Alberta ramps up efforts to recruit ‘top-tier’ international students
The provincial government is spending $1.5 million on the creation of what it's calling the Alberta Bureau of International Education
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The provincial government is spending $1.5 million on the creation of what it’s calling the Alberta Bureau of International Education, a move it hopes will attract more prospective international post-secondary students to Alberta schools.
The investment comes as part of the province’s international education strategy, which was unveiled in June 2020. A total of $1 million is earmarked to help establish and operate the organization and an additional $500,000 has already been spent on research and development.
“ABIE will be an independent, board-governed, not-for-profit organization that will help attract top-tier international students and talent to contribute to Alberta’s growing success,” said Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides during an announcement at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology on Monday.
Nicolaides said ABIE will work to attract new talent and provide Albertan students with new opportunities to study abroad. Nicolaides noted that before the pandemic, international students contributed over $1 billion to the provincial economy and supported more than 13,000 jobs.
As of 2019, Nicolaides said nearly a quarter of all graduate and doctoral students in Alberta were international students and in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math, they represented almost half of all graduate learners.
“Every day, international talent is helping Alberta solve challenges in health-care technology, agriculture and more,” he said.
“The formation of ABIE builds on our international education strategy to make Alberta a leader in attracting talent to drive the growth of skills, ideas and innovation, both locally and globally, while at the same time providing Albertans with new opportunities to study abroad.”
While Alberta’s largest universities already attract international students in larger numbers, Nicolaides said the bureau will help “showcase the diversity of higher education available in our province, like the polytechnic institutions and colleges.”
Nicolaides said there are no specific benchmarks that the program is looking to meet in terms of enrolment, but he wants to see Alberta’s share of the international student population nationally rise to the levels seen in other provinces.
According to Statistics Canada data on the 2019/2020 school year, before the COVID-19 pandemic, international students represented 11.5 per cent of university enrolments in Alberta, well short of the national total of 17.1 per cent and even further behind the 24.1 per cent seen in B.C.
“We’re hoping to see our numbers in comparison with other provinces,” said Nicolaides.
Nicolaides said SAIT will be largely responsible for the establishment of the organization, and the institution’s president, David Ross, was “instrumental in the vision” behind its creation. SAIT will be tasked with engaging other Alberta post-secondary schools to finalize a funding model and ensure compliance with all provincial and federal legislation.
“I was also an international student and did one of my degrees outside of Canada. I can speak firsthand on how important this is and what perspective it can give Albertans as they participate in what international education has to offer,” said Ross.
In a written statement to Postmedia, Mount Royal University said it welcomes the announcement and looks forward to helping position Alberta as an attractive destination for international students. International students currently account for about 3.2 per cent of Mount Royal’s student population, up from 2.5 per cent in 2021.
“International students, and international experiences for our students abroad, are a valuable part of our campus life. International students bring a diversity of experiences and perspectives to MRU, improving the undergraduate experience for everyone,” said the university.
The announcement follows a $171-million budget commitment earlier this year to open 10,000 new spots at universities across Alberta.
More to come …
Twitter: @michaelrdrguez
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