Angliss graduate and entrepreneur Joel Thompson is going from strength to strength with his company OutBeyond which pushes the limits of traditional education to help young people push the limits of their own lives.
“We offer unique, immersive experiences for students aged 8-25 who are either travelling to or already studying in Australasia,” Joel said.
Through the Melbourne-based educational travel provider, school and tertiary aged international students can go beyond the confines of the classroom to experience different short-course opportunities.
OutBeyond also supports disadvantaged students by offering youth outdoor travel opportunities that they normally wouldn’t be able to access.
Joel completed his Diploma of Events while running two different businesses, one in construction and the other in outdoor education, graduating to start OutBeyond which works with students in China, New Zealand, and Australia, to create custom-fit programs.
“During my studies at William Angliss Institute I really enjoyed and made the most of the opportunities to network and meet industry via the events and expos on offer.
“I am passionate about young people being able to unlock their potential, and we participate in these events as it is great to be able to help students grow their confidence and networking skills,” Joel said.
Each program at OutBeyond was built with a vision of creating experiential learning opportunities. All programs allow students to learn via travel while fine-tuning their critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making skills. This style of learning gives students the chance to debrief and consolidate ideas and skills through feedback and reflection.
It also facilitates the application of newly learned skills and ideas to new situations.
“Our organisation is about building an international community which goes further than simply visiting an iconic tourism destination. We don’t drive tour buses, we drive people - which is often forgotten by a lot of the big tour companies on the road,” Joel said.