Global Futures programme
Global Futures is a four-week intercultural and career-building programme allowing you to develop core leadership skills while immersing yourself in another culture and context.
The programme will take place in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia from Friday 4 July to Saturday 2 August 2025.
About the programme
Global Futures is a powerful group-based work experience opportunity that develops your leadership, problem-solving, flexibility and intercultural skills.
By building your professional skills within an international workplace setting, you will develop and articulate key global employability skills which help you stand out in a competitive world of work after graduating.
The programme is delivered in partnership with Common Purpose, a not-for-profit leadership development organisation running programmes in more than 70 cities worldwide.
Costs
This programme is fully funded by the Turing Scheme and Footsteps Funding.
The programme fee, flights, accommodation and breakfast will be covered.
You may be required to pay some additional costs which are not covered by the funding – details will be available when applications open.
A condition of the Footsteps Funding is that you will be required to complete a case study (or similar) to share with Footsteps Funding donors.
Programme schedule
Pre-departure information sessions
- April: placement abroad essentials
- May: risk awareness workshop
- April or May: Global Futures pre-departure information (delivered by the University of Leeds)
- June: overview of the programme (delivered by Common Purpose). You will learn what to expect, understand the programme, meet peers and ask any questions you may have.
The exact dates of the pre-departure sessions will be confirmed on the application form.
Stage 1: immersion
You will be immersed deeply into the city and culture to understand the context that you are in.
You will meet leaders, visit organisations and communities and go beneath the surface of the city to really understand hot topics, issues, challenges and opportunities faced.
You will participate in cultural activities, see the city through the eyes of local staff, enjoy local food, culture and acclimatise into your new home. This will provide the foundations and orientation for you to move into the attachment phase of the programme.
At the end of stage one, you will be introduced to the project leaders at your host organisation who will give a full briefing on the attachment process.
Stage 2: organisational attachment
You will work in small teams in a host organisation in the city.
You will work on a real life project with clear deliverables and outcomes that the organisation wants your support and ideas on.
You will have access to relevant colleagues, stakeholders and resources and the project leader will check in and guide you through the project.
At the end of your organisational attachment, you will present your work to the project leader and relevant colleagues to get feedback and celebrate your time together.
Stage 3: reflection (delivered online after the programme)
You will reconvene online for the critically important process of reflection.
This will be delivered when you return home to give you the opportunity to first reflect individually on the programme before coming together to share collective thoughts.
The reflection will help you realise and articulate your individual growth and development of key employability skills and explore how to implement your learning in your own context.
Eligibility
This programme is only open to students who meet one or more of the Turing Scheme's underrepresented backgrounds (URB) grant criteria.
To apply, you must be available for the full duration of the programme.
How to apply
There are 10 places available on the programme.
Applications for the 2025 programme open on Monday 27 January 2025 at 9am and close on Thursday 27 February 2025 at 11.59pm.
You will need to submit a completed application form and a short video (up to two minutes in length) telling us why you want to apply for the programme.
You can be as innovative as you like, but make sure that you:
- demonstrate that you understand the programme
- explain how it will benefit you personally, and
- explain how your learning on the programme could be applied in your future studies or career.
You need to apply through MyCareer – we will add a link to this page when applications open.