March 16, 2017

Medicine Hat College has joined the Canadian Bureau for International Education’s (CBIE) Learning Beyond Borders initiative to get more Canadian students to take advantage of learning experiences in other countries.

Reports indicate that annually only 3.1% of full-time Canadian undergraduate university students have an education abroad experience. The number is even lower for full-time college students, at 2.5%. This, despite reports from the students on the transformational nature of the experience, its many contributions to their academic and career achievements and its value in enhancing their communication skills, self-awareness and adaptability.

“We are really excited to be part of this nation-wide initiative. There are so many benefits to studying abroad, not only for a student’s personal development but also their academic and job prospects. We look forward to working with colleges and universities across Canada to raise awareness of these benefits, and to make education abroad programs more accessible and attractive,” says Hadija Drummond, manager of International Education and Diversity at MHC.

As a partner in the Learning Abroad Innovation Zone, MHC commits to identifying and addressing internal barriers to learning abroad and to participating in peer discussions with institutions across the country that are tackling similar issues and challenges.

“Canada is faced with the challenge of getting more of our students to take advantage of learning experiences in other countries,” says Karen McBride, president and CEO of CBIE. “It is time to leverage the leadership role of education institutions in a concerted and coordinated effort to give our generation of young leaders the knowledge, skills and global outlook they will need to thrive in our interconnected world.”

CBIE will provide support by organizing webinars and thematic peer discussions throughout the year to allow institutions to discuss challenges and potential approaches to common goals, identify best practices and disseminate supporting research and case studies as needed.

In return, Medicine Hat College will contribute to a national communications campaign to promote the value of learning abroad to students and other stakeholders by creating and sharing content on the impact and outcomes of learning abroad.

The Learning Beyond Borders initiative will be promoted on the CBIE website to showcase all CBIE and institution created content. CBIE will also regularly share content through its social media and member communications channels.