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The Canadian Association of Public Schools (Caps-i) has officially announced the launch of a new website that will enable students and agents to access information for 50 member school boards from nine provinces in Canada.
According to Bonnie McKie, Executive Coordinator at the association, the bilingual website (a French version is due to launch in April) will work in conjunction with the government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT’s) Edu-Canada brand (see page 6). “The membership information from the Caps-i organisation and website will soon be linked to the [Edu-Canada] website and feed their high school search engines,” she explained.
Caps-i was formed in spring 2008 in order to provide opportunities for the joint marketing of Canadian public education overseas. Geoff Best, President of the association, commented, “Caps-i is setting standards for the care and support of international students studying in school boards across Canada.” He added, “All of our members are dedicated to making Canada the first choice for parents and students planning a study programme abroad at the elementary, junior, middle and high school levels.”
Kim Hoffart from Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools in Saskatoon, SK, said he believed membership would generate many benefits. “Being part of Caps-i ensures a high level of quality as a public school district,” he said. “Unlike other countries where private schools are viewed as much better than public schools, here in Canada, public schools are viewed as having excellent reputations and the choice of most families in Canada. I feel that by being part of Caps-i and on the website, we now have a seal of quality that students and agents can count on.”
Greg Murphy from Golden Hills School Division in Strathmore, AB, added, “With the website, Caps-i will play an integral role in raising the global profile for its Canadian Secondary Public Education membership and inform those looking for high quality educational & cultural experiences in our country.”
Manitoba launches international strategy
The province of Manitoba in Canada has launched a five-year international education strategy that aims to boost international student enrolments at schools, colleges and universities. The province currently gains an estimated CAN$75 million (US$56 million) from international student expenditure every year and has seen international student numbers increase by 102 per cent between the year 2000 and 2006.
The strategy will seek to expand the capacity of educational institutions for international enrolments through providing a range of opportunities and support services for international students, participating in international development projects, partaking in offshore educational collaborations, providing international learning opportunities for students, teachers and educational staff and integrating an international dimension into teaching and learning processes.
Andrew Swan, Competitiveness, Training and Trade Minister for Manitoba, who launched the strategy, said, “Manitoba is recognised internationally as a competitive economic centre, an attractive destination for investment and an excellent location for immigration and international study. Our international education strategy will help further build our reputation in those areas.”
Europe plans university league table
The European Union has launched a new web portal in order to promote European universities to students from around the world. The website, www.study-in-europe.org, was developed as part of a campaign to boost the profile of Europe’s 4,000 higher education institutions worldwide.
The EU is also planning to launch a ranking scheme for its universities that will enable non-EU students to make a more informed choice about where to study in the continent. Jan Figel, European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, said that the new scheme aimed to offer “accessible, transparent and comparable information”. He added, “We need ranking tools that take into account the existing diversity in terms of languages, subject areas, profiles, student services, research and teaching quality. [This] is among the projects which are giving an important contribution towards this objective.” The new league table is planned to be available in 2010.
The new website is available in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Russian and covers information such as admission procedures, costs and scholarships in each of the 32 countries in Europe. European universities and higher education institutions can apply for a Study in Europe communication tool kit that offers guidance on topics such as marketing techniques, media strategies and higher education fairs.
News in brief
UK university to open Malaysian campus
Newcastle University in the UK has signed an agreement with a Malaysian organisation that will sponsor Malaysian students and allow them to study the university’s degrees in Medicine and Surgery at a branch campus in Malaysia. The five-year bachelor degrees will cost half the price of the same course studied by an international student in the UK.
The first intake of students at NUMed Malaysia will be in September 2009, although Malaysian students will study for the first two years in the UK and transfer to the Malaysian campus when it is built in 2011.
French school opens Institute of Wine
The École Supérieure de Commerce de Dijon-Bourgogne (ESC-Dijon) in France has announced that it is to open an Institute of Wine in October this year. The institute will group together all the school’s wine courses, including an MSc in Wine Business – taught entirely in English – and summer courses in wine and culture aimed at international students.
ESC-Dijon was founded in 1899 and Joelle Brouard, Director of the school, said, “This institute will bring together the activities of teaching, research and entrepreneurship at the service of economic players in the wine sector, from production to distribution.”
International student increase in Taiwan
The number of international students learning Mandarin or attending a university in Taiwan increased by 1,000 between 2007 and 2008, according to the Ministry of Education. In total, 18,306 international students studied in the country in the 2008 academic year.
Approximately 71 per cent of the students were Asian in origin while the top five nationalities were Vietnamese, Malaysian, Indonesian, Japanese or American.
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