The qualifying social work team are delighted to announce that five undergraduate social work students have been successfully awarded Global Horizon Funding to undertake a four week placement visit to Medellin, Colombia.

As part of the BU International Taskforce, Social Work Framework Leader, Jill Davey, visited EAFIT University, Colombia, and established a link with the Social Work Department to secure reciprocal placement exchanges between social work programmes delivered by BU University and EAFIT University, Colombia.

BA (Hons) Social Work students, Karen Sampson, Gemma Chiverton, Georgia Foy, Cassie Dando and Michelle Lillywhite, all secured funding from Global Horizon, and will each receive £1,500 to go towards flights and accommodation.

Whilst there, the students will be taught by academics from the Social Work Department at the university, and will undertake work placements. The type of placements students can undertake include visiting housing projects half way up the Andes, forest projects, drug and alcohol rehabilitation projects, and projects which work towards getting women off the streets.

Michelle, one of the students, said,

“At BU we are taught to understand and appreciate the complexities of the lives of vulnerable people that we aim to be working with. This opportunity allows us a unique perspective to engage with a different culture where poverty has different implications in everyday life. As an experience it will be equally valuable and exciting!”