Welcome from the Head of Centre

"I regard myself as a very lucky person. When I was young, I wanted to have a job that was useful and that would be of benefit to others. I also wanted to travel and to meet different people. At the time, I had no clear idea as to what I was going to do.

As things have transpired, I have been privileged to have been involved in education for most of my working life. Being in education has allowed me to work with young people from an amazing variety of backgrounds and cultures. In this country alone, I have met and taught so many students from different parts of the world. For several years (I had better keep the exact number a secret, or it will make me appear to be truly ancient) I worked overseas in the Far East, notably in Brunei and Hong Kong, and The Middle East, specifically in Saudi Arabia and The United Arab Emirates. 

Students often ask me which is the best place that I have ever lived in. The answer is simply: all of them. Brunei is in many respects a tropical paradise and I was fortunate enough to work there for over seven years. Hong Kong, where I worked at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, is a fascinating city which uniquely acts as a bridge between East and West. Saudi Arabia’s west coast, where I lived and worked for two years, must be one of the best and most beautifully preserved marine areas in the world. As for the United Arab Emirates, there are the gloriously vast wadis and red deserts of the north and the fabulous city of Dubai to the south.  

Another question I am now regularly asked is why, if I loved working overseas so much, am I now back in Wales, the land of my fathers. Again the answer is simple: I love working and living here too.  Who wouldn’t? Here in Caerleon, we have a beautiful campus.  The teaching area that we have been allocated by the University of Wales (Newport) is superb. Both staff and students love it here. In Caerleon, we have easy access to the stunning scenery of South and Mid Wales. Less that 30 minutes away is the vibrant city of Cardiff and even closer is its rapidly developing sister city, Newport. It is difficult to imagine a better place to teach or in which to study.

My personal ambition is for the University of Wales International Study Centre to become famous for providing our students with the best possible preparation for university-level study."

Vernon Dando
Head of the International Study Centre