CANADA: Crisis hot topic at conference

The economic downturn's effect on universities' international education activities will be a hot topic this week as a conference that brings together those involved in academic exchanges, international student recruitment and study-abroad programmes gets under way.

The 43rd annual conference of the Canadian Bureau for International Education runs this week and University World News, an official media sponsor, will be in Toronto to file reports.

Inside the sessions and out in the corridors of the conference's hotel, delegates will be sharing best practices and looking at how they can argue against their universities' cutbacks. They are likely to use a guiding question posed by CBIE President Karen McBride: "How do you maintain and increase the importance of international education in a time of economic downturn?"

Despite the cutbacks many universities are facing, McBride feels some reassurance that international education has become for most quality universities an accepted part of the mainstream. "It's no longer an add-on but part of the institution."

Beyond the economic crisis questions, the conference will be hosting more than 70 sessions, everything from the expected, namely a talk on internationalising the curriculum, to the unexpected, such as a session offering strategies on how to attract and retain the "not so bright" students.

One day is dedicated to a Canada-China Forum with senior level administrators from 22 Chinese higher education institutions slated to attend. There will also be a roundtable on Chile, a country that has been developing close trading ties with Canada.

The conference comes on the heels of the Canadian government releasing a study on the financial impact of international education within its borders. The study found that international students, including those in the K-12 sector, contributed C$6.5 billion (US$6.11 billion) to Canada's economy last year and provided 83,000 jobs - more than the country's lumber and coal sectors - with China and South Korea the top two source countries.

Nevertheless, Canada ranks low on student mobility: only 2.2% of full-time university students participate in study-abroad programmes.

McBride and Jennifer Humphries, CBIE Vice-President of memberships and scholarships, say they recognise the recent efforts of the government to promote international education such as a new branding campaign, implementation of more efficient visa rules and regulations, the ability for foreign students to now work off campus and remain in the country for three years after graduation, as well as the creation of a new scholarship programme for top international students.

With release of the report, as well as the evidence it offers, McBride and Humphries say the time is ripe to convince Canada's various governments, and their universities, to further invest. The two would like to see the economic results act as a jumping-off point for stakeholders to make the sector an even more important part of Canada's economic future.

While Humphries says $6.5 billion is nothing to sneer at, the government still has to recognise that smaller countries such as New Zealand are ahead of Canada in international educational activities and the country cannot just sit still. "How is Canada going to be positioning itself?" asked Humphries.

The bureau will unveil its own study during the conference based on answers from international students in Canada about their impressions of the host country. While details are kept under wraps until 9 November, Humphries says the survey will reveal that international students are "more than satisfied with their experience".

While the economic downturn has affected many universities, it does not seem to have kept home those interested in international education. The conference is expecting 550 participants, up from the 325 who attended last year's conference in Newfoundland.

philip.fine@uw-news.com

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