Accessing support whilst abroad: a student’s perspective.

Name: Daniel Estell

School: English, Communication and Philosophy

Global Opportunity: Semester Abroad

If you are a student who has accessed additional support whilst at Cardiff, you may be wondering how this will translate to your time abroad. As a student with medical needs, one of my biggest concerns prior to moving abroad was whether I’d be able to access the same support that I’d become accustomed to – in the end, I didn’t need to worry! Read on to find out more…

Accessing Reasonable Adjustments

Throughout my education, I’ve become accustomed to various reasonable adjustments to support me with my medical needs – namely, extra time and a laptop in exams, and access to lecture/seminar recordings. Naturally, I felt anxious about whether my host institution, University College Dublin in Ireland, would be able to meet my needs – but I was able to arrange a meeting with a disability advisor a few months before my departure. The advisor updated my new student profile at UCD, informed my new lecturers of my needs, and ensured that my accommodation provider was prepared for my arrival. The biggest piece of advice I can give is don’t leave it too late – if you are unsure who to contact at your host institution, try asking the Global Opportunities team at Cardiff for support, or look on your host’s website for a general enquiries email or phone number. Remember that the earlier you make that initial contact, the higher likelihood that your host institution will be able to put everything in place prior to your arrival.

Another thing to bear in mind is that your host institution might not offer the same levels of support that Cardiff provides. For example, the disability advisor at UCD informed me that Irish universities don’t typically have the facility to record lectures – this was a shock coming from Cardiff, where lectures are automatically recorded, but I worked with the disability advisor to find a solution using software on my laptop. The advisor also asked my new lecturers to email the PowerPoint slides to me before every lecture, which helped massively! Extra time provisions were also slightly different – I was allocated 10 minutes for every hour, instead of the 15 minutes for every hour that Cardiff provides. Although these differences might sound minor, it’s worth planning in advance to ensure that you don’t have any awkward surprises after you land!

General Support

Lastly, if you remember one thing from this blog, let it be this – you are still a Cardiff student whilst abroad! Ensure that you check your Cardiff emails once every few days whilst abroad (or better yet, download the Outlook app onto your phone), and keep in touch with your personal tutor and the Global Opportunities team. For example, I had a slight academic concern whilst I was abroad, and I contacted my personal tutor here at Cardiff who arranged a Teams meeting to address my issue. After a short chat, my issue was resolved, and I left the call feeling a lot more confident and relaxed. Long story short, remember to use all of the support that is available to you (don’t struggle alone!) – the staff at Cardiff and at your host institution want you to succeed, and want to ensure that you get the most out of your time abroad!