After a full three decades since the first English language courses for young people in Great Britain, KUB today organizes courses of all major languages for ages 7 to 77 and older, in Europe, USA, Africa, Asia and Latin America, and enrols students in secondary schools and for study abroad
Right from the start, we wanted to give young people the opportunity to study abroad, get to know new cultures, and make friends from all over the world, because we believe it is important to respect differences and find what is common to all of us, no matter what meridian we live on – says Magdalena Jugović.
KUB has worked in educational travel for more than three decades. What kind of programmes and services do you offer?
We started with English language courses in the UK for young people during the summer holidays, accompanied by a teacher. Our clients’ interest soon expanded our range of activities. Besides English, we now offer French, German, Spanish and Italian for young people.
We offer courses in all major languages for ages 7 to 77 and older, in some of the most beautiful spots in Europe, USA, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Language courses have become a common way of using holidays for adults in the world – when you learn the language you get to know the country you are staying in – combination of the beautiful and the useful. And there are also specialized business language courses, courses for managers, preparations for taking official exams in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish…, and courses for language teachers.
You help with enrolment in secondary schools and study abroad. How much interest is there in this kind of education?
The most interesting cultural exchange is still with the USA, where a whole school year is spent in public schools. The programme is subsidized by the US government and participants are placed with volunteer families in smaller towns in America.
More than 90% of our students come from the recommendation of friends or relatives whose children have travelled with us
Since it is possible to spend only one year on this programme, the popularity of a similar programme in Canada is growing, where young people can spend several years in high school and where most continue their studies with good scholarships. We also offer numerous private high schools in Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Greece, USA… The possibilities are enormous, not only in terms of location, but also in the choice of educational programme.
With university placements, the greatest demand is for studies in Great Britain, but also studies in English in Austria, Spain. Recently, there has been interest in studies in the United Arab Emirates, so we have included Dubai in our offer.
You have decades of successful business behind you and thousands upon thousands of satisfied participants. Are they the best recommendation for your agency?
We realized very early on that advertising rarely brings students to our programmes, even though we were the first to offer these services on our market. Interest was strong from the beginning, especially since so many people could afford to send a child on such a trip while learning the language. Impressions from the language trips of satisfied participants were always our best recommendation. More than 90% of our students come from the recommendation of friends or relatives whose children have travelled with us.
It is especially satisfying that more and more children who travelled with us send their own children to us, because they want to give them this unforgettable experience. In the meantime, some have become teachers of foreign languages and now bring their pupils. This is a continuity we’re really proud of.