Engaging guest speaker visits history and politics students at Alton College

Students from Alton College (@Be_HSDC) were recently visited by Dr Ed Stoddard, an Associate Professor in International Security at the University of Portsmouth.

Dr. Stoddard gave a number of eager students an insight into what it would be like to study Politics, International Relations, and Internal Development at the University of Portsmouth in the form of a taster lecture.

A range of topics were covered including humanitarian intervention and sovereignty, which enabled students to build on their current knowledge whilst developing further. Students were also encouraged to debate topics posed by Dr. Stoddard with the rest of the group which enabled the students to hear various different perspectives on the subjects discussed.

Dr. Stoddard also explained to the students what they could expect if they progressed to the University of Portsmouth after the completion of their college studies. This included detailing enrichment programmes such as an NGO workshop alongside guest lectures, placement opportunities and connections within the industry.  

Dr. Ed Stoddard said:

“It was really great to meet the students from Alton College. We had some excellent discussions about the topic of humanitarian intervention and I enjoyed our wider conversation on what to look out for in courses on Politics and International Relations at university. 

The students seemed really engaged and I very much hope we might see some of them at the University of Portsmouth in the future. I am sure they all have very bright futures ahead of them whatever they choose for their next steps after Alton College.”

Teacher of History Stef Harvey added:

“Students were engaged and really enjoyed hearing about international relations whilst getting to discuss differing approaches and factors behind international conflict and the topical issue of sovereignty, as defined by the UN. 

Students were also able to hear what it might be like to be a student at the University of Portsmouth and beyond, encouraging them to think about career opportunities within Politics and International Relations, as well as progressing to Higher Education. 

It’s great to be able to extend extracurricular activities as part of our offer for Politics and History students and encouraging students to think about their next steps.”

For more information on studying Politics or similar courses at Alton College, visit our course finder at hsdc.ac.uk