Transcript for the video embedded on the University of Leeds Strategy 2020-2030 page.
[Music playing. University of Leeds logo appears on the screen.]
[Views of the University of Leeds campus. The Clothworkers’ Court gates open. A student walks through a green space on campus.]
[Professor Hai-Sui Yu sits before the camera. A caption says: Professor Hai-Sui Yu. Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Leeds.]
Hai-Sui says: We are a truly international community of students, staff, alumni, and partners. As an international university, I think it's vital for us to foster and embed an international mindset across the University in all that we do. That's why we provide our students and staff with ample opportunities to gain international perspectives. In fact, more than 30% of our students will spend some time overseas while they study with us in Leeds.
[Roland Maposa sits down in a workshop and smiles into the camera. A caption says: Roland Maposa, Postgraduate Research Student.]
Roland says: I'm working on a topic, which is International business theory and policy, and how they impact inclusive economic growth and sustainable development. And so what this argues is for the inclusion of everybody within a society and the growth of an economy.
[Views of rivers running through a forest and a busy street in the Global South.]
Roland says: What I knew before I came was that the University had one of the largest offers for international opportunities. So in my first year, I was fortunate enough to go on the Leeds to New York leadership programme. Second year, I did a summer school to China. It was about doing business in China and ask what are these sort of cultural nuances? Third year, we were out in Beijing. And then for my Masters, I was fortunate to be on the inaugural study tour to Switzerland. What the international opportunity does is it opens you to the different perspectives. And I think that is a place of empowerment. You can see a different angle to a solution in any issue. It's priceless.
[Joceline Jamajaya sits down in a bright and spacious communal study area. A caption says: Joceline Kamajaya, Student and intercultural ambassador.]
Joceline says: When I first arrived here, I was really nervous on being alone, really, or not fitting in. But then I remembered I went on campus and I just saw so many students, so many cultural groups as well. I found it really easy to make a lot of friends. A lot of them I met through my course, but a lot of them I met through different societies and activities as well. I was really excited to become an intercultural ambassador because it meant that I was able to work in a team with a lot of international and local students. And our purpose was to plan an event that would bring an intercultural perspective that would be known towards other students in the University. It's just very welcoming for international students, and I can really say that Leeds feels like home now.
[Views of rain forests, rivers and international communities. A road with a sign that says: You are now crossing the Equator, Jambo, Kenya, alt 2130.]
Hai-Sui says: We are very proactive to go to work with partners overseas to make sure we support each other to address global challenges.
[Dr Ghazala Mir sits down in a cinema and smiles. A caption says: Dr Ghazala Mir, Associate Professor of Health Equity and Inclusion.]
Ghazala says: A lot of the things that we look at are global issues. So the issue of inclusion, equity, how to create a fairer society - these are things that every society faces. And the way that these things operate can be different in different places but the dynamics are actually about similar things, similar issues. At the moment, I'm working in two African countries - Nigeria and Kenya - and four Asian countries. We're trying to look at solutions to the issue of how to make social groups that experience exclusion more a part of public sector institutions. So we're looking at education, for example, healthcare, local government. What can they do to be more inclusive?
[Scenes of people in towns and cities in the Global South, including families with babies.]
Ghazala says: We want to include policymakers right from the beginning because they have got the power to move things forward. And most importantly, people from the communities that experience exclusion, so that they feel control of the process and we're not imposing solutions that they don't actually think would work.
[Bird’s eye views of the University of Leeds campus. We see a researcher using equipment in a lab to study a plant, and students listen to a presentation in a group study space.]
Ghazala says: What I really like about the current term at the University of Leeds is that there's a really strong emphasis on global development and a lot of encouragement for us to do this kind of research so that we can actually see the impact of this in the countries that we're working in.
Roland says: It is a truly international university.
Joceline says: Every single student is able to expand their knowledge beyond their own cultures.
[Simone Buitendijk is standing on campus and smiling. A caption says: Simone Buitendijk, Vice-Chancellor, University of Leeds.]
Simone says: Our impact internationally will be very visible, especially in our international collaborations, in working together with universities in the Global South for instance, but also in the European mainland, who bring in different perspectives. And if we bring all those perspectives together, then I think we'll have an incredible opportunity to make real change.
Ghazala says: We're here to create knowledge that benefits the world.
Hai-Sui says: It is an exciting time at University of Leeds. We would like to continue to build an engaged international community of students, staff, alumni, and partners.
[Caption says: Universal values, global change. 2020 to 2030.]