Mission Statement

The Mission of the UPEI Internationalization Committee is to encourage, promote, and co-ordinate international activities through the development of strategies, policies, guidelines and programs that reflect the University’s institutional commitment to internationalization.

Role of the Committee

Reporting to the Vice-President, Academic, the role of the Internationalization Committee is as follows:

• to provide direction to the Academic Review and Planning Committee (ARPC) and the Senior Management Group (SMG) regarding international policies, programs and activities at UPEI;
• to develop, recommend, and review international strategies to the SMG and/or ARPC as appropriate;
• to support and monitor international project development at UPEI;
• if necessary, to determine the ranking of Tier 1 and Tier 2 CIDA submissions, HRDC mobility project submissions and other funded programs that require internal adjudication or ranking, and;
• to provide strategic direction on international recruitment and advisement.

Meetings

The Internationalization Committee shall meet at least six times a year and additional meetings shall be called by the Chair, if required. An annual retreat for members of the Internationalization Committee and members of the Working Committees (see below) will also take place and will be called by the Chair. Relevant briefing documents and the agenda will be circulated prior to each meeting. Support for the operations of the Internationalization Committee will come from the International Office.

Membership

With the exception of the Vice-President Academic and the Lead Dean International, appointments shall be for three years, renewable for one term. The responsibility of each member is to ensure that information from the Internationalization Committee is disseminated to and discussed with their Working Committees.

UPEI Internationalization Committee Members 2011

• James Randall - Vice President, Academic (Chair, Internationalization Committee)
• Tim Goddard - Dean, Faculty of Education, Lead Dean International (Chair, Working Committee on International Institutional Relationships and Partnerships)
• Cathy Gillan - English Academic Preparation Program (Chair, Working Committee on Retention and International Student Experiences)
• Alan Duncan - Director of International Programs, School of Business (Chair, Working Committee on Curriculum Development and Mobility)
• Kathleen Kielly - Registrar (Chair, Working Committee on International Student Recruitment)

Working Committee Mandates & Membership

International Institutional Relationships & Partnerships Working Committee

Retention and International Student Experiences Working Committee

Curriculum Development & Mobility Working Committee

International Student Recruitment Working Committee

International Liaison Officer (ILO)

To help facilitate the two-way transmission of information on international activities and opportunities, the Lead Dean International serves as the University's International Liaison Officer (ILO). Within Canada, one unit at each university is identified as its International Liaison Office and one individual within that unit is identified as the university's ILO.

The identification of the International Liaison Officer is necessary to provide the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and other agencies with one initial point of contact at each university, both for obtaining information about the institution's international activities, and for serving as the conduit through which opportunities for international activity might be communicated to the university community.

Prospecting Fund

Background:

The overall vision of internationalization at UPEI is to strengthen and enhance existing partnerships with higher learning institutions and other relevant organizations in different parts of the globe as well as here in Canada. While emphasizing the importance of strengthening existing relationships, UPEI is also committed to exploring possible avenues for building and nurturing new relationships. In doing so, the University believes that a network of global academic and research communities could provide the necessary tools to make a positive impact on many lives through quality education and research.

The benefits of such collaborations and engagements are multidimensional. Partner organizations and institutions who may not have sufficient tools or skills to further their educational and research agenda may benefit from UPEI’s resources and expertise. UPEI faculty, staff, and students participating in international projects could benefit from their partners’ perspectives, approaches and values. In effect, all parties involved will learn important lessons through knowledge circulation and exchange.

UPEI is fully aware of the opportunities and challenges that exist in such projects. While capitalizing on the opportunities, the University is also well equipped to overcome the challenges with a strong collaborative spirit. The primary mission, goal and mandate of the International Office (IO) is to help members of faculty and staff in supporting international projects and furthering the strategic framework of internationalization. We hope to facilitate this with prospecting funds.