Setting the stage for the Government of Canada's commitment to international education
In our letter of last January applauding Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government for “standing up for Canada’s interests and values on the world stage,” as Mr. Harper had said, CBIE advocated for support in making Canada known as Educator to the World. We stated, “Our hope is that you will seek to profile Canada on the world stage in ways that draw on our greatest resource: our education.” There is much experience and data to suggest that Canada has a unique opportunity in this regard, not available to other countries.

Recently responding to our letter on behalf of the Prime Minister, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty sets out the role of the government of Canada in international education as twofold: programs to help Canadian-educated foreign students to stay in Canada as permanent residents and marketing to attract the best foreign students to Canada’s colleges and universities.

Minister Flaherty emphasizes the concrete commitments in Budget 2007, specifically its promise of $34 million over the next two years to assist Canadian-educated foreign students and skilled foreign workers to stay and $2 million to launch a new branding and marketing campaign to promote Canada as a destination of choice in priority markets such as Brazil, India and China. Good so far. But the letter does not address the importance of scholarship programs for international diplomatic relations nor does it speak of the exports of education services for which our country has major comparative advantages.

Our government’s plan pales in comparison to those of other countries, among them the UK, Australia, France and Germany, that have prioritized education with national strategies and acknowledged the important role education can play in a country’s positioning and branding on the world stage.

Prime Minister Harper’s July visit to Latin America and the Caribbean illustrates his government’s realignment of priority countries and at the same time a renewed commitment to scholarships. The Prime Minister announced the Canada-Chile Leadership Exchange Scholarships, 250 six-month awards over 10 years, and a similar program for the Caribbean countries, the Canada-Caribbean Community Leadership Scholarships – see  www.scholarships.gc.ca/noncanadians-en.html . CBIE will continue to urge more of the same and press for a much more studied, intensive strategy for international education.

We look forward to your thoughts.

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Events
CBIE CONFERENCE 2007 - Register early for our November conference in Ottawa: Citizens of the World, Making an Impact through International Education. If you missed our invitation, please contact Adina Rachiteanu at arachiteanu@cbie.ca. Featured: Canada-India Education Forum attracting university and institute CEOs from India and across Canada; keynotes by Dr. Samantha Nutt, Founder of War Child Canada and an inspiring speaker on development cooperation and Ms. Susanne Laperle, Senior Vice-President, Human Resources at Export Development Canada, who will share insights on international education as the new essential competency in the workplace; substantive workshops on cross-cultural communications and an array of other sessions on themes in development, exchange, mobility, export and recruitment. Join us for our social program, including the awards banquet and optional events. Sponsorship opportunities still available: contact Janine Knight, jknight@cbie.ca.


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Deadlines
DFAIT Graduate Student Exchanges, apply by October 15, 2007: Under the Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship Program and Government of Canada Awards Program, opportunities to host graduate students from abroad for six months, value $10,000 per exchange. Canadian institutions (mobility/exchange officers or faculty members) must apply. For program and country details, see www.scholarships.gc.ca/noncanadians-en.html. Information: Julita Palka, jpalka@cbie.ca.

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