The UCFL Year Abroad Special Interest Group was created in recognition of the challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic poses for international travel, and worked to secure alternative, interim arrangements to enable students whose degrees include an integral year abroad with a Modern Language to continue their linguistic progress and sustain skills and knowledge development to an advanced level. It now also addresses the challenges for student mobility posed by Brexit, with the introduction of visas for study and work placements in European countries, and the withdrawal from Erasmus+.
The Chair liaises regularly with the British Council and Universities UK International to ensure a coordinated approach in line with the relevant national agencies, including the national directors of the Turing Scheme. Technical and legal/regulatory issues pertaining to fees, funding, insurance are also being integrated into the Year Abroad planning by the UCFL YA SIG Chair. Programme Leads in Modern Languages at each University will find supporting guidance from the Chair of the UCFL Year Abroad SIG.
- Turing Scheme
- Taith Exchange Scheme (Wales)
- UUKi Spreadsheet on Post-Brexit Immigration Rules
- Erasmus+
- Erasmus+ FAQs
- British Council
- The theme of a 2019 issue of the European Journal of Language Policy was ‘Languages and international virtual exchange’. The articles, including the Open Access introduction, and can be read here.
- Universities UK International (UUKi)
- The 2019 issue of The Language Scholar focused on the year abroad and can be read here.