Bath Spa University students go to Ghana thanks to new partnership with international volunteering charity Project Trust

Bath Spa University and international volunteering charity, Project Trust, are excited to announce a new partnership that is providing work experience opportunities for the University’s School of Education students.

Project Trust has more than 50 years’ experience in providing ethical, international volunteering placements for young people. In 2022, it helped BA (Hons) Education Studies student Jasmine Raymond-Barker to complete a virtual placement for her second year module, ‘Professional Practice in Schools’.

Jasmine engaged online over the course of nine weeks with two long-term Project Trust volunteers in Ghana, comparing and contrasting the UK and Ghanaian educational systems. She described her experience as ‘enriching and eye-opening’, and commented on how the ‘virtual arrangement presented an opportunity that would not otherwise have been available’ to her. 

Reflecting on her experience, Jasmine said that her degree had prepared her really well to understand education across unique contexts.

Following in Jasmine’s footsteps, two second-year BA Education Studies students also recently embarked on their summer placements in Ghana. Michelle Xue and Bethany Bales worked in partnership with students and teachers at Ghana’s Agorveme MA Basic School. They joined current Project Trust volunteers who arrived in November 2021.

Jenny Hatley, Programme Leader in Education and Childhood Studies at Bath Spa University said:

“We are delighted to have partnered with Project Trust. Using their expertise they have matched our students with placements in Ghana and I am confident that this experience will prove to be invaluable for all involved.

“Through this partnership our students have been able to use the knowledge they have developed in their degrees, to support volunteers and local students with their education. We look forward to nurturing and expanding this partnership to offer more students a global outlook on education.”

Project Trust CEO, Ingrid Emerson MBE, added:

“We are thrilled about this innovative partnership with Bath Spa University. Since extending our age range up to 25 in 2019, we have had some exceptional student and graduate Volunteers represent us all over the world.

“We strive to offer Project Trust opportunities to anyone who has the desire, motivation and aptitude to realise their potential. We are delighted that our virtual offering has meant that those who aren’t able to undertake an international placement can still gain a global perspective on education.

“We look forward to continuing our work with Bath Spa University in the coming academic year.”

Bath Spa University has been inspiring students, teachers and other education professionals since 1946. Its dynamic range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees encourage individuals to make a positive impact for good, and prepare them to be active and thoughtful citizens. You can find out more about the University’s School of Education on its website.

Project Trust is an innovative youth development and education charity providing long-term overseas volunteering placements for 17 – 25 year olds. You can find out more at www.projecttrust.org.uk.