An interview with Dr Nataliya Shiraz, Campus Director for the Education Centre of Australia (ECA) International College in London.
Date: 30 June 2022
London Met partnered with the Education Centre of Australia (ECA) one year ago, to offer international students the chance to join pathway programmes, equipping them with the necessary skills for entry onto Bachelor's or Master's programmes at London Met.
We caught up with Campus Director Dr Nataliya Shiraz to celebrate this anniversary, and learn more about what’s coming next.
Can you tell us a little bit about London Met’s partnership with ECA and the pathway programmes on offer?
ECA and London Met partnered in 2021 to offer international students the opportunity to join the International Foundation Programme and Pre-Master’s Programme.
These programmes prepare international students to successfully transition into academic studies in the UK at London Metropolitan University. They focus on developing English language skills of reading, speaking, listening and writing, research skills, academic conventions including the expectations of academic study and writing in UK higher education, as well as independent study skills and approaches.
You began your role a year ago - what appealed to you about working on this programme?
I was really keen to take on the positive challenge of working on a start-up initiative in higher education. The opportunity to engage with a private international HE provider and public UK university really appealed to me, as an exciting way to apply my 20 years’ experience of educational management in the UK.
What are you proudest of from the first year of the programme?
We’ve had some significant achievements along the way. I’m particularly proud that our student satisfaction rate is 100%. I’ve also loved having the opportunity to build a highly competent team and establish great working relationships with London Met mainstream academic and support services.
We have seen two successful Pre-Master’s cohorts through with an overall progression rate of 96% for both Autumn 2021 and Spring 2022. International Foundation Programme has seen a 100% progression from Semester 1 to Semester 2.
What’s next for the partnership?
At the moment, we are looking to expand our portfolio of courses for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, and continue enhancing students’ involvement and experience on the programmes.
