October 23 – November 13

In support of BC’s international education sector, BCCIE coordinated a Team BC Mission to Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico, from October 23 – November 13, 2019. The trip also included a MOU signing with EDUCAFIN in the State of Guanajuato. The purpose of the mission was to advance and strengthen sustainable relationships in the areas of reciprocal recruitment, collaboration, and partnership between BC’s and Mexico’s education sectors at the K-12, post-secondary, and language levels. 

Key activities

EduCanada Fairs

The EduCanada Fairs in Mexico City and Guadalajara brought together more than more than 4,500 visitors combined including 14 BC post-secondary schools and language schools. During the two-day fair, BCCIE held two 30-minute presentations on the benefits and opportunities of studying in British Columbia to more than 200 attendees.

Market briefing

BCCIE held a market briefing with the Embassy of Canada in Mexico City for BC institutions to learn more about the education landscape and recruitment and partnership opportunities in Mexico’s dynamic international education market.

Agent training and networking events

BCCIE held two education agent training and networking events in Mexico City and Guadalajara, which included a brief presentation on features of the BC education system followed by the opportunity for attendees to meet agents face-to-face to establish new contacts and consolidate existing ones. Education Agent representatives were drawn from in-country contacts with input from our colleagues at the Embassy of Canada in Mexico City and the Canadian Consulate in Guadalajara. 

Roundtable: Jalisco Consortium for the Internationalization of Higher Education

BCCIE’s Roundtable with the Jalisco University Consortium covered opportunities for joint programming, partnership development, and student, staff, and faculty mobility. It also explored connecting BC institutions with consortium member institutions on issues of teacher and student mobility in five major areas: Health, Engineering, Communication/Production Audiovisual, Social Sciences, and Business.

Mini recruitment fair

BCCIE’s recruitment event was at Universidad del Valle de Atemajac (UNIVA), a private university with a student population of 15,000 students spread across its 10 campuses. UNIVA is strongly committed to collaboration with partner institutions of Mexico and currently coordinates the Consortium of Internationalization of Higher education and its mobility in Guadalajara for Mexican and international students. BC schools had the opportunity to present their respective schools and programs.

MOU signing with EDUCAFIN

BCCIE and Instituto de Financiamiento e Información para la Educación (EDUCAFIN) announced a new partnership to develop reciprocal institutional, student, and educator mobility initiatives between Canada and Mexico. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by Colin Doerr, Director, External Relations, at BCCIE, and Jorge Enrique Hernández Meza, Director General, at EDUCAFIN, following a roundtable meeting in Guanajuato. The signing was witnessed by the Governor of Guanajuato, Diego Sinhué Rodríguez Vallejo, Canadian Consul Lewis Coughlin, and Education Trade Commissioner Verónica Soto.

Link:

For more information on our upcoming missions or other international education events, please visit the BCCIE events page.