Cyprus student tells Limassol audience: "DMU was best decision I've made"

A Cypriot student at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has told her compatriots back in Limassol that studying abroad was the best decision she had ever made.

As part of the UK university’s #LoveInternational campaign, DMU visited Limassol to make a presentation to potential students and explore why 230 current Cypriot students have chosen to attend DMU.

After a presentation from Deputy Vice-Chancellor Andy Collop, current student Eleni Papadopolou, from Kakopetria in Cyprus, took part in a question and answer session where she revealed that choosing DMU was a life changing moment for her.

Now in the third year of her Media Production degree, Eleni arrived at DMU in 2015 and has thoroughly enjoyed the experience ever since.

She said: “I think students will make a great choice if they come to DMU. It's a very welcoming environment, the lecturers and all the staff are very friendly and they really help you if you need it. They are going to have a really good time if they come to DMU.

“Leicester is a really multicultural community, DMU has students from all over the world and it makes you feel more included so it's easy for international students to settle in.”

Cyprus has the second highest number of students at DMU of all EU countries, and Professor Collop believes that this is largely down to the diversity and welcoming nature of the university, where the student population is made up of over 130 nationalities.

Professor Collop said: “We’re a very international community, we have students from over 130 different countries and we have some key initiatives like #DMUglobal which gives our students the opportunity to gain an international experience in a different country. So there are  lots of reasons for students to want to come and study at DMU.”

The #LoveInternational campaign aims to grow DMU’s global outlook, celebrate its diversity and ensure that it remains a welcoming place for international study, despite the ongoing Brexit negotiations.

In the past year the campaign has seen visits to countries including Lithuania, Poland, Germany, USA and Sweden.

Professor Collop told the audience in Limassol that DMU has bucked the national trend to see an increase of 40% of EU students attending the university, largely due to the #LoveInternational campaign.

He said: “We've been very well received when we've gone to key international countries such as Cyprus and talked to potential students to reassure them that the UK is still very much open for business and that DMU in particular is open for business, and that's gone down very well with the European community.”