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College Principal - Dr Stephen M Lawson, MA ED, PH.D
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Stephen Lawson joined his uncle and father at British Tutorial College on 1 May 1958 - over 50 years ago! Despite his education and qualifications, the young Stephen Lawson insisted on starting at “the bottom” and worked first as a junior despatch clerk, before working up through all other departments (filing and records, printing, stockroom, correspondence, cashiering, accounting, all “manual” tasks in those days!) At the same time he continued studies and training - in London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland - to gain qualifications in Accountancy, Management & Administration, Constitution and Education. He also became a Tutor - marking students’ work - for British Tutorial College, so that he could uate the results of the training and education provided to students internationally.
He eventually became Deputy to Principal and later Deputy Principal. During the 1960s he was responsible for the College’s activities in Africa. He was based in Nairobi, Kenya, and visited virtually every country in Africa. Concentrating on Eastern Africa, he opened full branch Colleges of BTC in Kampala (Uganda), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Crater Aden (Yemen), sub-Colleges in Mombasa and Kisumu (Kenya), Arusha and Mwanza (Tanzania), Mbale and Jinja (Uganda) with many smaller Information Offices in all three countries. Large sub-offices were also opened in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Asmara (Eritrea) and Mogadishu (Somalia).
In 1970 Dr Lawson founded (with support from President Nyerere of Tanzania and President Banda of Malawi) Trans-World Correspondence College, with an experimental range of quite revolutionary Courses - for the very first time written especially for citizens of “developing countries”, and for those whose mother or national language was not English, and for those whose standards of education were not always high. The new Courses were very well-received, especially in African, Arabian and many Asian countries.
In the mid-1970s Dr Lawson transferred the Colleges’ administrative sections to Jersey, under the modern name of Trans-World Tutorial College. Although there were many knowledgeable educators in Jersey and in Britain, it was virtually impossible to find anybody who also possessed experience of teaching internationally and in developing countries, and who could write Courses in a style and in the clear, straightforward English which people in countries all over the world could study easily and master. Therefore he started writing Courses himself, and discovered a great talent for writing; he calls himself an ELUCIDATOR - rather than just an educator - because he has a natural flair for simplifying subject matter for easy assimilation by others. He produced a new range and style of Courses for two new colleges called Careers Training College and English Language College, and both were granted full accreditation on their first application.
The Courses written by Dr Lawson became popular in countries all over the world, and he travelled widely, meeting new and former Students and Trainees (many of them senior and top business and government officials and politicians - even Prime Ministers and Presidents) of the colleges with which he and his family had been and still were associated. He and his colleagues opened Representative Offices in many countries, as the numbers of new Students/Trainees enrolling soared to over 3,500 every month! By 1982, his “group” of colleges had become the third largest group in Britain. Having gained such phenomenal achievements - bringing benefits to so many people around the world, he considered retiring at the end of 1983.
However, in 1984, at the instigation of the Institute of Professional Managers & Administrators, he formed a management training department for IPMA - which was eventually to become The British College of Professional Management - specifically to train Affiliate Members of IPMA in countries all over the world. The success of the new Training Programs - written mainly by Dr Lawson - was phenomenal, and by 1986, the department was formed into an independent college, called British College of Professional Management (with Dr Lawson as its Principal). An English Language Division - called English Tutorial College - was added in view of the demand for English Language teaching with “tutorial support” from an increasing number of traditionally non-English speaking countries.
Following increasing demands for a wider range of Tutorial Courses, in 1987 Dr Lawson concentrated his efforts on Cambridge Tutorial College. Under his guidance and vision it was completely modernised and brand new third-generation Programs were written, mainly by Dr Lawson himself. These proved enormously popular, and the Traineeship of the College quickly spread to over 160 countries.
Dr Lawson’s daughter, Keren, joined the Colleges’ administration in 1992, and his son, David - now Vice Principal and Managing Director of the Colleges - joined in 1994, both of them being the third-generation to be involved in distance education and training.
During the year 2000, and under Dr Lawson’s guidance and supervision, The British College of Professional Management, English Tutorial College and Cambridge Tutorial College International merged to become CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE - becoming the leading British College providing Training by post, email and internet to countries on every continent and in every corner of the globe. It is estimated that well over 3.5 million people in over 230 countries around the world have been trained and educated by Dr Lawson and his family, in the last 75 years - and Dr Lawson is determined that the number will increase to 4 million before his final retirement!
Although less involved nowadays in the day to day administrative running of the Colleges - now “merged” into Cambridge International College - Dr Lawson is still deeply involved in projects which have resulted in the Colleges producing Advanced Training Materials and preparing successful Members, Trainees and Students for entry onto and success on Programmes of the highest levels. He is also involved in the adaptation of CIC’s Study and Training materials for on-line access via the internet, to make training even more accessible to Trainees and College Members everywhere, and ensuring the College REMAINS THE MOST MODERN!
Dr Lawson still travels widely internationally, and is always happy to meet past, present and future Students, Trainees, Members and Diplomates of his previous and present Colleges. He is welcomed in many countries by Heads of State, government Ministers (especially of Education), senior government officials (Permanent Secretaries, again especially of education), those involved in education and training, and employers. There are very few countries today which have not gained substantial benefits from having had citizens professionally trained by colleges operated by Dr Lawson and members of his family!
| Dr Lawson has been nominated to the British Government for an appropriate award for his lifelong contribution to worldwide eduction. Below: Dr Lawson with just some of the very many College Members and Diplomates he has met in his travels all around the world.        |