International Family Network: University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow's International Student Support team applied to the Challenge Fund so they could provide services to the partners, spouses and families of their international students.

"It can be very isolating for the families of international students,” explained Avril MacGregor, International Student Adviser.

"We felt that support services that helped the families would prove to be useful for the students.

"Challenge Fund money allowed us to start up and try out all kinds of different events and activities which have created a lot of goodwill," said Avril. "The university is now assuming the ongoing cost of the programme.

"It's been well worth doing. The activities have created a family atmosphere which all our students find very welcoming and comfortable to be around."

Events and activities include:

Orientation Day

A morning of information for families about schools, health services and accommodation is followed by an afternoon tour of the campus.

"The tour helps break down barriers and removes any mystery about where their student spouses are all day," explained Avril.

Challenge Funds were also used to produce a leaflet about the day, which is sent to all international students before they arrive, helping families feel welcome before they even get to Scotland.

Language Classes, Employment Workshops & Resources

Challenge Fund money also enabled the team to offer Language Classes at two levels.

"Some of the partners and spouses have good English when they arrive and come to the classes to learn colloquialisms and to improve the little grammatical things," explained Avril. "But others are real beginners."

Seminars on CV and letter writing, and how to find employment are offered in collaboration with the university Careers Service.

"We bought two computers with the first round of Challenge Funding and our IT people have given the partners and spouses login access to the university network.

"People often come in early if there's a class or a lunch, to check their email or search for jobs on the computers.

"We also have magazine subscriptions and dictionaries, so the centre really has become a drop in centre where the families can find information, meet up and feel welcome."

Social Activities

Regular Weekly Lunches provide a relaxed environment for partners, spouses and their children to meet up.

"These are really lovely and really multi-cultural. We have people from Pakistan, India, China, Taiwan, Argentina, Chile, Russia..!

"Local ladies come too and all kinds of things happen as a result of the lunches. A huge amount of networking goes on."

Cultural Talks on topics such as Scottish music, and clans and tartans have proved popular, as have Coffee & Craft Workshops where the spouses can try out new skills such as quilting or gingerbread-making.

"We got a lot of requests for a trip to the Highlands, so we organised a long weekend which was just wonderful. We crammed in a lot and they loved it."

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