Incorporating international opportunities into an academic program is a life-changing experience. Students gain highly valued skills/competencies, enhance language skills, develop professional networks, and increase employability.
New Brunswick students are unique. Approximately 50% of University of New Brunswick students are first-generation university from low-income or Indigenous families with unexplored cross-cultural skills due to limited travel experience. Students feel intimidated and ineligible, dismissing these valuable opportunities as unobtainable, leaving UNB’s outbound mobility programs for privileged students.
UNB will design/deliver “First Experiences Abroad” challenging this culture, addressing barriers and demonstrating the personal, academic, professional benefits of short-term, structured programs which are inclusive, equitable, accessible and achievable.