Fostering innovation and friendship: Dr Pooneh Bagheri Zadeh on the Nepal-UK student exchange program

Dr Pooneh Bagheri Zadeh, the Course Director of Computer Science at Leeds Beckett University, is currently in Nepal leading a cultural exchange program jointly organised by Leeds Beckett University and The British College. This exchange program, which has been running for three years, aims to foster academic collaboration, cross-cultural learning, and research innovation among students from both institutions.

During her visit, Zadeh spoke with Onlinekhabar, about various aspects of the exchange program — from student selection and project work to cultural experiences and future plans for industry collaboration. 

In the conversation, she also reflected on the profound impact Nepal has had on visiting students and shared her own personal experiences of being part of this enriching journey.

Can you tell us what this student exchange program is all about?

The exchange program started three years ago as a collaboration between The British College and Leeds Beckett University, UK. Leeds Beckett University offers courses in various computing areas, including computer science. The British College has adopted the same course content, using the same module materials, assessments, and course structures. Essentially, they use our course but are taught by their own local lecturers. As a result, students from both Leeds Beckett University and The British College graduate with the same degree.

In that context, we wanted our students to come to Nepal and visit the students here as part of a global engagement initiative.

We decided to select eight students from our university, and The British College would also select eight students. The selection process was quite rigorous. We conducted interviews and reviewed applications, choosing students based on their academic performance and innovative research ideas in computing. This year, eight students were selected out of 150 applicants.

Could you tell us about the academic backgrounds of all these students?

All of them are computer science students, currently in their first or second year of the Bachelor’s program. In terms of geographical backgrounds, the students from Leeds Beckett University come from various countries, including Japan, Bulgaria, Pakistan, India, and others. This time, the participation in the exchange program is more inclusive. 

What kind of projects are the students working on together?  

Initially, we started by selecting the students and then discussed potential project ideas. We were open to all kinds of ideas. I suggested some topics at first, but gradually we realised it would be best to let the students decide for themselves. They are a younger generation and see problems from a different perspective.

Obviously, I come from an earlier generation, and while I have extensive experience in areas like computer science, they have grown up with technology. They are naturally more familiar with it.

The eight students from Leeds Beckett University and the eight students from The British College were divided into four groups, with four students in each group — two from each institution.

We then asked each group to identify issues — either global issues or challenges faced by people in Nepal — that could be addressed using technology.

That’s how the project topics were created.
The project topics are:

• Landslide Detection System
  
• pH Scale-based Water Quality Detection System
  
• NightGuard- IoT for Wildlife Conservation
  
• Smart Deforestation App
  

So once they complete this project, are you going to hand over this to anyone else?

Over the past two years when we came here we created wonderful projects but the problem was there was not any involvement from the industry of Nepal. In the UK, whenever we do such programs, we invite our industry partners. They see the students’ work and pick up our students to take them to industry for placement or they offer graduate jobs to the students based on their projects. So, it actually makes sort of an initiative for the students to work harder. But we did not have that here in Nepal over the past two years.

This year, apparently we are going to have that. So, I think over 100 companies are invited to come and see the four projects. And then I am also going to talk about the research collaborations that we have in the UK. And then what sort of collaboration we can do together. 

In the UK the government supports universities and also the SMEs, which want to be creative and improve their products. They support them if they collaborate with the university. So if the projects are approved by the government, they provide a big chunk of the funding. The government pays most of the project fees.

I do not know how it is here. We are going to talk about it and see what sort of collaboration we can create. 

What’s different or exciting about this year’s exchange?

I was discussing this with the other team members.
This wasn’t intentional — it happened purely by chance — but this year, it turns out that the group we have from the UK comes from very diverse ethnic backgrounds.
All the students were born in the UK, but their parents come from different parts of the world, including Japan, Bulgaria, Pakistan, India, and others, which is wonderful. Because of this, all the participants will have the opportunity to learn about and experience various cultures.

By seeing and interacting with different cultures, students can appreciate different values and identify positive aspects they can adopt to enrich their own culture. It would also be beneficial for students here to develop a similar mindset.

Another point I shared with the students was about the motive behind working on the projects together.
While we could have done the projects remotely, collaborating in person has its own unique advantages.
The main reason for coming here is to build networks, create friendships, and learn from each other.

Besides completing this project what are the other activities that the students will do in this exchange program ? 

The British College has arranged various activities for us. For example, we visited the Monkey Temple with all the students. We are also going to Trishuli for rafting.

All the students are very excited about the new culture and the activities they are experiencing. The food here is amazing as well — we’ve been talking a lot about it!

What kind of impact has visiting Nepal had on the students from the UK? 

The feedback I received from students last year was that their perspective on life changed after visiting Nepal. For some of them, it was the first time they had ever been on an airplane or traveled to an Asian country. It had been just a dream for many of them. Apart from what they had seen in movies, they had never experienced such naturally beautiful places.

I believe seeing how different the lifestyle is here had a significant impact on them. By observing life in Nepal, the students from the UK reflected on how they could improve their own lifestyles back home, as well as how people here could enhance theirs.

Lastly, since it is your third time being part of this cultural exchange program, as an organiser of this exchange program what have you learned or experienced during your visit to Nepal?

I have learned many things. I originally come from Iran, an Asian country, but I have been living in the UK for many years.

People in Nepal are hardworking and welcoming. Here, people are quite open — they talk to you with open arms about anything. We might not have the same level of openness in the UK or other European countries.

What else did I learn? Well, I absolutely love the culture here. Honestly, I love the culture, the clothes, and the food. And I love tea!

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