Santander award supports volunteering opportunity

International Tourism Management student Nazare (Naz) Asvedo Mendes has had a summer volunteering opportunity made possible thanks to the Santander International Experiences Fund.

Santander Universities provides philanthropic funds to help eligible undergraduate students take advantage of opportunities overseas, such as work placements, volunteering or studying abroad. Naz, who is on the second year of her course, was one of 14 students across the university whose application for support was successful.

Naz decided to look for volunteering opportunities after a recommendation from a friend who highlighted the huge benefits she had gained from a similar experience. Naz was awarded £1,000 so she could volunteer in Spain this summer at the Albufera Nature Park in Valencia to understand more about the environmental impacts of mass tourism.

She said: “This opportunity will contribute towards my dreams of working within the travel and tourism sector and help me realise my goals. It will help enrich my tourism degree experience in an international context.”

Naz was supported with her application by course leader Nigel Jarvis. Naz said: “Dr Jarvis gave me all the support I needed to fill in my application form for the award and I am very grateful for all the patience and assistance that I received. Nigel has great knowledge about volunteering as he has published articles in this area.”

Work-related learning is an important aspect of all undergraduate courses at the University of Brighton. Our tourism course also offers a short placement and an optional year in industry.

From September 2019 our tourism course is moving to the Moulsecoomb campus in Brighton. Find out more about the course.