The British Council joined the British Embassy Manila and UKEAS Philippines at the ‘Supporting International Students in the UK’ webinar on 16 April. Speakers from the UK and the Philippines shared information on some of the support provided to international students in the UK during the Covid-19 crisis.
Professor Raouf Naguib of Liverpool Hope University shared how they have responded to the crisis: face-to-face classes in Hope have ended and teaching has moved online. According to Professor Naguib, it was a straightforward transition as digital delivery of teaching has been a practice in the university.
While face-to-face instruction has ended, all services for students remain open in Hope. These include academic writing support offered by peer writing mentors that students can access online through the university library and services of the Office for Student Development & Well-being such as counselling and well-being consultation conducted via phone, email and video conferencing channels.
Timothy Chu, scholar of the British Council and the Commission on Higher Education, and Alexander Abad, scholar of the Department of Science and Technology, also spoke at the webinar about their experiences as international students in the UK. Both Chu and Abad are students in Hope.
Minister of State for Universities Michelle Donelan sent a letter to universities urging them to look after the needs, including mental health, of all students who remain at university accommodations—which includes a huge number of international students who decided to stay in the UK or were unable to travel back to their homes. The UK government recently announced a £5M-grant for mental health for people who require this support, including students.
This webinar is the first of a series of sessions that will be delivered in April and May. Other sessions will cover topics on visa eligibilities and accessing affordable UK higher education. To learn more about future webinars, enquiries may be sent to UKEAS at manila@ukeas.ph. A copy of the presentation may also be accessed from the downloads section below.