Programme

Flavielle Morais, Program Manager CBIE

Tiann Nantais, Program Coordinator CBIE

Introducing the Canada-CARICOM Skills Training for the Green Economy Scholarships Program, a new short-term scholarship opportunity funded by Global Affairs Canada, that allows for students from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to study on short term exchanges at publicly funded Canadian colleges and institutes. This new program will support studies in programs and disciplines related to the green economy, which include but are not limited to climate-smart agriculture, coastal and fisheries management, renewable energy, sustainable building techniques, and agro-forestry.
Join this engaging session to meet potential partners from the region and learn more about eligibility, the application process, and other information you will need to take part in this exciting new mobility opportunity.

Stephanie Doscher, Director, Office of Global Learning Initiatives
Florida International University

Monica Kronfli, Director, International Academic Pathways and Mobility Seneca College

The coronavirus pandemic reinforces the necessity of providing all students with an education that enables them to understand complex global problems and engage effectively with the world’s knowledge production and exchange network. One method of achieving these learning outcomes involves student mobility, another involves curricular Internationalization at Home (IaH). This session focuses on one of the most powerful IaH approaches available: Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). Also referred to as « Virtual Exchange, » COIL utilizes technology and the Internet to connect students and faculty with their peers across geographic, cultural, and disciplinary borders. COIL enables diverse teams of students to develop meaningful collaborative projects together, increasing their knowledge of the world and helping them better understand and empathize with others’ perspectives. Since COIL is embedded within the curriculum, students gain access to the world and its diversity without incurring any additional cost. COIL is a truly networked pedagogy based on inclusive, authentic, and equitable relationships—it cannot exist on a single campus, and it requires dialogue between people embedded in different institutions, countries, and cultural contexts. COIL sometimes involves synchronous videoconferencing to build community, but most COIL communications are asynchronous, require low bandwidth, and utilize common tools such as WhatsApp and Google Docs. Collaborations can last an entire semester, but more often students work on a task together for five to seven weeks. Partner faculty co-design COIL experiences and mentor all students, even though students are enrolled, charged tuition, and graded only at their home institution. COIL is an agile method of curricular internationalization, one that capitalizes on and accelerates other aspects of an institution’s internationalization strategy: recruitment, mobility, and research partnerships. Because COIL is conducted online, it is a critical component of robust plans to maintain resilient international partnerships before, during, and after a crisis like coronavirus.

Janine Knight-Grofe, Manager, International Education, Durham College

Colleen Packer, M.Ed., Director, International Learning Programs, University of Calgary International

Join your colleagues from around the country to network, share best practices and advance the discussion on topics specific to education abroad.

Francine Schlosser, Odette Professor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Odette School of Business, University of Windsor »

Reza Shahbazi, Executive Director, New Canadians’ Centre of Excellence, Inc.

Canada’s growing number of international students presents challenges and opportunities for Canadian policymakers, educators, and service providers. These students represent a valuable pipeline feeding Canadian immigration targets. Indeed, more than half the approved Express Entry immigrants to Canada are former international students. As international student recruitment increases, how is this coordinated with Canadian immigration targets and regional community sustainability? Is this phenomenon sustainable? What type of challenges do international students, higher institutions, and policy makers face in this new environment? How can Canada prepare for a million international students studying in Canada?

Dr. Francine Schlosser is the Odette Professor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor. Mr. Reza Shahbazi is the Executive Director of the New Canadians’ Centre of Excellence. They will discuss the results of two international student forums hosted by the University of Windsor and the New Canadians’ Centre of Excellence in January and September 2020 (the first has taken place, and the second is scheduled for September 2020). These policy forums examined the role of Post-Secondary Institutions and Community Stakeholders in developing international student resilience, specifically in the lens of educational policy impact on nation-building. The first was profiled by the Windsor Star: https://beta.windsorstar.com/news/local-news/more-international-students-coming-to-canada-windsor/wcm/88882c71-010e-4cf3-99e8-edf4639f082c/

Hana Curties, Group Study Program Advisor, University of Calgary

Rebecca Fitzgerald, Associate Director, International Mobility and Strategic Partnerships, Humber College

International education has always been an integral part of higher education with an increased uptake in participation throughout the 20th century. Many students choose to participate in study abroad as a means of increasing their skills and cultural competencies so that they are more desirable candidates for employment or further education. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 has made it clear that international education is particularly vulnerable to any geopolitical, economic, and social changes that may occur across the world. Additionally, as international education experiences can be quite costly and time consuming for students, it is increasingly important for educators to provide inclusive programming so that a greater number of students can gain the skills promised to them by their institution in a cost effective, accessible, and adaptable way. This presentation will examine methods that educators have found effective in preparing students to participate in international education. We will examine methods in both internationalization at home and study abroad by showcasing programming that is effectively designed and delivered, and consistent in its impact. Further, we will include key takeaways from Humber College’s Culturally Inclusive Educator Certificate. This certificate is offered for educators who are teaching and working in increasingly diverse settings. The program is currently being offered online and the educators who are participating in the program are planning to incorporate their learnings for the virtual classroom in the Fall. By the time this conference takes place, we will be able to discuss the observations of the program participants and their experiences teaching in a culturally diverse online setting.
This presentation is relevant to those that plan and deliver internationalization programming and work with a diverse student body at post-secondary institutions in Canada. Due to the fact that many institutions have been highly impacted by the cancellation of Global Education programming due to COVID-19, we are hoping to provide a foundation for alternative programming to offer to students in order to develop intercultural competence on campus and on a virtual campus.

Jennifer Cleary, Senior Program Officer International Development Institute

Igino Teolis, Professor at Humber College in the Landscape Technician Co-Op program, Faculty of Applied Sciences & Humber College

Carl Oliver, Associate Dean of Humber College’s Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology and Chairperson of Humber’s Sustainability Steering Committee
Humber College

The session’s content will focus on the shared commitment to sustainability and expanding internationalized experiential learning opportunities that exist between Humber College and two Kenyan polytechnic institutions. The three institutions have been collaborating on ways to foster a culture of educational partnership for staff, students, and faculty in order to achieve mutual development goals. The following details will be included in discussions in order to further expand on the aforementioned commitments and institutional partnerships.

The partnerships came together through the Kenya Education for Employment Program (KEFEP), a Global Affairs Canada funded and CICan managed, capacity-building project that is working to develop hands-on, competency- based programs at post-secondary institutions in Kenya to align with local industry needs. Preparing students with real-world skills to be successful in the 21st century includes developing a deeper understanding of our shared ecological footprint and developing a global citizen body that is educated on and appreciative of the natural world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unparalleled impact on the international student market in Canada. Quickly pivoting in reaction to ever-changing circumstances with limited information, educational institutions have been challenged to pivot and adapt to foster the success of both domestic and international students. At the beginning of the pandemic, travel restrictions, processing delays, deteriorating financial stability, and uncertainty of what the future holds contributed to many international students second-guessing and even putting their educational plans on hold. 10 months in, we’re starting to see the implications of COVID-19 come full circle, both positively and negatively.

Join ApplyBoard’s Co-Founder and CMO, Meti Basiri, and Director, Partner Relations – Canada, Hannah Dang, for an in-depth discussion on what the future looks like for international students and educational institutions in Canada. Guided by our student-first approach, informed by our knowledge, data, tech capacity, and international perspective, Meti and Hannah will discuss current study permit trends, visa approval rates, and other insights, while projecting what the data is forecasting a post-pandemic Canada looks like for the international education community.

Carmencita Duna, Coordinator, International Student Advising University of Victoria

Christina Hernandez, International Student Advisor Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria

Tricia Best, Associate Director, International Student Services University of Victoria

Across the nation, institutions have recently increased their focus on integrating hands-on (experiential) learning activities into their course curriculum. UVic’s Strategic Enrolment Management (SEM) plan suggests, « By 2024, 100% of all graduating undergraduate students will have the opportunity to complete at least one significant experiential opportunity as designated by an experiential learning notation on their transcript or a validated co-curricular record. » Similarly, Universities Canada recommends increasing experiential learning opportunities for all students. While these hands-on learning opportunities add tremendous value to a student’s academic experience, we have noticed international students (degree and non-degree) are being disadvantaged. These students may not be able to participate in these hands-on opportunities due to not having the proper work authorization. In other words, our institution is experiencing a misalignment between our strategic goals and Canada’s immigration policies for international students.
We predict that the national emphasis on experiential learning will only increase in importance. Therefore, we wish to use this session as a time to explain our institution’s « hands-on learning and immigration » journey, share our immigration policy findings, while also providing representatives from other institutions an opportunity to share their experiences in this ever-developing area.

Ali White, Manager, Contracts and Group Programs, Vancouver Island University

Paige Fisher, Professor, Faculty of Education Vancouver Island University

Using the Culture Collage program as an example, this session will focus on how to create and deliver an innovative and collaborative intercultural learning program that connects international post-secondary students with local elementary school children. Through the sharing of stories, the program aims to cultivate curiosity and help children develop strategies that support connecting across difference.

Launched in September 2019, the Culture Collage program supports « Internationalization at Home » by 1) providing a platform that allows international students to connect with the community by sharing their stories directly with local elementary school children and their teachers; 2) encouraging local children to be curious about difference, to develop an awareness of unconscious thought, and to practice withholding judgment; and 3) providing sponsored pre-service teachers with a structured intercultural learning module that is synchronized with the weekly international student visits and that complements the learning objectives of the current BC school curriculum.

Virginia Macchiavello, Associate Vice President of International Education, Business Development at Centennial College of Applied Arts and Technology. Virginia holds a Masters Degree in International Business and PG studies in International Trade Management and College Administration. She has also earned a B.Ed with specialization in Special Education, and a BA in English. In the Ontario College system, she has held positions of Professor, Director of Continuing Education, Chair of Applied Arts and Human Services, Director, International Development, Director of Innovation and Business Development and Dean of Student Services.

Shannon Collier, Crisis Care Management – Team Lead guard.me international insurance

Donna McGrath, International Education Consultant – specialist in International Student Services and Student Mobility

International students and those studying abroad are insured and supported for routine ailments, but we must also be prepared for critical incidents involving student death(s), terminal illness, medical and psychiatric evacuations or repatriations, and suicide. Cases like these will stretch an institutions’ capacity to the max. Coordinating the supports, resources, and communications between families, service providers (including insurance carriers, medical professionals, and experienced trauma counselors) is hard and stressful work.

This session will analyze how critical incidents – especially the expectations and obligations they raise – can be better addressed when we share a full understanding of their dimensions. Using a series of ‘lenses’ to focus discussion, the session will define expectations, surface key issues, identify best practices, and outline the key steps required for compassionate, ethical, timely, and viable outcomes.

This session is designed to generate a whole-of-community dialogue that will surface issues of importance related to international student services and study abroad, The session will focus on what we do and how we behave when we are confronted with critical incidents. Using a series of ‘lenses’ to focus the presentations and the discussion, the session will name the things that we absolutely must avoid and must do when we are dealing with critical incidents and highly sensitive cases, within an international education context.

Jenn Horwath, Academic Coordinator, Mohawk International

Kelley Hoyt, Teaching & Learning Consultant – International, CTL Mohawk College

Michelle Turan, Research Fellow (Faculty) Mohawk College – College Student Success Innovation Centre (CSSIC)

Over the past several years, the Canadian college and university classroom has changed to reflect a diversity of cultures as students from around the world have been making Canada their study destination of choice. Faculty are at the frontline of this change and educational institutions have been developing a range of professional development opportunities to engage faculty around intercultural development. Mohawk College has developed a multi-faceted faculty engagement strategy that includes organizational restructuring, faculty professional development and experiential learning, use of the IDI, faculty mobility, a faculty award, and creation of faculty champion roles. In this session, we will explore the efforts of one college to support faculty within the internationalization strategy and open a dialogue with attendees around best practices to support faculty in these dynamic times.