What inspired you to work for Immerse Education?
I was attracted Immerse's brand, manifesto, and focus on academic excellence. Having worked for many years in the recruitment industry and more recently as a teacher, the role of staff recruitment coordinator seemed a perfect fit and allowed me to draw on my experience working within talent acquisition and as an educational professional.
Describe a typical day at work.
There is no typical day at work for me at Immerse. It also depends very much on the time of year and what the most pressing projects and requirements are. I spend a lot of my time meeting and interviewing exceptional educational professionals from top universities and telling them about the amazing programme offerings at Immerse!
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of the job is meeting the amazing tutors that work with Immerse and learning about the fascinating things that they do and have dedicated their professional lives to. Given the diversity of the programmes that Immerse offers, I could be speaking to a neuroscientist one day and an art historian the next!
Enjoying the paragliders from the safety of the ground.
What advice would you tell your pre-travel self?
Always try to get some travel tips from a friend or contact who has traveled to (or ideally lived in) the destination you're traveling to! Don't worry too much about things you might need or are forgetting. Just make sure you have all the essentials: phone charger, adaptor, backpack, water bottle, sun cream and passport!
What makes Immerse Education special?
There are a number of things that make Immerse special but the thing I like the most is the sheer diversity of our participant base. This year we had students join our residential programmes from over 100 different countries around the world, giving each of them the opportunity to meet someone who they wouldn't have the opportunity to meet in most other walks of life. That's really special.
Why should someone choose Immerse over competitors?
At Immerse, we are committed to the highest standard of education. Our programs are unique in their focus on academia as well as stimulating our participant’s interests in their chosen subjects. We aim to ensure that everyone leaves our programs with new insight and interest and the ability to plan the next stages of their education.
What hopes do you have for the future for Immerse Education?
I really hope we have the opportunity to spread our brand into numerous different locations around the world, giving the opportunity to as many young learners as possible the access to the amazing programs that Immerse is able to offer. I hope we continue to expand our subject offerings so students are able to pursue education that is aligned to their passions and interests.
Snorkeling in Croatia.
What is your organization’s mission and how do you continue to work toward it?
Immerse Education was founded in 2012 with the aim of providing students aged 13-18 with unparalleled educational experiences. We have educated thousands of students through our exceptional academic enrichment programs in the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge University, University College London and the University of Sydney. My role within that is to ensure we hire the best possible academic and pastoral staff to carry out the mission.
What do you hope participants take away from your programs?
Immerse's academic and career focussed programs are more than just lessons with a tutor in a classroom. We aim to provide exceptional learning experiences.
Students will be introduced to new concepts, ways of working and be given the opportunities to share ideas with like-minded peers whilst being guided by expert tutors from the world's leading universities including Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard.
If you could participate on one of your organization's programs, where would you go and what would you do?
It's so hard to choose. I have the opportunity to meet all of our tutors, as such I know how amazing the courses that they design and deliver can be - only being allowed to choose one makes it extremely difficult! However knowing the importance of the future of technology I'd probably choose Artificial intelligence.
Why is it important for people to travel abroad and experience new cultures?
Experiencing different cultures and destinations through travel allows you exposure to people, places and communities other than your own. It can give a cultural awareness and acceptance, which helps pull down barriers whilst learning and interacting with people from different backgrounds. Travel broadens the mind!
Cycling through the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
Why do you think learning a new language is important?
There are a number of reasons, apart from the obvious benefits of being able to communicate with a wider group of people giving opportunities to learn about cultures and ways of life different from your own. I believe the process of self improvement and learning a new skill can have great benefits for confidence and self esteem.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Meaningful travel means widening your perspective of the world through the places you see, experiences you gain and the people that you meet. It is not only about seeing new places but educating yourself on the world and the people around you. Search for fascinating facts to enrich your mind, learn about other cultures, make new friends, and you'll improve yourself as a person!
How is your company handling Covid protocols? What should participants know about your Covid readiness? How are you assisting participants with navigating the new travel landscape?
The safety and wellbeing of our staff and participants is our highest priority. We are constantly monitoring the latest advice and acting in accordance with this to complement our existing set of robust policies and procedures to ensure participant welfare. The following points will give you an idea of the measurements we have in place for the residential program.
Face masks are available to all students and staff.
The college does regular deep cleaning of social spaces.
Hand sanitizer available across campuses.
In the event of a positive test, we will follow the steps advised by the UK government:
Mandatory quarantine in a bedroom.
All meals delivered to the bedroom.
Immediate quarantine and testing of others who have been in contact with the person.
Anyone who returns a negative test will not have to continue quarantine.
We also have established relationships with local health care professionals in addition to access to world-leading hospitals and health advice.
