Global Citizen - Intercultural Learning & Development
The Global Citizen pillar of our Strategic Plan focuses on creating opportunities for intercultural learning at home and abroad. As well, we seek to diversify our international student body to create a diverse, inclusive campus community.
International Faculty Leads Launch “International Faculty Toolkit”
In October 2020, the International Faculty Lead team launched the International Faculty Toolkit, a collection of resources in MyCanvas to support faculty teaching in diverse learning environments. It contains resources about:
- Cultural dimensions and theories
- International student journey
- Intercultural communication
- Inclusive pedagogy
- And more
The Toolkit is open to anyone who wishes to learn more about the diverse learning environment! New in Winter 2021: To provide an opportunity to track professional learning, four modules now contain completion badges! These badges are earned through reading the content, completion of quizzes and submission of module surveys. The badges are completely optional and the content can be accessed without earning badges as well. Enrol today!
CICan Grant Builds Global Learning Capacity
In November, Mohawk College was the successful recipient of a $25,000 Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) grant to support innovative approaches to building capacity for outbound mobility programs. One part of the project is a “virtual exchange” where students in the Business course “Human Relations and Leadership” participated in activities with students at The Jobs Academy (JAC) (Fondazione ITS per le nuove tecnologie per il Made in Italy) a large technical college in Italy, with the aim to build global understanding and intercultural competencies. Tracey Kadish, professor in the Tourism program at Mohawk, working with Maria Teresa Provenzale, professor of Business at JAC, developed an engaging and exciting set of workshops for students to learn about working in a global context that includes case studies, taking the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) assessment, reflection and perspective sharing.
The grant also includes the development of a “Pre-Departure Orientation” module in MyCanvas to prepare students for global learning opportunities, both virtual and in the future, in-person. The module will include sections on intercultural competencies, cultural awareness, implicit bias, equity, diversity and inclusion and cultural adaptation while abroad. The project is funded by the Government of Canada’s Outbound Student Mobility Pilot Program, which is part of Canada’s International Education Strategy. Launched in 2019, Canada’s International Education Strategy has three key objectives:
- Encourage Canadian students to gain new skills through study and work abroad opportunities in key global markets, especially Asia
- Diversify the countries from which international students come to Canada, as well as their fields, levels of study, and location of study within Canada
- Increase support for Canadian education sector institutions to help grow their export services and explore new opportunities abroad
Read more on the International Education Strategy Website.
Partnering to Green the Economy in Guyana
In February 2020, Mohawk College was thrilled to learn that we were selected to partner on the Skills to Access the Green Economy (SAGE) project, coordinated by Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan). Mohawk College is working with College of the North Atlantic (CNA) and Durham College to increase the local capacity of training institutions in Guyana, delivering gender-sensitive skills training programs that meet economic and environmental needs in the region.
According to CICan, “The ultimate goal of the program is a more qualified labour force for employment in key economic sectors vulnerable to climate change.” All in all, ten Canadian colleges and institutes will partner with twelve local Caribbean partners across the SAGE program’s six countries of focus. This $15 million program is funded by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada.
In the most recent phase of the project, CTL faculty Cathy Ozols and Johanne McCarthy are supporting the development and delivery of workshops to be provided to the teachers at Bina Hill Youth Institute (BHYI) and New Amsterdam Technical Institute (NATI) in Guyana. Meanwhile, the project lead for Mohawk, Daniel Farr will be facilitating a discovery meeting with partners at BHYI to determine how best to support the development of a preparatory program that will be developed for students this fall by partners Durham College and CNA.
Read more about the program at Colleges & Institutes Canada.