UCML is working with the British Academy and ThirdYearAbroad.com on a project to demonstrate the value of the year abroad to UK graduates. We are seeking to gather short reports from recent graduates – whether language specialists or not – on the importance that the year abroad has had for them. The British Academy will use edited extracts covering different destinations, placement types and career paths for a Position Paper, and for a high-profile launch event at the British Academy in March 2012, involving international participants and UK opinion-formers from Government and business.

UCML will make all appropriate submissions available on ThirdYearAbroad.com, with access via the UCML Facebook page as well as the UCML website.

We are looking for:

• Brief written accounts, in English, up to 500 words, should be submitted online via www.thirdyearabroad.com/graduates, and links to audio or video reports can also be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
• Videos and audio podcasts, up to 2 minutes in length. 
• We need accounts to cover: your name, degree title, university and year of graduation; a thumbnail sketch of your year abroad; where, type of placement, duration; what you got out of it; your job on graduation and subsequent career path; further use of skills gained during the year abroad and how the year abroad has enhanced your life (not just in terms of employment).

The deadline is the 9th December to fill in the online survey, in order to meet the British Academy’s deadline of 23rd December 2011.

Please follow how we're getting on using Twitter, with the hashtag #TYAGP, and thank you so much again for your support!