Work abroad
You can undertake your Professional Training placement anywhere in the world (subject to risk assessment approval).
Funding your placement
If you are interested in completing your Professional Training placement in Europe (outside the UK) then you could be eligible for funding through the Turing scheme.
There may be funding available to support International Professional Training placements, however funding is limited and will be prioritised for students meeting financially disadvantaged criteria. It is important that you take time to budget and plan how to fund your international placement. See SurreyAbroad for guidance.
Once you have secured your placement
Once you have secured a placement abroad you will need to:
- Let the Professional Training team know.
- Register your international placement through the International Engagement Office.
- Look at the guidance on the StudyAbroad site where you will find the steps you need to take and the documents you need to complete to register your placement.
- You will need to complete a Risk Assessment for Travel Abroad and a Professional Training Agreement for Placements Abroad
- Attend the pre-departure meeting in March and May.
- Keep a close eye on the FCDO and travel advice and regularly check changes to entry requirements!
- If you have any queries, please contact the International Engagement Office.
Pre-departure support
All students going abroad will receive support from the International Engagement Office.
Resources are available on StudyAbroad to support you plan and prepare for your placement. You will find information on travel, insurance, general visa guidance, wellbeing, your identity abroad and language learning.
You will be invited to a pre-departure briefing in March and May which includes guidance on logistical preparation and wellbeing support and a workshop to consider how to deal with challenges that may arise.
Insurance
As a student carrying out their placement abroad, you will be covered by the University's personal accident and travel insurance, this is provided at no cost, but it is your responsibility to register and check whether the level of cover is sufficient for your personal needs. If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are travelling to certain countries, you may need to obtain additional insurance cover.
Please see the insurance page of SurreyAbroad for further information.
Personal effects are covered by the University policy, but you should check to ensure that there is sufficient cover for the possessions you are taking and if not, you should take out your own policy.
It is the expectation that host organisations will provide liability insurance cover for students undertaking a work placement. Please read this section for further details: Liability insurance for those working or studying abroad.
Please see the contingency planning page for guidance on how to prepare for the unexpected.
For further information about other insurance you may need, please see the insurance pages on Study Abroad and please see the contingency planning page for guidance on how to prepare for the unexpected.
You must:
- Review what additional insurance you may need.
- Register for Surrey’s Personal Accident and Travel insurance through Travel Cert (this is at no cost to students)
If you have any other queries about University insurance, please contact the Insurance Office.
Language support
We have a wealth of resources available to support your language needs during your placement.
Online language support
We offer online language support for the following languages: French, German, Spanish, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Czech, Finnish, Swedish, Hungarian, Romanian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Slovak, Polish, Portuguese and Greek.
If you study or work in a country where one of these languages is used you will be required to take an online language test, and depending on your score will be given access to a free online course to help you prepare and survive better in your host country.
At the end of your stay you will be required to again take a test to see if you have improved your language ability.
uTalk: is a free online service available to all students, allowing you to learn a language through a range of interactive and fun activities and modules that you can access on desktop and mobile devices.
Over 25 languages, including Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, are available through the service.
In-country learning: There may be options available for you to take classes while you are in the country or you might like to consider attending an intensive language course in the country you will be living in before you begin work.
Previous students have found all of these options extremely useful and learning the language has helped them to get the most out of your placement.