International students at the University of Prince Edward Island will soon have additional support to help them to stay in the province, reports CBC. UPEI has reportedly increased its support to international students over the past year-and-a-half in particular, and has been working with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and PEI to support students with language training and adapting to life in Canada. ACOA is providing $493,631 under its Business Development Program and PEI is providing $53K through the Department of Workforce and Advanced Learning. International students reportedly make up 22% of UPEI’s full-time student population, a figure that CBC states has been growing steadily in recent years. “This important diversity adds so much in terms of cultural exchange and learnings among all of our students,” said UPEI President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz.
PEI
PEI to Include International Students in Mentorship Program
PEI has announced that it will expand its mentorship program for recent graduates to include applications from international students, giving them better access to the PEI workforce. Skills PEI contributes up to 50% of wage costs for the first year of employment for postsecondary graduates who are enrolled in the mentorship program. “Hopefully they join the companies, help the company grow, and they will stay here on Prince Edward Island,” said Richard Brown, PEI’s Minister of Workforce and Advanced Learning, “the company grows, the economy grows, it’s good for Prince Edward Island.”
Maritime Enrolment Held Steady By Out-of-Region, International Students
Source: MPHEC News Release | February 25, 2014
A report released this week by the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission (MPHEC) reveals that 70,433 students were enrolled in Maritime universities in 2012-13. While the overall number of students remains steady compared to the year before, the last 10 years have seen the number of Maritimers enrolled decrease by 12%. Over the same time period, the number of Canadians from outside the Maritimes enrolled has increased by 28%, and the number of international students has doubled, shows the report. In PEI, the number of undergraduate students enrolled has increased by 20% over 10 years, but fell by 2.5% over the past year. Meanwhile, in Nova Scotia the number of undergraduate students increased by 4% over 10 years, and 1% over one year; in New Brunswick, the number of undergraduate students decreased by 12% over 10 years, and 1% over one year.
TCS Insights: The amount of international students choosing to study in the Maritimes is on the rise. Specifically, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia have witnessed overall enrolment numbers rise over the last decade while New Brunswick has made improvements when compared to years prior.