International Education Week Celebrates the Best of Humber’s Internationalization
December 6, 2019
Celebrated in more than 100 countries worldwide, International Education Week (IEW) is an annual celebration of international education, global exchanges and a recognition of the incredible work Humber does throughout the year to strengthen global learning and internationalization in our community. All six faculties contributed to the programming of events that took place over two weeks.
This year’s celebration (November 5-14) was a truly collaborative effort across both campuses, connecting students, staff and faculty in an inspiring series of cross-cultural showcases, global mobility and development information sessions and international strategy workshop.
Through IEW, we have the opportunity to hold community wide conversations encouraging comprehensive internationalization at our campuses.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM HUMBER’S IEW CELEBRATIONS
Through partnership with Humber Career Services, a new session was piloted, Study Abroad – Get a Job! This career readiness workshop was for both international and domestic students, with a focus on the transferability of global learning to the skills and competencies required to thrive in both Canada’s global workforce and internationally. This collaboration was an incredible pilot for furthering international touchpoints across campus through workshops and other initiatives.
A mix and mingle session for the 2019 exchange students at Humber and the domestic students going abroad in 2020.
Humber’s International Development Institute (IDI) in collaboration with the Community Outreach and Workforce Development (COWD) hosted IEW Non-Profit Marketplace where more than 20 international organizations and partners promoted opportunities to help students learn about their work and the array of available international internships and volunteer opportunities.
IDI also hosted an International Storytelling event, which focused on a unique collaboration between IDI and students from the Bachelor of Film and Media Production program. These students travelled to Kenya in support of the IDI’s Kenya Education for Employment Project (KEFEP) and created a short documentary. The film screening was followed by a panel discussion featuring the filmmakers as they explored the role of media in advancing international development efforts.
Participants at the International Storytelling discussion panel and film screening
“This was a really interesting example of how we can leverage Humber’s diverse expertise and get more participants engaged with the IDI and international projects in general,” noted IDI Program Officer, Clarisse Estebar. “This event also highlights the importance and powerful impact of experiential learning experiences put into a global context.”
The highlights of IEW are aligned with the directions defined in our Internationalization Strategy and the events were designed keeping those goals in mind. Our international students also had an opportunity to get involved through Global Student Focus event. A student-hosted cultural showcase that included cultural booths, entertainment and food highlighting: Mauritian, Russian, Nigerian, Ecuadorian, and Taiwanese cultures.
Student holding a friendship band at the Global Student Focus event
INTERNATIONALIZATION IS THE HEARTBEAT OF OUR ACTIONS
For Humber, IEW has become an annual observance of how far we’ve come with internationalization. We are grateful for a successful IEW 2019, which helped further increase our efforts to support students and in many ways our community members can get involved in projects and activities related to Humber’s International Strategy.