Student Mobility Projects

The Crossing Borders: Using the Power of Place to Build Connections project at Vancouver Island University will use place-based learning as an innovative approach to international mobility that explores the many ways in which we understand identity and who we are in differences places and spaces. Through international field schools, exchanges and internships, VIU students will explore who we are and where we are in terms of land, culture and history and how our sense of place influences the ways we operate in the world and how we build connections across differences.

“Vic International: Work-Integrated Learning Abroad” expands access to international internships in non-traditional countries and for students in underrepresented groups. To diversify destination countries, Victoria University will build on its existing work-integrated learning courses and partners: the Cross Cultural College (Japan); the Education & Society Internship (China and South Korea); and a new Material Culture & Semiotics internship module in Israel. In order to widen access and remove barriers to participation, students in target groups will be able to use GSO funding flexibly for international work-integrated learning in these programs as well as any other approved University of Toronto academic program.

The overarching objective of this project is to increase the number and diversity of Health Studies and cross-disciplinary students studying and working internationally. International collaborators include higher education institutions and community partners in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland, all non-traditional destinations with arguably the best healthcare systems in the world. Four activities for building global skills include a faculty-led and COIL blended international course Aging Globally: Lessons from Scandinavia (Aging Globally), internships, academic exchanges and summer programs. Western University expects to strengthen and diversify School of Health Studies international curriculum, reduce barriers, improve equity and increase international educational opportunities.

One hundred underrepresented Canadian students undertaking courses in the health professions at Western University and University of Manitoba will be equipped with Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Decolonization and Indigeneity (EDI-D-I) knowledge and skills, to prepare them for frontline work in Africa (or in similar global settings) as well as in Canada. The project will create sustainable structures and supports for mobility programs that are equitable and accessible to all students, at participating universities. All the targeted students will undergo a three-month virtual certificate course, before placement in one of the partner institutions in seven African countries, for a further three-month period.

This project will increase the participation of target student groups in international education by designing diverse targeted programs along with promotions, procedures and wraparound supports. The project goes beyond an equity approach and ensures students feel a sense of belonging by their participation in the research and design. To provide more non-traditional destination options, Laurier University will deepen existing relationships (e.g. Australia to serve Indigenous students, and Ghana to broaden faculty and type of engagement) and broaden destination options by leveraging faculty relations (e.g. University of Auckland). Virtual programming, such as COIL, will provide accessible and introductory international experiences.

The Go Global Sustainable Development Goals in Action Student Challenge will empower York students and their peers around the world to take action towards the achievement of SDGs with a global lens. Through facilitated discussions, workshops and immersive abroad opportunities, York University students will develop global competencies, leadership, digital fluency and project management skills necessary to take action on SDGs. By participating in the program, students will learn and experience the opportunities and challenges in leading community action for social change. This program is a follow-up to the International Indigenous Student Exchange Virtual Pilot.