10 reasons why ThirdYearAbroad.com is now GlobalGraduates.com
If you have known and loved ThirdYearAbroad.com for years, as I have, you will find this transition into a whole new brand very surprising, unexpected and possibly unnecessary. I want to explain ten of the many reasons for this startling but brilliant transformation.
1. Three become one!
Up until now, we have been running three websites: we shared students’ articles on ThirdYearAbroad.com, we hosted questions and answers about international opportunities on TYAanswers.com and we posted jobs and internships for young people with global skills on the pre-revamp GlobalGraduates.com. These platforms were on separate websites for a multitude of reasons, but the aim has always been to bring them together so that they can benefit from each others’ content: an article about Accommodation in Paris is now complemented by Q&As about finding somewhere to live in Paris underneath and job listings in Paris too! You see? Read more about us :)
2. What’s in a name?
A lot of UK students go abroad in their third year of university, but definitely not all. Some go in their second year, some do their whole degree abroad and some go on a placement for only a few weeks in their summer holidays. Our content is relevant to all of these students, but the name didn’t do it justice. We chose our new name because we want to help students become Global Graduates through international placements and languages - this encapsulates studying or working abroad, going to university, finding a job, any stage of language-learning and international careers advice, so we are delighted with it!
3. Fresh, new technology
Global Graduates was built by our BRILLIANT developer using the latest web technologies. It is super fast and responsive - SO much better than our clunky old TYA platform. We should be very agile too, so please do let us know if you spot any issues or have any ideas for us and we can tweak the new site!
4. Brexit means Brexit.
Global Graduates is a truly global platform now. This is important after the referendum for Britain to leave the EU as we need to show students that languages, international experience and global skills are needed more than ever - not just in terms of study and work abroad, but summer internships, au pairing - and you can even do a whole degree abroad! Having a global audience means more jobs posted by international companies, and the community can benefit from more wide-reaching, varied and useful articles, questions and answers.
5. No spring chicken!
Third Year Abroad Ltd will be ten years old in November. It will be ten years since I was on my year abroad in Florence, aged 20, and incorporated a business that would transform my life. I think it’s about time for a fresh start!
6. Solving a problem for universities.
We want to help university international offices promote their opportunities to their students, and how better to do that than to showcase their students’ amazing articles, blogs and photographs?! We can help! If you write an article for us, it will also appear on your university's page on Global Graduates! Get in touch if you'd like to know how else we can help :)
7. Social butterfly.
With everything becoming more social and visual, we now have a lot more control over how things look and are shared on the new site! We’ve made our university and student profile pages really dynamic, and integrated social media and maps, blog posts and all sorts of other things. Anything new ideas? Please let us know via Twitter: @globalgrads :)
8. Tag-tastic update.
The content on our new platform functions entirely with tags, which works much better than the old category system. For example, should our article about 'Accommodation in Paris' sit under Accommodation or Paris?! Now it’s under both! Read the tags across the top of each article or highlighted in orange within the text and click on any you want to find out more about. That will take you to a page curated solely with content tagged with that tag.
9. Howdy, partners!
Our new site is extremely well set up to help our partners and advertisers - you will spot their carefully selected promotions on the tag pages and at the bottom of some articles, so do click to take advantage of their products and services!
10. The ultimate resource
We want our site to be your ultimate, go-to website for all things to do with international education and developing your global skills. Now, as GlobalGraduates.com, it really can be! We hope you love it as much as we do :)