INCiTE – A transformative short-term intercultural bootcamp

Can the way students perceive their place in a global context, and the toolkit they use to engage with their international peers, be transformed in only two weeks? Edinburgh students who took part in the 2025 INCiTE Summer School unanimously think so, with each of the 29 students representing our University in this year’s intake reporting their participation broadened their perspective, built cultural intelligence and helped them to develop scalable solutions to global problems.

The Summer School is an annual short-term mobility programme, coordinated by the University of Edinburgh in partnership with Nanyang Technological University, the University of Amsterdam, the University of Sydney, and the National University of Management in Cambodia. In 2025, it was hosted in Phnom Penh, Cambodia by the National University of Management.

INCiTE brings students together in intercultural teams to tackle global challenges: 

  • Health, wellbeing and changing societies
  • Climate action, environment and resources
  • Inclusive, innovative and reflective societies.

114 students from across the partner universities attended classes codelivered by faculty from the partners on Cultural Intelligence, Entrepreneurship, and Systems Thinking. Working together in small teams, they applied the knowledge gained from these classes to develop a localised solution to their chosen global challenge that would be relevant in the Cambodian context.

A University of Edinburgh student shares their experience of the INCiTE Summer School.

Guest speaker sessions helped to develop their knowledge of Cambodia, the local entrepreneurial environment, and provided firsthand experience of the rapid development taking place in the country. These included: 

  • A visit to Sosoro Museum – Cambodia’s museum of economy and money
  • Multiple visits to local start-ups and incubators including 17 Triggers, Energy Lab, Quantum Engineering & Manufacturing, and CDRI
  • A visit to Tube Coffee, to learn directly from one of the largest coffee producers and vendors in Cambodia
  • A visit to Samai Distillery – Cambodia’s first and only premium rum distillery
  • Hearing from expert guest speakers, such as H.E. Vanndy Hem, the Minister of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation, Marco Breu (Former Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company in Vietnam & Thailand), who shared extensive experience of working in Cambodia and engaging with local companies to better understand how the global challenges manifest in and around Phnom Penh
  • All teams sharing their challenge solutions with the INCiTE faculty, their student peers and other invited guests during the Project Fair.

Benefits of funded short-term mobilities for our students

INCiTE is only one of several short-term opportunities on offer to our students, this programme and others like it are specifically targeted at WP and under-represented student groups as they emphasise equity, accessibility, and inclusivity. They avoid several of the barriers to entry implied by longer programmes and are far more accessible to a broad range of students, such as those with caring responsibilities and limited household incomes. 

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