In January, 39 Westminster undergraduate students had the chance to explore the professional environments of Cairo and Mumbai as part of the Westminster Working Cultures (WWC) International programme.
WWC International provides short-term mobility opportunities to Westminster undergraduate students, giving them a chance to experience work insights and employment culture in some of the world’s major cities.
Two separate groups of 19 and 20 students each visited Cairo and Mumbai, where they met almost 30 Westminster alumni and partners. Across 22 sessions they heard about a range of professional journeys unique to the local working environment and explored different sectors such as journalism, entrepreneurship, media and consulting.
About the experience with WWC Cairo, Business Management (Digital Business) BA Honours student Luv Chugh, said: “I can proudly say that being a part of the Westminster Working Cultures programme to Cairo has been the strongest contributor towards my professional development during my time at the University. Having the opportunity to meet a diverse group of people on the programme and meeting well-rounded career-oriented speakers has been a strong motivator towards achieving my desired goals. Learning about the different experiences of the speakers has provided me with a roadmap of the directions I should take and the ones I should try avoiding. Overall, the programme has given me a starting point of the long career journey that awaits me and the programme would be remembered as a major part of it.”
With visits from esteemed alumni and partners, trips to corporate offices and cultural excursions, including visits to the pyramids in Cairo and Dharavi in Mumbai, one of the world’s largest slums, students were able to find strength outside of their comfort zones and meet both local and expat role models who reflected on their challenges and life experiences.
Alumni speakers showcased the working cultures of, and routes into, organisations such as the British Embassy, British Council, Deloitte, Forbes, Health Prime India and Google Cloud. Participants also heard from several speakers who have started their own business, learning about what it takes to thrive as an entrepreneur. The group in Mumbai also visited ATLAS SkillsTech University, a longstanding partner of the University of Westminster for a series of sessions, a tour of the campus and an insight into what it’s like to be a student in Mumbai.
Karan Desai, the Founder of Interface Ventures and International Business and Management MA alumna, said: "It was great meeting the highly enterprising bunch of students from the University and interacting with them during the WWC session in Mumbai last month. The students were quite enthusiastic and asked very relevant questions through the course of our discussions. I was delighted to see a student from WBC as part of the team as well. The WWC sessions are a great way for alumni and students to engage with each other and share their varied stories and perspectives with each other."
The WWC programme was made possible by the generous funding support from the Quintin Hogg Trust and was organised by the WWC team within the Alumni Relations Office.
WWC International is part of a wider programme of activity, including WWC UK, and is designed to support the employability skills development and global outlook of Westminster students. WWC International has hosted 25 trips all over the world since its launch in 2017, which have all featured a range of successful alumni and partner organisations with over 400 Westminster students participating. Upcoming WWC International trips will take place in Singapore in April 2024.
These trips contributed toward the Quality Education (4) development goal of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which were adopted by the University of Westminster to help make the University a more sustainable, responsible and inclusive place to live, work and study.
Learn more about Westminster Working Cultures International or email the Westminster Working Cultures team.
