Memorial University students will gain life-changing global skills through funding awarded by the Government of Canada’s new Global Skills Opportunity program.

Memorial has been awarded a total of $1 million to provide direct financial support to students for global skills development over the next four years.

Equity, diversity, inclusion

Students from across all Memorial campuses will have the opportunity to participate in a bursary program with $500,000 in funding designed to support individuals with disabilities and those who self-identify as Indigenous to participate in study and work abroad programming.

The funding will be available for students from all campuses looking to take part in exchanges, group study abroad opportunities, conduct research or participate in co-operative education experiences abroad.

Ocean-specific opportunities

The Marine Institute (MI) has received $500,000 to build global and intercultural competencies for students in the blue economy.

Additionally, students will gain global skills and engage in experiential learning through short-term outbound mobility initiatives with MI’s strategic partners in the Caribbean.

Funding from the Global Skills Opportunity program will be available for MI students studying the diploma, certificate, bachelor’s degree, and advanced diploma programs.

“We know that experiences in other parts of the world significantly enrich the post-secondary learning experience,” said President Vianne Timmons.

“This funding means that more students will benefit from learning and working in the global context, enhancing their academic experiences at Memorial’s campuses.”

Various opportunities

Funding will also be allocated for a student ambassador program, a risk management system for travellers from the Memorial community and new programming at Harlow Campus.

“This project requires international offices to closely collaborate with student support offices (Indigenous students, students with disabilities, students with low incomes, etc.), across all Memorial campuses to ensure that the mobility experiences are safe, appropriate and enriching,” said Dr. Sonja Knutson, director of Memorial’s Internationalization Office.

“We look forward to enhancing our global offerings for students.”

The launch of Memorial’s program is planned for spring/summer 2022. Details on how to access funding opportunities will be shared with students as they become available.

Global Skills Opportunity is a national outbound student mobility program that is expected to enable more than 16,000 Canadian college and undergraduate-level university students from across the country acquire the global skills employers want and the Canadian economy needs. A key component of the Government of Canada’s International Education Strategy, Global Skills Opportunity is funded by Employment and Social Development Canada and is administered jointly by Colleges and Institutes Canada and Universities Canada.