In October 2015, Global BU’s ambitions were laid out in the Global Engagement Plan, following a development process in line with our BU2018 objectives with staff, students and external stakeholders to create a holistic plan for our global offer. 

Shortlisted by the Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards (THELMAs) in the ‘Outstanding International Strategy’ category, the plan set out how the university’s vision of Fusion was to resonate around the world. Dr Sonal Minocha, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Global Engagement, says: “It is our mission that Global BU becomes synonymous with developing global talent, driving global thinking and delivering global traction for Bournemouth University. The first full year of the Global Engagement Plan has been a real success, from the pilot of our Global Talent Programme to the first Global Festival of Learning events in China and Malaysia respectively, this year has been the first step on what I am sure will be a long and successful path towards increasing BU’s standing across the world.”

Festival of Learning

This year BU’s Festival of Learning went global, with events taking place in China and Malaysia at the same time as the festival in Bournemouth. 

Over 50 students and staff from BU hosted and supported parallel events in China and Malaysia with academics from both universities sharing knowledge and presenting research for the benefit of those listening in. Sessions included research into news websites in China and the UK, an event about tax planning, and a talk on new developments in orthopaedic surgery. 

BU Global Hubs take off in ASEAN, China and India

Three Global Hubs of Practice have been launched at BU, creating an international network of partners and collaborators connected to business, government, community and academia.

The network has combined access to BU education, research and practice in a subject-specific or regional context and will develop local talent to shape local futures in a global economy.

The Connect India Hub has already driven projects like Aftershock Nepal and Project India, while the China Innovation Hub, dedicated to China’s ambition to be a world-leading innovation economy by 2020, has been supported by key partners such as Sias International University in Zhengzhou, China. 

The ASEAN Hub aims to deliver a range of capacity and capability building programmes in the ASEAN region; most recently hosting the first Global Festival of Learning with over 400 staff, students and employers in attendance.

Our Global Fusion

China Football Study Programme

Sixty coaches from different schools and colleges across China took part in the BU China Football Study Programme, a new initiative in collaboration with our partner AFC Bournemouth.

Aftershock Nepal crisis journalism project

For a year after the devastating 2015 earthquake in Nepal, students from BU, alongside students from India and Nepal, were stationed in a news bureau in Kathmandu, reporting on the disaster’s aftermath. Their aim was to challenge traditional crisis journalism by capturing the voices of Nepalese people as they dealt with loss, recovery and life after the earthquake.

The project, a flagship project for the BU’s Connect India hub, was run in partnership with universities in India and Nepal.

Students travelled to earthquake-affected areas in Nepal, gathering stories from far-flung places, rarely accessible to journalists reporting during a moment of crisis. The team then shared these stories via a dedicated Aftershock Nepal website, Facebook page, Instagram page and Twitter account.

The project was led by BU’s Dr Chindu Sreedharan, a Senior Lecturer in Journalism and Communication and former journalist. “Media attention in a crisis situation tends to be very quick, but also goes away quickly,” he says. “Through Aftershock Nepal, we wanted to look at the bigger picture and tell the stories of ordinary Nepalese people as they dealt with the aftermath. We felt there was a gap in reporting, which we could fill.

“Over a period of months, we tried to provide the world with a rich and complex picture of what is happening in Nepal through our version of humanitarian journalism.”

Naomi Mihara, an MA Multimedia Journalism graduate who spent two months in Nepal as reporter, desk editor and video producer, says: “As a journalism student with an interest in reporting from developing countries, it seemed like the perfect chance to bring together my interests and practical experience.”