Students from Queen’s and Scotland’s historic University of St. Andrews gathered recently to celebrate a long-standing exchange partnership, as well as the Robert T. Jones scholarship program that supports student mobility between the two institutions.

Students from the two institutions who participated in the exchange program attended a luncheon that provided an opportunity to share their experiences with each other and with Queen’s staff in attendance.

Melanie Wightman, a Queen’s student studying computer engineering, says that her exchange to St. Andrews nicely complemented her program at Queen’s.

“I was very fortunate to be able to participate in this exchange. At St. Andrews I had the opportunity to work on many large projects with students of varying tech backgrounds from all over the world,” says Ms. Wightman. “These projects gave me the flexibility to explore fields I’m interested in pursuing as a career. The exchange program and scholarship has set me apart from many other computer engineers and is often the reason recruiters have contacted me.”

St. Andrews was founded in 1413 and is Scotland’s first university. It is one of the oldest exchange partners for Queen’s. Students participating in the exchange are eligible to apply for a Robert T. Jones scholarship to help offset the costs involved in going on exchange.

Named for the 20^th century American golf pro, the scholarship supports students from select Canadian universities to go on exchange to St. Andrews, offering them $6,000 to help fund their travel and tuition costs. Queen’s began taking part in the scholarship in 1996, extending offers to students with excellent academic achievement who are strongly committed to the university community.

“Both Queen’s and St. Andrews students have benefited tremendously from this exchange program and the Robert T. Jones scholarships,” says Hugh Horton, Associate Dean (International) in the Faculty of Arts and Science, who attended the luncheon. “The university is very grateful for the support of the Canadian Robert T. Jones, Jr. Scholarship Foundation for helping to make a transformative international learning experience possible for students.”

The Canadian Robert T. Jones, Jr. Scholarship Foundation supports student exchanges from Queen’s University and Western University to the University of St. Andrews. The Foundation was established thanks to the support of its founder Roger N. Thompson and others, who admired the timeless sportsmanship and character of Robert Jones.