Go Global Day highlights travel opportunities for students

By Saima Asad, October 4 2016 —

The University of Calgary’s Go Global Day came to MacHall on Sept. 28, where representatives from multiple organizations gave information on how students can internationalize their degrees.

The U of C Centre for International Students and Study Abroad (CISSA) coordinated the annual event.

“The goal of Go Global Day is really to increase U of C students’ awareness of all of the amazing opportunities out there for them to internationalize their degree — whether it be through study abroad, working abroad, volunteering abroad or a combination of all of the above,” CISSA manager Colleen Packer said.

Exhibitors included foreign universities with exchange partnerships with the U of C, volunteer abroad organizations, student clubs, work abroad organizations and internship abroad agencies.

Packer said the variety of exhibitors reflected the diversity of students’ interests.

“We know there are students looking for a variety of opportunities, not just for when they’re students, but also when they graduate,” she said.

U of C director of International Relations Glynn Hunter said studying abroad is a viable option for U of C students.

“We have a very good suite of offerings that students can pick from,” Hunter said.

Study abroad experiences for U of C students range from short-term trips to entire years abroad at partner universities.

Open studies student Andrea Weglo attended Go Global Day knowing exactly what she was looking for.

“I want to teach English in Japan next year,” Weglo said. “I heard of the Japanese Exchange and Teaching program online and wanted to get more information. Talking to a person from the company [was] definitely helpful.”

According to Hunter, U of C students internationalize their degrees more than the average Canadian statistic.

“[The] Canadian average normally takes the number of undergraduate students and divides it into the number of students that go abroad,” Hunter said. “We know that on average three per cent of Canadians study abroad. Using that criteria, we’re at 3.9 per cent.”