New secretariat helps smaller schools across Canada create student exchanges in 35 countries

The BC Council for International Education (BCCIE) has been appointed Canada’s national secretariat in the University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific (UMAP) Consortium. UMAP promotes student exchanges among 570 colleges and universities in 35 countries in Asia and on the Pacific Rim.

The new secretariat role will see BCCIE market UMAP membership to Canadian colleges and universities, says Dr. Randall Martin, BCCIE’s executive director, with smaller and rural schools standing to benefit most.

“Smaller institutions in Canada don’t have the resources to develop international exchanges for students and faculty. As the national secretariat, we can help them access UMAP and take advantage of the tremendous opportunities and benefits of sending students to Asia and Pacific Rim countries to study, and of bringing students from those countries to Canada,” says Martin.

Access to UMAP gives Canadian education institutions the following:

• mobility for students and faculty via reciprocal exchanges to higher education institutions in Asia and on the Pacific Rim
• access to scholarships for study in Japan and Taiwan
• a foothold in emerging and existing markets for international students
• strategic partnerships with UMAP partner institutions that share their values and vision around internationalization.

A full list of UMAP member countries is here. Canadian institutions that want to sign up for UMAP or learn more can email BCCIE at umap@bccie.bc.ca

For BCCIE, says Martin, acting as national secretariat provides global recognition for British Columbia as a leader for international education in Canada and beyond. “We will use this to build networks and strategic partnerships with governments, NGOs and higher education institutions across Asia and the Pacific. It also lets us further position BC as a hub for international education in the Americas and with Asia and the Pacific, as we in BC prepare to host the Asia Pacific Association for International Education conference in two years’ time.”

BCCIE is the local secretariat and Simon Fraser University the lead host for Vancouver 2020, the Asia Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) conference March 23–26, 2020. It is the world’s largest international education conference and it will be the first time that the conference is held in the Americas. More details are here.