New York, New York- the DMU trip so good they offered it twice

Students at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) can start off the New Year in New York as part of an incredible #DMUglobal experience.

In January, DMU took more than 1,000 students and staff to the Big Apple for a mix of academic activities and cultural events. And now the university has announced plans to repeat the visit in January 2018.

Students can whet their appetite for what promises to be an incredible experience by watching this new video:

DMU’s New York trip in January this year was thought to be the single biggest-ever overseas visit by a UK university.

Each student followed a programme of activities and cultural events especially designed to link to academic courses, helping students to deepen understanding of key themes in their areas of study. 

The itineraries included:

• Nurses meeting researchers studying the effects of stress in 9/11 survivors
• Architecture students having a personal tour of the High Line from its architect
• Contour Fashion students had an exclusive meeting with the design team from Victoria’s Secret
• Engineering students having a tour beneath the city streets to see the multi-million-pound East Side Access programme 

DMU Contour Fashion student Mollie Falkingham met with the design and technical team at Victoria’s Secret. She said: “It was a huge opportunity.”

Nurses Laurel Beavon and Natalie Barnaby got to volunteer at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis centre, the first helpline to be opened in New York when the AIDS crisis began. It runs pioneering healthcare programmes including the mobile testing vans and is supported by regular fund-raising events.

Natalie, who has since graduated, said: “We learned about their healthcare programmes and their fundraising. It was probably my favourite part of the visit because it was linked to our course.”

Those who went to New York in January have urged students to sign up when the opportunity is advertised next term through #DMUglobal.

Ross Thomson, freelance arts, said: “It’s an amazing thing that the university has and these opportunities do not come every day. Take the opportunity and grasp it with both hands.”

“Do not miss this kind of experience because I know it’s cliché but it’s definitely once in a lifetime,” said Joseph Silva, Architecture student.

Full details about dates and bursaries will be announced soon. Meanwhile, 850 students are preparing for a similar experience in Berlin next month, which features even more academic-led trips.