More than 30 young people from 16 different countries will arrive in Aberdeen on Sunday (21 March) as part of a UK-wide campaign to help young people from around the world discover what life and study in the UK is really like.
The University of Aberdeen is one of just three academic institutions chosen to host the Real UK tour - a global campaign from the British Council, the UK's organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. Competition winners aged 16-18 are in the UK for a two-week 'trip of a lifetime', taking in the best of UK education, culture, business and lifestyle.
The visit to the University of Aberdeen will start on Sunday, when Lord Provost John Reynolds hosts a welcome reception at the Town House. A ceilidh, visits to the University's Oceanlab and BP's Dyce office are also included in their two-day visit to the City.
The University of Aberdeen has a long tradition of welcoming students from all over the world - around 14% of its 13,000 students come from 120 nations. The visitors will also have the opportunity to meet with international students already studying at the University.
Professor The Lord Sewel, Senior Vice Principal of the University of Aberdeen, said: "We are delighted that the University of Aberdeen has been chosen to host the Real UK students' visit to Scotland. We hope that our whistle-stop tour of the City will give the students an insight into life as an international student here."
With more than 900 overseas school pupils in Aberdeen alone, the City and wider region plays home to pupils and students from more than 70 places of origin, speaking more than 70 different mother tongues. Every international student contributes £16,000 on average to Scotland's economy each year, and this year, Aberdeen's international Higher Education students have contributed £36,656,000 to the City's economy.
Scottish Enterprise Grampian is sponsoring the visit. Gail Smillie, manager organisational learning, Scottish Enterprise said: "Aberdeen's excellent reputation as a focus for learning, research, and development coupled with the attraction of the city itself and the surrounding countryside has always made it a popular choice with students both from the UK and overseas, however graduate retention can sometimes be a problem. We're hoping to find out from the students on the Real UK tour what their first impressions are of the city so that we feed it into a wider study we are undertaking which will help create an even greater talent base within the region."
The British Council's campaign, now in its second year, aims to make young people aware of the full range of opportunities available to students in the UK - from the quality of education to the non-academic opportunities. Thousands of international students choose to come to the UK every year - enriching UK campuses and allowing the UK to develop long-term trade, political and cultural links overseas.
Mark Simmons, Market Development Manager for British Council Scotland said: "This is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate how much Scotland has to offer from an academic, cultural and social perspective. The University has created a varied and exciting programme of events which will demonstrate not only the renowned quality of teaching which is available, but also the benefits of living and learning in a place with a long and rich history of innovation and achievement."
The campaign is supported by some of the biggest names in sport, business, music, entertainment, design and technology, including Arsenal FC, Bentley Motors, Jimmy Choo, Eidos, Everton FC, Sir Alex Ferguson, Foster and Partners, Groove Armada, Denise Lewis OBE, Liverpool FC, Sir Cameron Mackintosh and Sir Terence Conran.