Be an Education UK student journalist!

'Want to show your writing talents to 2 million people worldwide? We are looking for imaginative young students with a passion for writing.'

Each year, over 500,000 students from 200 nations study in the UK at universities, colleges and boarding schools, plus some 600,000 more international students come to the UK for short English language courses. 

The British Council’s website – www.educationuk.org – aims to inspire international students to study in the UK, help them to find a suitable course and offer them advice to help them settle in.

We are looking for talented and imaginative young students with a passion for writing to contribute articles to our website.

Find out below how to become an ‘Education UK student journalist’. 

Show the world your talents

This will be a great opportunity for you to show the world your writing talents and get published online – the website is visited by 2 million international students each year. Published articles will also be circulated to the UK government Cabinet Office, Universities UK, Association of Colleges, Visit Britain, English UK, Scotland Colleges, ISC, the Boarding Schools Association plus other organisations.

What do you need to do?

We would like you to write an article aimed at students around the world who are getting ready to study in the UK next year. Right now, they will be filling out their course applications and dreaming about what their life in the UK will be like. We are looking for articles that will  show them the fantastic experiences they can have studying in the UK, let them know what to expect, or help them to prepare for their life here.

Your article could be funny, inspiring or informative. Here are some ideas for topics.

• A day in the life of a student
• The UK sense of humour
•  What to expect in Freshers week
  
• How to make friends in your first term
• Getting on with your housemates
•  How to survive exam time
  
• UK student fashion do’s and don’ts
• Student party etiquette
• Surviving on a budget
• UK slang (no rude words though!)
• The best places to visit in the UK
• Experiencing UK music, fashion, sport or literature 

… or feel free to come up with your own ideas!

The best entries will be published on the Education UK website www.educationuk.org, on our Facebook channel, and in our Education UK newsletter. There is also a chance that articles will be published by the press or other governing body websites.

Writing for the audience

We would suggest a word limit on the articles of 500 words or under. Students reading the articles will be aged 16 – 25 and will be from countries around the world. Its great to write in a stylish way, but bear in mind that students from outside the UK might not be as familiar with our slang and references to UK culture.

You could write an article that will appeal to all international students, or you could aim your piece towards students who will be applying for a particular type of course – for example English language students applying for a short summer course, or students applying to do a degree or vocational course.

Who can enter

We are happy to receive entries from any student who is currently studying in the UK or who has graduated in the last two years. You can be of any nationality. You must be aged 16 or over to enter. For entrants aged 16 - 18 please confirm when you send in your entry that you have parental/guardian consent to submit your article

Submitting your article

Please submit your article to educationuk.website@britishcouncil.org by the 28th February 2013. Please include the following details. 

• Your first name and surname
• School/college/university
• Course
• Nationality
• Date of Birth
• Email address 

If you would like to, please also send a photo of yourself to accompany your piece. (If you don’t want to send a photo, no problem).

If we publish your article, we will state that you are the author and include your name, institution, nationality and subject, plus your photo if you would like to send one. Under UK Data Protection law you have the right to ask for a copy of the information we hold on you, for which we may charge a fee, and the right to ask us to correct any inaccuracies in that information. If you want more information about this please contact your local British Council office or the Data Protection  Team dataprotection@britishcouncil.org, or see our website: http://www.britishcouncil.org/home-data-protection.htm.

For further information on the terms and conditions please go to: www.educationuk.org/UK/Page/TermsConditionsLayout/TermsAndConditions



Which articles will we publish?

We will publish around 25 of the articles we receive. The articles will be reviewed and chosen by the Education UK team at our discretion. Don't be disappointed if yours isn't selected. It may be that you are a great writer but your piece wasn't quite right for our audience.

In terms of using your content, if you send us an entry, we may chose to publish it on our Education UK or British Council channels. We will also circulate it to our partners. This means there is the chance that it will get picked up and published by other websites or the press.... which means a wider audience for you!  

We look forward to reading your work!

More information on: http://www.educationuk.org/UK/Article/UK1262439714302