Case Study: Megan Robertson – China, 2018
After graduating with an undergraduate degree in Chinese from the University of Edinburgh in July, I was lucky enough to be accepted onto a Chinese taught Master’s programme in Public Policy at Tsinghua University commencing this September. With the support of the John Speak Trust, I was able to come to…
Case Study: Sara Allan – Lebanon, July – December 2017
Take a career break, move to Lebanon, study Arabic – What? Why? you must be mad! Safe to say my decision was met by a certain degree of surprise and bemusement from both friends and family. For those not yet lucky enough to have visited, Lebanon conjures up images of…
Case Study: Tom Kirkham – China, 2017-2018
As much as I learn, I’ll always be mesmerised by China. It didn’t take long for the country to become the target of so much curiosity. A distinctive culture with a great ancient history, a dramatic recent past and an exciting future, the decision to spend a year in China…
Holly Henry: Case Study – Mexico 2017
During the first semester of my year abroad, I spent 5 months studying at UNAM in Mexico City. Looking back, I see in as both a turbulent but very exciting time. I experienced almost the worst weather the world could throw at me: hurricanes, tropical storms and earthquakes, along…
Case Study: Anam Rahman, China – 2017
During my second year of university I wrote a paper on the Chinese economy. It was here where the magnitude of the inevitable global macroeconomic shifts, finally sunk in. Within the next 10 years China will be the biggest economy in the world. By 2050 its GDP per capita will…
Case Study: Gavin Vine – China 2016-2017
I began my year in China working at the British embassy in Beijing, before starting university at Peking University, one of China’s top universities, as part of my year abroad. It was at this time when my John Speak scholarship started, providing me with extra money that enabled me to…
Case Study: Alexandra Boulton – Beijing, China, 2016- 2017
I am very grateful to the John Speak Trust for their support over the past year which I spent studying in Beijing as part of my undergraduate degree in Chinese Studies. This grant has helped me travel over my school holidays, something I feel is very important in a country…
Case Study: Charlotte McGarry – China, 2016 – 2017
The third year of my university degree took the form of a year abroad spent studying Mandarin in Beijing, China. Along with eight other classmates from Cambridge, I moved to Beijing’s student district of Wudaokou in September 2016, ready to embark on a ten month journey of cultural immersion and…
Nathan Randerson, Case Study: Spain 2016-2017
John Speak Trust Report – 2017 Its been an incredible last 18 months, my experience in Spain has surpassed all my expectations and is something which I will never forget. I’ve spent six months studying in Córdoba and one year working in the Corporate Procurement Department of NH Hotel Group…
Sinead O’Connor: Case Study, China – 2016
I began receiving the John Speak travel grant in September 2016, when I began my third year abroad in China as part of my university degree. As there is very little in way of any other monetary help for students choosing to study abroad, especially in this part of the…
