stress and anxiety and at one stage i was even considering dropping out of the course.”
Bea shared her story with The Scoop. She spent several months working at a luxury resort in France that was recommended to her by one of her tutors after she struggled to find a placement on her own. This was through the Erasmus programme.
Upon arriving at her placement, things were not as she expected. Her contract stated that she was to be housed and fed. She told us that she was “housed in a barely converted barn where the doors did not lock…they were barely furnished, they were so dirty.” She went on to say how she was “stranded in the middle of nowhere with no food, no money, no way to get out and nobody [from the university] contacted me [her].”
Bea’s placement was working her illegal, unpaid hours but at the time she was unaware of how dire her situation was telling us, “I was very naïve and there was no safeguarding process in any of the training we did [at Queen’s].”
It was at 13 weeks into Bea’s placement that she first heard from the University through a Google form survey. Up until then she had never been contacted for anything other than “multiple demands for paperwork from the Erasmus team.” Bea let the University know that she was not being treated right and that she had completed her hours for the placement three months early due to being overworked. By this stage, Bea said she had “had a breakdown…and my personal tutor scheduled like a 20 minute phone call with me.”
Bea told her tutor, “my boss is pissing in water bottles and I’m being made to remove them…I’ve had glass thrown on me…my boss is abusive…we don’t get fed, I was literally starving, I was losing weight rapidly, my hair was falling out.”
She was not taken seriously until it was too late and was forced to leave the placement on her own terms for her wellbeing. Her placement has still not paid her over €900 that they owed her. When she reached out to Queen’s University for help retrieving her pay no one spoke to her about her issue or tried to help her other than sending a final response to say, “there’s nothing we can do, you should have told us about this at the time.”
Bea was not the only student who spoke about being let down by the University. Victoria who moved to Spain to work for a year told The Scoop, “There’s so much they [Queen’s] could do better with, I’m a student rep for my course and the whole thing has been so awful for so many students.”
She went on to discuss how the university is advising students to take placements that would pay them a wage of €500 to €800 a month, saying, “I just don’t think €500 to €800 is enough to suffice anyone.”
Speaking about the University’s lack of support Victoria said, “it has really impacted people”, students who are on their year abroad “they can’t find placements…they’re being told they have to sort their own accommodation out.”
She then told us, “It infuriates me when we get an email through every other month saying are you okay, yes or no, click this box…I haven’t even responded to any of them.” Victoria noted that Queen’s University never reached out to her in regards to her not responding to these emails.
What each student’s experiences has in common an overwhelming sense of a lack of support from the University.
Cait, who went to Alicante for a year found that the response from the University was “quite slow” and she “felt a bit lost” when it came to doing the required paperwork for the study abroad.
Another student who spent a year split across Spain and Portugal on an Erasmus study abroad felt like “Queen’s weren’t much help” when it came to selecting modules abroad. They also had an experience where they reached out to someone at Queen’s University to tell them they had safely arrived in Spain and mentioned a few concerns but never received any acknowledgement.
When contacted for comment, The Scoop was sent the following statement on behalf of Donna Beckington, Head of the Global Opportunities team at Queen's University;
"The safety and well-being of students is Queen’s University’s first priority. In advance of international placements, every student is required to undertake a personal risk assessment in advance of approval to accept their international placement.
Queen’s offers a range of support to over 900 students who go on international programmes every year both before, during and after their time abroad.
International study and work placements are intended to provide unique development opportunities and experiences to help students in their future careers. We welcome feedback from all participants, which we use to inform future programmes."
The students who shared their stories, showed concerns for future students who might chose to go abroad and those that are currently away.
Nicola told us that Queen’s University “didn’t really seem to care” about her welfare. She went on to suggest that students are left to fend for themselves while away and that “the experience was okay, but Queen’s were useless.”
Amy, like Nicola felt that the university , “didn’t seem to care about how their students were coping abroad. We had monthly check-in Microsoft Forms to complete where we could give feedback but to my knowledge none of my suggestions were ever taken on board.”
Victoria showed concern for students currently abroad saying, “I hope people are okay... I think the university also have responsibility to look after their students and care for their students too.”
Sara told us, “I know a lot of people in our course feel like there’s not enough being done and it’s a huge disappointment especially considering it’s one of the biggest attractions to studying a language at university level.”
After Bea’s experience she had this advice to give, “I would 100% say to anyone…if it is not compulsory do not do it, because I know so many people who have had this terrible experience.”
Nicola’s final remarks to The Scoop was quite damning, “I would have been better going on a travel company [than Queen’s] and getting scammed out of money.”
If you have information that relates to this story that you would like to share contact thescoop@queensradio.com
Additional reporting by Amy Clements
Featured image courtesy of Alexander Grey via Unsplash
Abby Davidson is Deputy Head of The Scoop and is a Liberal Arts student at Queen’s University Belfast