BCCIE entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) this week with the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education (IOHE). The official document was signed by BCCIE’s Executive Director Dr. Randall Martin and IOHE’s Executive Director Dr. David Julien on April 13.

IOHE is a university association represented by 27 countries throughout the Americas. Its mandate is to encourage hemispheric cooperation in higher education.

“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to partner with IOHE. This MOU dovetails perfectly with a surge in our own activities and initiatives in Latin America,” said Dr. Martin.

“With IOHE Presidency currently at Royal Roads University, a British Columbia (BC) institution, and the recent recruitment of new BC members, the partnership with BCCIE came as a natural next step and we look forward developing initiatives together with a focus on Latin America,” added Dr. Julien.

Within the same framework, BCCIE also became the 30^th signing member of the Conference of the Americas on International Education (CAIE). CAIE brings together educators across the Americas to discuss internationalization goals. Their next meeting will be in Montreal, Canada, from October 11–13, 2017.

The case for cooperation in the Western Hemisphere

Latin America is increasingly on BC’s radar for International Education collaboration. In March, BCCIE participated in CONAHEC, the 17^th Annual North American Education Conference in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Then on April 6, BCCIE hosted an Education Roundtable with Latin American Consuls General based in BC as well as representatives from the BC Government.

Brazil and Mexico are currently the top Latin American source countries for international students to BC. In 2013/14, 8,600 Brazilians and 3,400 Mexicans were welcomed into our schools.

Media contact

For more information, contact Chantal Moore at cmoore@bccie.bc.ca.