The students on the ORA St Andrews campus had a thought-provoking Wednesday, with a model UN prompting them to think not only about global issues, but also how they might carry the lessons learned into their own lives.

The run of beautiful weather in Scotland finally ended, and although everyone woke to sunshine, the rain came down eventually. Fortunately, the ORA team are great at thinking on their feet and already had a plan drawn up by the time lessons had finished!

The students gathered together for a model United Nations, working in small groups to represent member states and debating contemporary issues such as those that the real UN faces on a daily basis.

The UN has a say in just about every industry in the world, and so it was great that the students could find common ground, despite coming from different programmes. The exercise helped them to develop communication and teamwork skills, as well as encouraging them to think about the impact of these issues on their own subjects.

These skills, and the ability to respect and understand alternative points of view, will be essential throughout their lives, both professionally and personally, and so it was great for all the staff to see the students put them into practice. The future is bright – certainly brighter than the weather!