Planting the seeds for growth

Supporting our students to fulfil their potential is more of a calling than a job for Myriam. Prior to joining EIS in 2019, she worked with an international NGO in Cambodia, assisting women and youth from difficult backgrounds.

“One of my roles was helping reintegrate women back into the community, supporting them into vocational training and eventually, independent living,” Myriam explains. “Initially we only offered three training routes – cooking, sewing and aesthetics – but then we realised we were limiting them in their pathways. This prompted us to develop a new career pathways programme that developed soft skills and connected with local companies to provide on the job training.”

Thanks to the new programme, these women have gone on to become counsellors, day care teachers, self-employed dress makers and cooks, stylists, pizza makers and team leaders, and Myriam couldn’t be prouder. 

“It broke open a world of opportunities for them – and inspired me to continue helping people to dream big and broaden their horizons when we moved to Vietnam.”

Strategies for success

Myriam plays a pivotal role in student success, encouraging them to dream big with their careers and educational paths. She harnesses powerful strategies that help our students stay open minded, be risk takers, communicators, creatives and leaders – all vital skills for the changing world of work. Her first step? Empowering students to find career ideas that align with their interests and passions.

“Our careers and university exploration platform UNIFROG is a great starting point for this process,” Myriam says. “After completing various psychometric tests (such as personality, interests, work environment preferences and soft skills) students are given different career options to look into – often in sectors they’ve never even thought of! From there, I encourage them to explore these fields in more depth to see if it’s something they might like to pursue, through watching videos, listening to podcasts, reading, or finding a short university online course (MOOC). Internships during the holidays are another great way to get a feel for different careers.”

Emerging fields

While traditional careers like medicine, law and business have always proven popular, the world is rapidly changing - and with it comes a constant stream of exciting new career opportunities to capture students’ attention.

“There is a move away from some of the more traditional careers and into more diverse careers such as cyber security, mechanical engineering and robotics, digital marketing and even marine biology. Over the last couple of years I’ve had students looking at urban planning as a result of their interest in smart cities and sustainability.  I also have students in Finland studying energy engineering and another studying cyber security and AI.”

Study shifts

The US, UK and Canada have always been top-drawer study destinations for EIS students, however Myriam says a diverse range of new university destinations are now popping up on the radars of students and their families. In fact, the 24 students in the class of 2024 have gone on to study in ten different countries across the globe!

“Of course there are always students applying to the US and the UK, but Europe and Asia are also now becoming key emerging university destinations. In Europe EIS students have gone on to study in Finland, Hungary, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic and Poland, all of which offer programmes taught in English that are also often more affordable. Japan and South Korea are also becoming popular, with more courses offered in English, affordable fees and scholarship opportunities,” she says.

Student success

Myriam’s expert support and guidance helps EIS students find their calling - but every student journey is unique, and every pathway to success looks different.

“When any student gets to where they want to be and it’s a good fit for them, then that’s a success,” she says.

“I had one student who was tossing up between medicine and dentistry. We found two work experience opportunities for him in Saigon, one at a local medical clinic and the other at a dentistry clinic. He wanted to just do the medical experience to save time, but I encouraged him to try both – and he discovered he loved dentistry! He was one of the first students to get a university place for 2024 and is now studying dentistry in Hungary. Seeing him discover his passion was a gift.”

University might be the most widely accepted pathway into a career, but as Myriam points out, it’s definitely not the only launchpad.

“Another student I worked with wasn’t sure if university was for her. She was inspired by my own personal journey of discovery and growth and ended up taking two years out of school, travelling the world solo, meeting lots of new people, volunteering, gaining work experience and having a great adventure. When she came back she felt ready and motivated to study further and is now studying business in Berlin.”

Eye on the future

Setting students up for future success means always looking ahead, and Myriam has plenty of exciting ideas to further expand the support she gives to EIS students. Strengthening relationships with the local community is top of her list.

“I’d love to develop a collaborative relationship with local organisations with the aim of opening up opportunities for students to take part in internships and also career days at school. It’s important to give students the space to explore different careers and broaden their ideas and understanding of the world of work. Even hearing other people’s journeys – their challenges, highs and lows, and lessons learned along the way - is a great way to enrich and inspire students.”

Closer collaboration within the EIS parent community is another goal she will be working towards in 2025.

She adds, “Our parents also have journeys to share and inspire, and provide a rich network that we might tap into for greater student experiences, in school and even post-graduation from universities.”