Tuesday 11th May saw The University of Wales, Newport host a dinner to celebrate two years since the inception of the Welsh International Study Centre. The WISC, run by world leaders in international education Study Group, is based at the University of Wales, Newport’s Caerleon Campus.

Attending the event were the university’s Vice Chancellor, Dr. Peter Noyes; the Director of Higher Education Wales, Amanda Wilkinson; Arvid Peteresen, Global Executive Chairman of Study Group as well as a range of past and present students at the centre.

168 students have enrolled at the centre since it opened two years ago with two routes into undergraduate study available to them, one for students of law and business the other designed for students of future engineering and science. Last year sixty students progressed from the WISC into universities in Wales, including Cardiff and Aberystwyth.

Vice Chancellor, Dr. Peter Noyes said at the event: “International students bring different cultures and different ways of learning to our campus and we’ve had overwhelmingly positive feedback from all of our students. The Students’ Union has started social clubs to appeal to our international students and welcome them to the university. We want to achieve the right mix of students here and we value the two-way benefit that currently exists between UK and international students. We’re currently satisfied with a 10-15% internationalisation of the student population.”

Dr Noyes also believed that international students represent a positive future for Wales saying that many of these students would go on to be heads of industry in their countries and a are therefore an essential business prospects for Welsh industry.

The event was a joint celebration of two years of the WISC and a thank you to Study Group , the organisation responsible for running the WISC. Arvid Peterson, Global Executive Chairman of the leading international education provider said: “We’ve found on a global basis that the recipe for International Study Centre success is to encourage a diversity of nationalities, there are around 23 at the WISC at the moment, to study numerous disciplines. The WISC fully immerses its students treating them as members of the university from day one. This allows them the best possible preparation for their future undergraduate and postgraduate courses.”

One such student at the WISC is 19-year-old Raisa Mia from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Raisa described how she had always wanted to study law, ever since she was a child. She is currently studying a business foundation degree and has just been offered a conditional place at Cardiff Law School. Describing her time at the WISC, Raisa said: I’m the only Malaysian at the WISC but it hasn’t stopped the feeling of extended family that I have become accustomed to. All the teachers act as personal mentors as well which makes it really easy to settle in and progress with your studies.”

The WISC is one of twelve successful ISCs located on campuses across the UK.