CBIE Foresees Long-Term, Sustainable
Partnerships with Brazil
February 28, 2015
For over fifty years, the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) has been committed to the cross-spectrum internationalization of education. With members from K-12 school districts, language schools, colleges, institutes, and universities, CBIE covers all levels of education and also partners with organizations such as NAFSA, IIE, AIE and other internationalization associations worldwide.
CBIE is a key presence at international events, such as the Conference of the Americas on International Education, and hosts a large annual conference, which took take place in Ottawa in 2014 and the next Conference will be in Niagara Falls, November 22-25, 2015.
With such a diverse and welcoming environment, it is easy to see why Canada ranks as one of the world’s top ten most popular destinations for foreign students. “Our institutional student services are second to none,” pointed out Jennifer Humphries, CBIE vice president of Membership, Public Policy, and Communications. “Our schools and post-secondary institutions go out of their way to make international students welcome.”
When it comes to cross-cultural exchange, Canada has a special relationship with Brazil. The Canada-Brazil Joint Committee for Cooperation on Science, Technology, and Innovation was established in 2012 as part of an effort by both governments to cultivate partnership. As Margaux Béland, CBIE vice president of Canadian Partnerships, explained: “When you look at where Canada is a key player globally and economically, and then you look at Brazil, there’s a lot of overlap within oil and gas, green technology, oceans, etc. There was a feeling that there was a need to try and encourage more collaboration between our two countries.”
The Brazilian government’s Ciências sem Fronteira (CsF) program has been significant for sending Brazilian students abroad, and set a model for other countries like Canada to follow. Through an initiative called “Canada’s Global Engagement Challenge,” CBIE hopes to encourage more Canadian students to go abroad and take advantage of opportunities for reciprocal exchange.
CBIE is working to strengthen the CsF alumni network, and hosting an alumni event in Brazil in December 2014. This is part of a greater vision for the future of educational cooperation between Brazil and Canada, in which CBIE foresees long-term, sustainable partnerships and more opportunities for collaboration through bilateral research.
