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This summer 2025, we sent 40 Business students to various summer schools in Europe.

With a generous bursary from the Business School, the 40 students explored a different way of teaching, a different perspective on their subject and enjoyed an international experience, meeting other students from around the world.

The feedback received afterwards showed how great of an opportunity that was. Students claimed to have gained knowledge, built international connections and joined interesting social activities.

One student in Marketing and Management with Psychology at Sussex spent 4 weeks studying and living in Aarhus in Denmark. She took part in the Sports Economics summer school course.

Talking about her experience, she remembers: “This course was 2 ½ weeks of lectures, group activities and even free ice cream! Each day focused on a different topic allowing me to learn quickly about a variety of topics and the group activities helped me to relate these to various sports. I didn’t know much about economics, but Aarhus University made everything easy to understand and introductory. This course included a final portfolio where I was able to really delve into my chosen sports and learn vast amounts about them.

Alongside studying, Aarhus University hosted a wide range of activities on each day of the course. These range from campus tours, to canoe trips to the end of term party. The communication of these events was easy to keep track of and there were plenty of spaces at each event allowing me to join many of them.”

She also enjoyed visiting Copenhagen, a two hours’ train journey from Aarhus. Staying in student accommodation meant she also met people from around the world, learning about different cultures.

Haajadri, a Finance and Technology student had the opportunity to study at Mannheim Business School as part of their summer school programme, developing skills on Artificial Intelligence in Business. She found the experience “both intellectually stimulating and culturally enriching”.

She was impressed by the teaching, the practicality of the program and the chance to visit companies. She also remembers a group project where they “developed and pitched an AI-based solution for Renolit, applying their learning in a real-world context. The week also involved a cultural highlight, an afternoon of wine tasting.”

Other Business Summer Schools destinations included Bocconi in Italy, Excelia in France and Vienna in Austria. We are grateful to our partners for offering such opportunities to our students.

We also sent 41 students to a summer school via our Global Excellence Summer Scheme. This scheme is open to all disciplines and is funded by the Turing Scheme with a focus on students from disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds. The scheme is truly global as students attend summer schools at universities located in Ghana, Mexico, Thailand, Denmark, Hong Kong, China and Vietnam.

Ten students attended a summer school at our prestigious partner university Zhejiang Gongshang University in Hangzhou, China. The four-week summer programme allowed students to attend Chinese Cultural, Business, Sport and Chinese language classes and visit local businesses. One student talked about their experience.  ‘So many positive things to say. I would firstly say the city that we were in was really easy to navigate and we could explore places on our own. The timetable that was given to us was really good. The teachers were very kind and welcoming’ Another student focused on her favourite parts of the summer school ‘‘The best classes were the dance ones. It was lovely to take a break from sitting at a desk and enjoy some physical movements. The canteen food and the food places surrounding the campus were extraordinary, the food was so affordable and tasty. I am just so so happy I got the chance to be accepted into this programme. I am forever grateful for this experience and memories!’

Another student spoke about her time at the Mahidol University Sawasdee Thailand summer programme in Bangkok. This four-week summer programme focuses on heritage, multiculturalism, sustainability and ecotourism through the lens of Thai Culture and Society. ‘I am appreciative to have had everything already laid out for us including academic sessions, field trips, transportation, food, and more. The student helpers helped with this by offering to take us places in our free time which made the experience even more fulfilling. With the variety of activities, I really felt a more broadened understanding and love for Thailand with its culture, traditions, foods and landscapes’

We look forward to sending more students to a summer school next year and will be opening up the applications for the Business school summer schools and the Global Excellence Summer scheme again at the start of 2026.

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