Information for Parents and Supporters

If your son/daughter is considering one of our global opportunities, we have created this webpage to help you feel confident in their decision.

Sending your son/daughter off overseas can be daunting. An overseas exchange, work or voluntary programme might be the first time they've traveled abroad without you, or it might be the first time they've been overseas at all.

If you have any questions about the different global opportunities available, you should encourage your son/daughter to contact us.

Going abroad is an empowering experience that should be embraced by students in every aspect – from initial enquiry, through to choosing a destination and getting on the plane.

The Global Opportunities Team exists to offer support and guidance to students throughout this exciting journey. However, it’s important for everyone involved to remember that this is a partnership and the team can only fulfil their duties if everyone has played their part. Ultimately, we want all our students to have a fantastic time abroad and we will always do our best to help.

The topics below are the most common worries that we find parents/supporters communicate through their son or daughter. We hope that by providing this detailed information it will help you to feel confident in their decision to participate in this life-enriching experience.

It is important to remember that the University is an adult learning environment. Under Data Protection Law, we cannot give out information to you (or any third parties) about your son or daughter. If you are very worried, you can call and give us information about your concerns and we will respond accordingly but please be aware that we won’t, however, be able to discuss how we will respond.

Please consult the University of Liverpool’s Guide for Parents & Supporters for further information.

    Support from the Global Opportunities Team

    The Global Opportunities Team at Liverpool provides a range of services to support students before, during and after their time abroad.

    Every member of the Team has had personal experience studying abroad. As such, we understand completely and can relate to pretty much everything a student may encounter throughout their experience abroad! We aim to help and provide assistance by offering a number of services including:

    • Global Opportunities Fair and information sessions
    • Drop-in sessions
    • Global Connect meetings
    • Mandatory pre-application and pre-departure briefings
    • Handbooks
    • Online Tool Kit
    • Skype meetings
    • Pastoral support
    • Administrative support
    • Welcome back and career development events

    Students can of course contact the Team via telephone and email, but we hope that by providing the services above our students will get the majority of information they need to have a successful time abroad.

    International SOS

    The University of Liverpool has partnered with International SOS so that all of our students who are abroad on University business can access 24/7, 365 day-a-year support. International SOS can provide a wide range of support to students who might find themselves in difficulty whilst abroad, including (but not limited to):

    • Medical advice and helping to make follow-up appointments where necessary
    • Liasing with the University's insurance provider to ensure students don't pay up-front costs
    • Day-to-day assistance including pre-departure advice, destination information and practical help if, for example, a student finds themselves lost in a new city
    • Telephone counselling

    International SOS will always liaise with the University too, so that all parties are kept in the loop but students don't have to keep relaying the same information to different people.

    Please encourage your student to download the International SOS app before they go abroad!

    Expectations for students

    The Global Opportunities Team is here help facilitate the study abroad journey for over 400 students each year. As such, students are expected to take ownership and responsibility for their personal experience.

    Unfortunately, every year a minority of students encounter difficulties as a result of not reading information or responding to deadlines. We have listed the support the team provides above however in order to ensure that the your experience abroad is as transformative as possible, students should:

    • Read all material and information given by the Global Opportunities Team and academic departments
    • Attend compulsory pre-application and pre-departure briefings
    • Regularly check University of Liverpool email accounts and Mobility Online
    • Read and respond to all information sent by the host university
    • Communicate with members of University of Liverpool staff and members of staff at partner universities in a polite and appropriate manner
    Visa/Study Permit

    Students studying abroad may require a visa or study permit. This will depend entirely on the country where the student is studying and for how long they are studying in the host country.

    The Global Opportunities Team does not have expertise in international visas and study permits, however, students will be contacted by their host university with full details regarding visas/study permits if necessary. If your son/daughter has any queries or issues regarding visas or study permits they should:

    • Check the visa section on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for the relevant country: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
    • Contact their host university for advice
    • If necessary, contact the relevant consulates/embassies/government authorities of the host country
    Mobility Online

    Mobility Online is an online system that guides students through their Global Opportunities journey. The key aspects of Mobility Online are:

    • Applications for all global opportunities are made through Mobility Online
    • Mobility Online shows all key actions the students need to complete in chronological order
    • Mobility Online provides all documentation relating to Global Opportunities which can be downloaded and uploaded via the system (for example, Erasmus+ learning agreement, course approval form)

    Whilst we send regular reminder emails about what students need to do, we require students to regularly login to Mobility Online to ensure that they have completed all their necessary actions.

    Accommodation

    Finding accommodation overseas is often the most stressful part of studying, working or volunteering abroad for both students and parents but is it all part of the experience! Accommodation at partner universities varies greatly. At some partner universities it is mandatory for students studying abroad to live on campus whereas other partners do not offer any university affiliated accommodation.

    Ultimately, finding accommodation overseas is the responsibility of the individual student, however students are assisted with the following:

    • The Global Opportunities Team provides general advice and guidance on finding accommodation. E.g. useful websites, scams to bear in mind, partner university details, opportunities to contact students who have previously studied at the host university
    • All students will be contacted by their host university with information about finding accommodation including on and/or off campus housing 

    It is very common for students to arrive in their host country without having previously arranged accommodation. For this reason we always encourage students in this situation to arrive well before orientation in order to give them time to look for suitable accommodation. 

    Module Choices

    A fantastic advantage to studying abroad is the fact that students have the opportunity to expand their academic horizons and study modules different to those offered here at Liverpool.

    Students are therefore required to choose modules to study at their host university. This is done with the approval of their departmental Academic Global Opportunities Coordinator. Our academic colleagues carefully match each academic programme to ensure that there are enough relevant and appropriate modules at our partner universities.

    When choosing modules our academic colleagues will assist students with their choices and direct them to sign-up for:

    • Equivalents at the partner university for any mandatory University of Liverpool modules
    • A number of options at the partner university, as students may not always be allocated their first choice modules, so it is important to be flexible and open-minded regarding modules

    Sometimes for reasons beyond our control the curriculum at the partner university can change. This can result in certain modules not being available which might require either:

    1. Having fewer choices of modules on return to Liverpool in order to make-up for missed content
    2. The student deciding whether the mobility is still the right option for them academically