The reality for educators is that it’s a global world and we as educators owe it to our students to ensure we are equipping them with all the tools they need to survive in that environment.
For this reason, the focus on graduate and postgraduate studies should no longer be just on educating students to the highest level, but also on creating a community of people ready for the global marketplace, supported by culturally diverse faculty and staff, and programming that reflects the new face of our interconnected world.
For students this environment will benefit them by giving them global perspectives and opportunities that will allow them to develop intercultural skills and become true global citizens. Citizens prepared with the technical expertise and human understanding to contribute to international work environments and to create a more equitable and sustainable world.
While some countries have become less appealing to international students in recent years, Canada has been moving forward – creating study/work abroad opportunities and making it easier for students to come to Canada. The federal government recognizes that international students are the future immigrants of Canada, and that they are important to the country’s economy moving forward. We are very much in the business of educating this important community to learn, study, and build a life in Canada.
In a large step towards realizing this goal, Humber has recently developed and published its own Internationalisation Strategy, which is focused on strengthening the college’s status as a global postsecondary institution.
Key to this is taking a holistic approach. The Internationalisation Strategy is a collaborative effort spearheaded by our Internationalization Committee.
involving the entire Humber community. More specifically, the Internationalisation Strategy presents a coordinated plan identifying five critical objectives:
• Goal 1: Recruit and support an increasingly diverse group of students from countries around the world.
• Goal 2: Provide opportunities for students to study and complete work placements abroad.
• Goal 3: Ensure faculty and staff are equipped to support internationalization efforts across the campus.
• Goal 4: Develop strategic partnerships designed to engage our community in academic exchanges and collaboration.
• Goal 5: Advance initiatives that create opportunities for faculty and students to contribute to international development.
Some of the ways we have been achieving this are through offering students the ability to travel for a semester abroad; undertake global internships; and go on short study tours/courses abroad.
International is now an important part of postsecondary education. Indeed, our own enrolment of international students has grown exponentially from 600 students in 2009 to in excess of 3,000 in 2014. It’s an exciting time to be in international education.
After listening closely to our students and exploring the needs of an increasingly global economy and mobile workforce, Humber has implemented a new strategic plan. “Strengthen, Sustain, Maximize” is our roadmap to the future, and the strategic plan has identified diversity and the further internationalisation of the Humber community as key priorities.
We are also launching the Global Citizenship Certificate (GCC) this year. The GCC is a cross-college, multidisciplinary program open to students from all of Humber’s Academic Schools. Envisioned as a “global backpack” or a set of academic courses, travel experiences, and co-curricular activities that students can fit into their current studies.
The reality for educators is that it’s a global world and we as educators owe it to our students to ensure we are equipping them with all the tools they need to survive in that environment.
by Diane Simpson, Dean, International
Humber Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning (Toronto, Canada)
Originally posted – Big Choice Group 24 October 2014