North Island College’s executive director of international education, Mark Herringer, was recently nominated and accepted as a member of the Ministry of Advanced Education’s International Education Project Council.
The council brings representatives from across British Columbia’s education sector together with key government partners, business and students to promote B.C. as a global hub for international education, and to advance and support the objectives of the Province’s International Education Strategy.
“The primary objective of the Council is to inform the International Education Strategy which is in its development phase,” states Herringer. “The Council will finalize the International Education Strategy with an end goal of developing an implementation plan.”
B.C.’s International Education Strategy envisions a high quality internationalized education system that fosters societal development and prosperity for the citizens of British Columbia and our global partners.
“NIC is newly active in International Education and for the college to have the provincial recognition of representation on this province-wide initiative is reflective of the strength of our international program and of (NIC) president (Jan) Lindsay’s leadership in this area,” Herringer explains.
The overarching goals of the Strategy are the attraction and retention of international students to B.C. to ensure these international students have quality learning and living experiences while in the province, and BC communities and families enjoy the benefits – economically, socially and culturally.
“I’m sitting on the Council with representatives from SFU, Capilano University, BCIT and other significant BC governmental and community organizations,” continues Herringer. “This is a very important opportunity for NIC to provide a voice for smaller, rural institutions and colleges and ensure that we are well positioned to fully participate in this strategy.”
British Columbia’s International Education Strategy is targeted for completion by Dec. 31. Representatives have been meeting bi-weekly since the end of October.
To learn more about North Island College International, visit http://international.nic.bc.ca.
— North Island College