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A new start-up which offers students the opportunity to study and travel at the same time has already had more than 2,000 people registering an interest.

Nottinghamshire-based Global Grad was set up last June and a pilot was run in January to south east Asia where students took part in a variety of courses, some through the Open University.

The firm's overall aim is to enable students to travel the world while gaining qualifications and its first full cohort of students is expected to travel this September, .

Steff Wright - who is the former chairman of Lincoln City Football Club - launched the company with daughter Georgia. He said: "The concept of Global Grad is that students can study anything they like - as long as it's an online course.

"However, unlike studying a degree at home online, which often means people can't involve themselves with other students, here we arrange global travel for students together - first in South-East Asia."

Locations students can visit in South-East Asia include Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore.

The students will be studying in "co-working spaces" - which are essentially offices where people use a desk to study or work and so students will be "rubbing shoulders with people working for companies like Google".

Mr Wright added: "The cost of online education is a lot cheaper than traditional university education. It's up to half the price less so that leaves funds left over for other things.

"University accommodations are getting more expensive too every year.

"For each semester, a cost of £3,700 will cover the accommodation in hostels, access to the co-working spaces and travel for two 10 to 14 night trips - which are essentially holidays."

Including the price for these holidays, the company says studying through Global Grad can be "up to £4,750 cheaper a year" and an "estimated £10,500 over the duration of a three-year degree."

The company, based in Collingham, near Newark, has 30 to 40 students signed up for September, but this number may increase after A-level results come out in mid-August.

The students will complete a 15-week term in locations including South-East Asia, Europe and Asia, Australia and Bali, with the eventual aim being that "over the course of a three-year degree a student could go to all continents."

One person who has experienced the benefits of studying and travelling is graduate, Lydia Triner - who went on the pilot trip in January.

The 23-year-old completed a short course in travel and tourism while abroad and said: "I was great to be able to study this while actually travelling.

"My experience helped me gain more confidence. I came out of university not knowing what I wanted to do but I knew I wanted to expand my CV further.

"When I found out I could travel and put my education into practice and study more, I knew this is what I wanted to do. I now work for Global Grad using my degree in graphic design and also as a locations manager in South-East Asia."

Miss Wright - who is the co-founder of the company- said her personal experience of travelling inspired her to start Global Grad.

The 22-year-old from Lincoln said: "Going back a few years I was set on going to university - thinking it was the only option.

"I got into a university in Newcastle but deferred until the next year and decided to take a gap year and travel.

"It was a fantastic experience but I had no qualifications come the end of it. That's where the idea for this came about." 

She said the aim is to combine the experience of travelling with qualifications one could get from studying at home and this opportunity "really forces people to come out of their comfort zone, unlike a lot of traditional university education".

Mr Wright added: "One concern was that students would be distracted from studying while abroad and I think this shows that it can be done, especially with the co-working spaces.

"Two students who studied for their degrees while travelling with us in January both got distinctions in their degrees so it is possible."