Furniture students from Lahore, Pakistan, have spent almost three weeks on an educational and cultural study tour at Buckinghamshire New University, gaining experience and finding out more about furniture-making techniques and skills.

The students, in the final year of a BA (Hons) Furniture: Design and Manufacture degree at the Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design, Lahore, visited the University in High Wycombe and also gained a closer look at architecture in London and Oxford. They return to Pakistan on Monday 10 October.

Their visit coincided with the London Design Festival, showcasing the UK capital's role in global design, and the Pakistani students met graduates of Bucks New University who had gone on to forge careers in the industry and were exhibiting their work as part of the festival.

The visit to England was arranged by Andrew Shenton, course leader for BA (Hons) Furniture: Design and Craft, and Rizwan Amjad, Lead Tutor on the course in Pakistan, who also studied under Mr Shenton at Bucks New University, graduating with an HND in Furniture in 2006.

Mr Shenton wrote the programme for the furniture degree in Pakistan and has visited Lahore to oversee the work carried out. He said this had been the first time the Pakistani students had visited Bucks but he hoped to make it an annual part of their curriculum.

He said: “This gives the students a chance to see different teaching methods, gain first-hand experience from the students at Bucks New University, and also get out and about in London and Oxford and see the many historic buildings we have here.

“We hope to build on this partnership and invite faculty staff from the Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design over to Bucks again in the future to gain further teaching qualifications, and explore the use of Skype and other distance-learning facilities to benefit the students in Pakistan.”

A total of five students and three members of staff, including Mr Amjad, attended the visit. The students from Lahore financed the trip themselves and arranged their own accommodation. It was their first visit to the UK.

Mr Amjad said the degree programmes in Lahore covered textiles, fashion marketing, design, leather and footwear, gems and jewellery, and furniture, and said this would be the first cohort to graduate from the Institute, after finishing their degree in 2012.

He said: “I spoke with Andrew about setting up a degree in Pakistan when I was studying here as we did not have anything like this in our country. Therefore this is the first course of its kind in Pakistan.

“This trip has been extremely beneficial in terms of discovering more about a range of skills, from marquetry to timber technology, and observing how different lecturers work. The students have also received tutorials to help with their dissertations.

“Their work during the trip has also included making a wooden tray each, utilising the machinery available to use at Bucks New University.”

Student, Fatima Khan, said the visit to Bucks New University had been 'a very worthwhile experience'.

She added: “It has been a very successful visit. We have got to know which machines and materials are used here and been able to use machinery we don't have at the Institute of Fashion and Design. It has been highly beneficial.

“Everything here is linear, modern and functional and the students have been great to work with. Andrew Shenton has visited Pakistan four times and has been a great help, but coming here is really helping to build on our skills and look towards broadening the potential of what we can create.”

It is hoped that some of the students may go on to study master's degrees in Furniture at Bucks New University.