Staff and students from the SERC Downpatrick Campus recently welcomed a group of students and teachers from Amstetten in Austria.
On arrival at the College the Austrian guests were greeted by students from the BTEC National Practitioners for IT and their lecturers Angela Gilmore and Brian Murray. The visit marked the first leg of an exchange programme of a multi lateral Comenius project which will see visitors coming to the College from ten European countries including Italy, Poland, Greece and Germany.
SERC IT Lecturer Brian Murray had this to say: “This is the first of a number of visits that will take place over the next few years. We are absolutely delighted that our IT students are able to meet and work with people from so many different nationalities across Europe.”
During their time in Northern Ireland the group explored Downpatrick, took in the sites of the capital city and explored the North Coast. They were also involved in discussions regarding local heritage, migration and the conflict in Northern Ireland with staff and students from SERC. The Austrian teachers expressed their gratitude to all those involved in the exchange programme and in particular for the hospitality shown to them by SERC.
Brian went on to say, “This first trip has been an outstanding success and we are extremely proud of the effort our students made in welcoming the visitors. We know some lasting friendships have been established and we are looking forward to our return visit to Austria.”
Over the next two years students from SERC will have the opportunity to travel to various parts of Europe such as Austria, Italy, Poland and Portugal to produce materials on a range of topics related to Holocaust, Conflict and Migration.