• “Graduates face increasing competition when entering the labour market.” (UUK, 2017)
• Outward mobility gives students life-changing experiences and contributes to graduates’ skills and collaborative opportunities beyond the traditional academic outcomes a university offers (UUK, 2017).
• Taking part in this type of cultural immersion will no doubt aid aspects of personal employability. As competition in the current labour market heightens, graduates are required to call upon skills and attributes during recruitment processes. Having an ‘International Experience’ and being able to articulate the knowledge acquired will set you apart from other candidates.

Face to Face trips have run to:

• Pristina/Mitrovica, Kosovo
• Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
• Philadelphia, USA
• Nairobi, Kenya
• Hong Kong
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 

Students have supported the EAIE (European Association for International Education) conferences in:

• Helsinki, Finland
• Geneva, Switzerland 

To reflect circumstances with the Coronavirus pandemic the Global Leader Experiences moved online for 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Programmes were hosted by:

• The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) 
  - Guest speakers from the World Health Organisation
  - Modules including Cyber Security, the Neoteric Diplomat and Science Diplomacy 
  - 
• Petrus Communications
  - Guest speakers from the British Council
  - Challenges include tackling loneliness
  
  
• Immersive Trails

Joe Burroughs - Global Leader Experience: Chicago

"About six months after our Global Leader Experience in Chicago, I interviewed for a summer internship at Accenture and they were really interested in my Common Purpose experience. Particularly, the project management and high pressure teamwork elements, which obviously transpose pretty well into the corporate world.

I talked a lot about how we were given a brief and had to come up with a pitch in a short amount of time, engaging with a variety of stakeholders, both participating and managing in a team as we went.

Also, they were particularly interested in the development/self-reflection that Common Purpose encouraged. Being able to talk about how I changed my leadership and teamwork styles over the course of the week, as I learnt and developed, was received very well.

I had very little other relevant work experience, and spent a good chunk of my HR interview talking about my Global Leader Experience, so it’s without doubt in my mind that the Chicago programme was pretty essential to my success.

My interviewer was Accenture’s lead for recruitment in the UK and Ireland, so I think there is a distinct appetite in the recruiting structures of firms such as Accenture for experiences such as Common Purpose that significantly distinguish applicants in these really competitive environments. If you treat the Global Leader Experience like a week working in one of these firms, then there is almost no experience-based interview question you couldn’t use the programme for."

Lily O’Neill - Global Leader Experience: Kosovo 

"I can safely say I have never experienced anything like it and can’t wait to get back out there! What an amazing group of people to meet and I really cannot imagine a better way to finish my time at Exeter, so my sincere thanks in making it happen!"

The Global Leaders Experience is now being organised by the Student Employability and Academic Success team, please visit the Career Zone website for information on how to apply!