During the week of November 16-20, Parkland College joined educational institutions from across Canada and more than 100 other countries in celebrating the 12th annual International Education Week (IEW).

IEW honours the many people who participate in international education – supporting foreign students, collaborating with international partners, and building capacity in emerging countries. This year’s theme is “Celebrating Canada’s Engagement with the World.”

Parkland College began welcoming international students to its campuses in East Central Saskatchewan in 2009, according to a release. In the years since, more than 100 students from India, Jamaica, Nigeria, and numerous other countries have studied at Parkland College. Many of those students have started careers locally.

“The people who come to study here not only get a great classroom education, but they also learn what it means to be Canadian,” said Dwayne Reeve, president of Parkland College. “Our international students interact daily with fellow learners, instructors, and the community, giving them a very comprehensive experience.”

Parkland College is becoming more involved on the international stage. The College is in the midst of a two-year partnership with HEART Trust in Jamaica to develop essential skills and pre-technology training in key sectors of the Jamaican economy and to prepare students for employment. The College also recently worked with the University of Belize Central Farm Campus to develop a degree program aimed at getting more women working in agriculture. And now, Parkland College and Sault College (Ontario) are bidding to work on a pre-technology partnership with ARUSHA Technical College in Tanzania.

IEW is an opportunity to raise awareness and understanding of international education and its significant benefits to our social, economic, and cultural well-being. It underscores the value that Canadians place on connecting with the world through studying abroad, internationalized curricula, international service, and on opening the world to Canada by welcoming international learners, promoting student exchanges, and encouraging qualified foreign students to make Canada their new home.

About Parkland College

Since its inception in 1973, Parkland College has worked to expand the philosophy of life-long learning in East Central Saskatchewan. Among the seven basic principles upon which the community college system was founded is the idea that programs are to be developed in response to the needs of the community. Today, Parkland College offers a broad spectrum of educational services from trades training and high school upgrading to the province’s most diverse off-campus university offerings.