Why global engagement sparks transformation, confidence, and curiosity

Last year,  I watched a handful of learners present to governors about their experiences abroad. One Level 2 Health and Social Care learner, who had never owned a passport or flown before, was asked: “What have you gained now that you did not possess before?” Her response was simple, powerful, and unforgettable. “DREAMS.” No PowerPoint slide could have topped that.

It speaks directly to the profound and wide-ranging benefits that comes with embedding internationalisation, not just for a college as an institution, but for the learners themselves. At Coleg Cambria, global engagement has become a catalyst for transformation, confidence, and curiosity.

Our international projects have fostered global citizenship, broadened aspirations, and strengthened learners’ passion for social responsibility. Along the way, our learners didn’t just visit another country, they discovered new versions of themselves.

One project alone enabled us to fundraise enough to build seven new toilets for female learners in a supported school in Arusha, Tanzania. Our commitment didn’t stop there; we continue to support the school and the local community through ongoing fundraising activities across Wales and beyond. 

• 15 childcare learners went to work in Montessori nurseries in Sissonne, France to gain a heightened awareness to improve the Flying Start initiative across Wales.  
• 30 esports/ digital media learners went to Barcelona, Spain to work in industry partners for two week placements researching ways to assist the Welsh digital strategy as it is a priority skills sector.
• 30 sports learners worked in in girls' sports clubs in Pistoia, Italy for two weeks, looking at enhancing opportunities for women into sport, achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls .  
• 20 health and social care learners flew to Vietnam to work with local primary schools, a social support centre for women and orphanages to look at social, educational and economic inequalities.
• 15 media learners documented educational inequalities for their end-point assessment in Cambodia working with a local primary school. The aim was to enrich our learners' curriculum, but also for the Cambodia educational organisation to gain funding.

Over the past two years:

• 240 learners have taken part in international mobility
• 64 learners had never travelled before or left Wales
• 68 learners from low-income households accessed the college financial contingency fund
• 48 learners with an IDP/EHCP and considered neurodivergent participated in mobilities
• 43 staff members returned to Wales inspired, energised, and ready to design bold, innovative curriculum.

These aren’t just statistics; they’re stories of first flights, first stamps in passports, first moments of “I can do this.” Our goal with every mobility is simple: bring the skills, knowledge, and inspiration back to our learners, and let it ripple outward.

Learners gain invaluable intercultural competence; the ability to understand, collaborate with, and learn from people with different lived experiences. Employers value this. Communities benefit from it. Learners carry it for life. And the impact doesn’t end with those who travel.  

Following our mobilities, we established a community hub at our Deeside campus, designed to ensure that every voice in our local community feels valued and heard. We are passionate about building community cohesion across North Wales, proving that international experiences don’t pull us away from home, they strengthen it. Our equality objectives sit at the heart of every opportunity:

• Eliminating inequality caused by poverty
• Putting learners with protected characteristics at the heart of selection
• Embedding the social model of disability
• Creating a fair gender balance across learners and staff

Opportunity should never depend on postcode, bank balance, or confidence level on day one.

Through the community hub at Deeside and an exciting new collaboration with Paris Saint-Germain Football Academy, we’re using the energy of international engagement to strengthen local pride and ambition. Global lessons are being translated into local opportunities, ensuring everyone shares the benefits.

Ultimately, embedding internationalisation into the curriculum isn’t about travel for travel’s sake. It’s about creating outward-looking, skilled, socially conscious citizens who believe their future is bigger than they once imagined.

And sometimes, it starts with a learner who had never flown before, discovering that the most important thing they brought home wasn’t a souvenir, but dreams.

Lisa Radcliffe is the Assistant Principal for Technical Studies at Coleg Cambria ( Deeside Campus)