Students embark on HSDC’s first Indian adventure after another successful Turing bid

A group of outstanding students from both Alton College (@Be_HSDC) and HSDC’s South Downs Campus were given the opportunity of a lifetime to visit India on a fully funded trip.

Sixteen students from Sports and Film and TV courses took part in a once-in-a-lifetime trip funded by the Turing Scheme, which aims to expand the educational footprint in and out of the UK by enabling students to experience very intense and fully immersive educational experiences abroad.

The 18-day trip consisted of a busy itinerary which included lots of sporting activities such as swimming, badminton, and a visit to a cricket ground alongside a session on sports journalism. The trip also aimed to inspire a team of sports students to follow a coaching programme which would later allow them to teach local children.  

During the trip, students were also welcomed by Kapil Dev, the Indian cricket legend. Mr. Dev took the time to listen to HSDC students’ experiences in India so far and encouraged them to explore the richness of Indian culture. The students found Mr. Dev to be inspiring and humble. 

Film and TV students were also able to put their skills to the test as they captured the whole experience on camera, with the aim of creating a short documentary for others to enjoy.

Aaron Butson, Assistant Principal Business, Employment & Skills, said:

“The recent trip to India was the 4th Turing Scheme mobility HSDC has done since 2022. This was our first trip to India. 

This was a truly moving experience for the students, staff and Indian partners as friendships were formed over the 18-day trip. 

Our partners, the Manav Rachna Educational Institution, named this project Bond Beyond Borders and the partnership that has been formed has certainly lived up to that billing.

We aimed to inspire a team of sports students to follow a coaching programme and then take these skills into the local community and coach local children. They did this with total professionalism and commitment and were a real credit to HSDC. All the staff are so proud of them for representing the UK, HSDC and themselves so brilliantly. Thankfully the whole experience has been captured by our media team of students who are producing a short documentary.

HSDC will continue to develop innovative programmes through the Turing Scheme to enable all our students to have the opportunity to experience something on this level.” 

Charlotte Chisholm, Teacher of Media who was one of the staff members on the trip added:

“This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip, and we were so well looked after by our hosts from Manav Rachna University.

The itinerary was prepared full of brilliant experiences which really opened our eyes to the culture. Our students were excellent ambassadors for HSDC and have gained a huge amount from their time in India.”

HSDC’s Turing Coordinator Julio Carrillo added:

“We aim to radically transform participants’ mentality, expand their educational ambitions and help them to discover the world around them and some of these learners would not be able to study abroad if it wasn’t for Turing’s support.”

The Turing scheme gives students the unique opportunity to live and work abroad and enables each individual to gain invaluable skills and to aid development, both personally and professionally and we cannot wait for the next Turing-funded trip.