Lizzie Fane, Founder and CEO 

Lizzie Fane studied Italian and History of Art at the University of Edinburgh, spending her third year studying at the Università degli Studi di Firenze and working on Time Out's Best of Florence guidebook. After two months of culture shock and Italian red tape, she began work on a website to solve the problems she and her friends experienced while abroad. After graduating in 2008, Lizzie worked for two online startups before launching ThirdYearAbroad.com in January 2010.

The site is an online support network for students who work, study or volunteer abroad during their degree course; it provides articles, year abroad case studies, insider survival guides, a Q&A forum, careers advice for language students, successful graduate profiles, special student offers, study tips, a jobs board and many other features.

Lizzie is currently working on a report for the British Academy and the University Council of Modern Languages to prove the value of the year abroad in order to retain government funding. She regularly speaks at university Study Abroad Fairs and pre-departure talks about making the most of the year abroad, and has recently founded LANGSA, the Language Graduates’ and Students’ Association, to give young language enthusiasts the opportunity to come together and inspire other people to learn languages, based on their experiences.

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Personal blog: lizziefane.wordpress.com
Twitter: @thirdyearabroad and @lizziefane