Shetland and Norway’s 2020 ERASMUS Plus Spring Exchange Has Begun!

Five Shetland College UHI students in the care, creative industries, business and computing sectors have arrived in Voss, Norway this week to begin a month long work placement while six students from Vidaregaande Skule in Voss are currently working in Shetland.

Shetland College UHI secured 45,696 Euros in grant funding from ERASMUS+ in 2018 to fund reciprocal exchange projects for young people between Shetland and Voss, as part of a Learning Mobility programme over 24 months. The students involved in this current visit will gain vital work experience as well as learning about each other’s cultures. This is the second exchange of the two year project.

Shetland College UHI has been running programmes with the Voss community since 2011, with students in fully funded work placements. The six students from Voss have been placed at local electrical and ICT companies in Shetland. The five local students who have travelled to Voss are Ariya Phosoongnoen who studies business, Dionne Pottinger and Davina Gakere from health and care, Jack Scaife from computing and Sean McCormack in creative industries. Dionne and Davina will be working with children with disabilities in the school while Ariya will work in administration at the school’s international office. Jack’s placement is in a neighbouring school’s ICT department and Sean will work on a photo and video project placement.

Ariya (23) a business student at Shetland College UHI said “I’m excited to learn new skills and seeing a different culture and also to learn some Norwegian!”

Davina (18) who studies Access to Nursing at the college described the project as “a definite adventure” and is looking forward to experiencing a new country, her placement and the culture.

The students have set up an online blog to record their experiences, which you can find via the Shetland College UHI website

Leanne Gear, Project Coordinator said: “The group arrived in Voss on Monday with lecturer Gavin Emslie and are having a fantastic time already. They’ve enjoyed the introductions to their placements and to Voss itself and we cannot wait to hear how they get on. It’s a fantastic opportunity for them and we have been very happy to welcome the Voss students to Shetland too.”