Branching out

The vibrant international student community at the University of Wolverhampton is evidence of its commitment to partnership and development for the global economy.

A unique melting pot of peoples, languages and cultures, Mauritius is now part of our diverse community, with the launch of a new branch campus at the Cybercity in Ebene.

The official launch of the campus took place at Hennessy Park Hotel and was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Dr The Hon. Arvin Boolell, Minister of Tertiary Education, Science, Research and Technology, Hon Rajesh Jeetah and the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Geoff Layer.

The launch event featured a welcome address via video from the University’s Chancellor, The Rt Hon Lord Paul of Marylebone PC, which highlighted Wolverhampton’s commitment to expanding education provision in Mauritius.

The video was produced by students Daniel Anderson and Phil Noakes, with support from the University’s Institute of Media Arts.

Lord Paul said: “The Wolverhampton initiative in Mauritius responds to one of the most significant trends in the area of higher education – the internationalisation of learning and the value of transferring and sharing knowledge.“

Synergy

Work is currently under way on the campus in the Cybercity at Ebene, which will be run in partnership with the Ramnath Jeetah Trust, initially offering degrees in law and education.

The programmes to be delivered in Mauritius will be the same in design, content and certification as those offered in the UK and subject to the same quality assurance.

The ambitious plans have been spearheaded by the University’s International Centre, which acts as a hub for interaction between staff in the UK and those delivering University of Wolverhampton programmes overseas.

Jo Gittens, Director, International, explains why the University decided to branch out into Mauritius: “There is a synergy between Mauritius’ aspirations to become a regional education hub, attracting high quality overseas higher education institutions and international students, and our own international expansion plans.

“The Mauritius branch campus is the first of its kind and a number of others in key strategic locations are planned for the future.”

Building our family

The University currently has 150 graduates from Mauritius, the majority of whom studied law. The launch of the Mauritius Alumni Association alongside the new campus strengthens the link to global alumni, with Wolverhampton graduate The Honourable Mr Yatindra Nath Varma, the Attorney General of Mauritius, as its Honorary President.

Graduating from the University with an LLB (Hons) Law in 1998, he became a Member of Mauritian Parliament in 2005, where he was Chairperson of the Independent Commission Against Corruption and a Member of the Public Accounts Committee until he became Attorney General of Mauritius in 2010.

Joining The Hon. Mr Varma as Chairman of the Alumni Association, Reaz Ghanty is the Managing Director of Coprim Conseil Ltee in Mauritius and a Lecturer in Law at the Centre for Legal Business Studies, University of London Centre (Mauritius).

In 2004 he went on to complete a postgraduate LLM International Corporate and Financial Law at the University of Wolverhampton and has been involved in various fundraising initiatives, including the Leo Comedy Festival which raised Rs.100,000 for the Save the Children Foundation.

Mauritius is the third international alumni association of the University, following in the footsteps of the Hong Kong Alumni Association and the Indian Alumni Association.

Membership of the Mauritius Alumni Association is free and open to all graduates from, or currently living in, Mauritius.

Members benefit from access to a highly skilled network of Wolverhampton graduates, businesses and experts, as well as a range of other benefits to help them in their own successful futures.

Strong links

The University of Wolverhampton has established links with universities in 30 countries and has over 2,500 international students from over 100 countries living and studying in Wolverhampton.

With global operations in India, Malaysia, China, Nigeria, Poland and Cyprus, the Mauritius Campus will bring further diversity and play an important role in the University’s internationalisation agenda.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Geoff Layer, says: “Our focus at the University of Wolverhampton is to provide an excellent teaching and learning experience for our students, whether they study with us in the UK or overseas. “We are proud to have many successful graduates from Mauritius, and are looking forward to building closer links with them through our new alumni association.

“The launch of our campus in Mauritius is a new chapter in our relationship with the country and our key focus is to nurture and enhance educational development.”