Students urged to embrace global study opportunities

Ghanaian students have been encouraged to expand their horizons by taking advantage of study abroad opportunities that will equip them for emerging job prospects in the global job market. 

In an interview with the Daily Graphic on the margins of a working visit to Ghanaian schools, Associate Dean of Global and Community Engagement at the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University in Toronto, Dr Maria J. Maciel Jorge, emphasised the importance of developing a global mindset.

“I think it's very important for everybody to think about what it is like to be a global citizen and to acquire a global mindset.

“In today's careers, we are really talking about global communities. So if you want to be part of a global community, York University is preparing students to be global citizens, working in global communities. So it is important to think beyond your world,” Dr Jorge said.

She disclosed that currently, York University is one of Canada’s top five comprehensive universities with its Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies offering more than 90 undergraduate programmes allowing students to combine programmes, bridge discipline and enhance their career prospects.

She, therefore, urged the students to take advantage of the programme’s flexibility.

Joining her for the visit was the Dean, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University, Dr John J. McMurtry.

Visit

Dr McMurtry explained that the purpose of the visit was to reach out to students interested in York University, collaborate with Ghanaian researchers, establish relationships with schools in the country and connect with Ghanaian alumni who were part of the over 350,000 global alumni.

With Ghana and Canada’s relationship dating back to 1957 as well as the increase in the Ghanaian community in Toronto, Dr McMurtry said it was important for York University to connect with Ghana and collaborate in areas of mutual interest. 

One of such areas, he said, was research, adding, “Our researchers are very interested in researching Sub Saharan Africa, West Africa, but also we know that there are so many things potentially for us to work with Ghanaian scholars who are top scholars in the world, to make sure that our research has the most impact possible”.

As a result, the Dean announced that York University intended to focus on research collaboration in areas such as medicine, engineering, environment, business and politics.

He disclosed that the university had shown interest in the medical school at the University of Cape Coast due to its strong programmes. 

Permits

On measures being implemented to ensure a smooth transition of Ghanaians interested in studying at York University in the light of Canada’s cap on the issuance of student permits for international students, Dr McMurtry described the announcement as surprising to the university community.

However, he said York University had decided to double down on relationships with countries that matter the most to the school, adding that Ghana was not an exception.

“Ghana is one of our priority countries, and we want to make sure that we're engaged with those priority countries,” he added.

Dr McMurtry said in some cases, it was difficult for international students to navigate the government system.

As such, he said the school had made provision for a pool of lawyers with expertise in immigration law to support international students right from the application process until they were able to successfully enrol into the school.  

BCC

For his part, the Principal of the British Colombia College (BCC), Dr Benedict Nii Tetteh Yartey, whose school hosted the York University delegation, said the school’s curriculum had been designed to position its students to assert their place in the global job market.

Equipping the students with skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, leadership, communication, collaboration, creativity and innovation, he said, was at the centre of the school’s curriculum.

He added that BCC had for the past four years, been pursuing the Ontario Secondary School Diploma, allowing its students to meet the basic requirement for an undergraduate programme at York University.

“We have students who have graduated with this diploma, and they are studying out there,” he said.

In addition to this, Dr Yartey said the school had also mapped out plans with York University to ensure that students from BCC were able to gain conditional admission effortlessly to schools in Canada.