International Projects and Partnerships
Nearly 100 years ago, a group of Englishmen came to the Vermilion School of Agriculture. The British Boys were Lakeland's first international students. They learned how to farm.
We've had some international students through the years. They've been from as far away as Japan and Peru. There have been many more of you in the 21st century. Information and travel are much easier than they were even 20 years ago.
Our history includes projects with international partners. Those partners usually include a college or university in another country. Most often, other Alberta or Canadian colleges are part of the project.
Lakeland's first projects were in the 1980s and involved the Middle East. More recently, we've shared what we know about course development with schools in African and Central American countries.
Our international department isn't just about international students coming here. It's also about current Lakeland students travelling abroad. This could be a semester abroad, an internship, international work experience, a practicum or a tour.
Lakeland's first projects were in the 1980s and involved the Middle East. More recently, we've shared what we know about course development with schools in African and Central American countries.
Our international department isn't just about international students coming here. It's also about current Lakeland students travelling abroad. This could be a semester abroad, an internship, international work experience, a practicum or a tour.
| International Work Experience |
| The world is your classroom New perspectives. International networks. Lifelong friendships. Whether you study far from home or accept a short-term or long-term work placement with an international host organization, also known as an externship, the skills you learn and the people you meet open doors to a whole new world. There are also volunteer programs, such as CUSO International, where you are paid an allowance while sharing your skills and expertise overseas.
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| International Practicums |
| Human Services students have been on the road out of the country every other year starting in 2010.
Their first international practicums in 2010 was to Australia. Their second was to the Dominican Republic.
Groups have now been to Hawaii three times: 2014, 2016 & 2018.
Learn more about their experiences on the [human services international practicum] page.
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| Study Abroad |
| Whether you are interested in spending a semester, a full academic year or longer studying abroad, there are programs available to help Canadian students to study or intern internationally.
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| International Projects |
| International projects have varied from having crop specialists from the southern US visit agricultural class rooms to discuss the similarities and differences in growing crops in their respective climates to our ag tour club going abroad to see agriculture in action from Brazil to Hawaii to fire instructors visiting Dubai to promote our ability to bring training to other locations.
More major, and long-term projects, have involved Lakeland, other post-secondary institutions.
Tanzania partnerships
One example started in 2011. Lakeland was part of an Association of Canadian Community Colleges Education for Employment project in Tanzania. Funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
Lakeland's work was an analysis of the monitoring and evaluation systems used in Tanzania’s post-secondary education systems. Instructors and administrators visited Tanzania to develop recommendations.
Tanzanian Ministry of Education and Vocational Training reps visited the Vermilion campus where they worked with college staff and representatives from Alberta Enterprise and Advanced Education to develop a national strategy and four specific outcomes for its post-secondary system.
Work in Tanzania is continuing.
Belize
In 2013, Lakeland started another longer project with University of Belize and the Belize Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture.
The three-year $440,000 project is developing a framework will enable Caribbean countries to develop training programs that align with the needs and demands of its agriculture industry.
As a side note, our ag tour club travelled to Belize again in 2018.
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan's interest in developing its beef industry was the impetus for a joint Canada-Alberta project begun in 2013.
In 2016 it brought Kazaks to Lakeland and took Lakelanders to Kazakhstan. This was the third time that Lakeland representatives travelled to the former Soviet republic.
The most recent trip saw instructor Geoff Brown and 2 students spend 10 days there in October 2016. There part of the mission was related to practical training and sharing the Student-Managed Farm concept.
One of the Kazak visitors wrote a short paper about how he and his colleagues learned more about how ultrasound scanning information can help in developing quality beef. |
| Academics Without Borders |
| Lakeland College is a member of Academics Without Borders, a consortium of Canadian post-secondary institutions whose mission to work with volunteer academics to help developing countries build the capacity of their post-secondary institutions to drive development and improve the quality of life in communities around the world.
Read more about Lakeland joining Academics Without Borders.
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| Feature Stories |
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Meet Jitesh Haria who visited Lakeland from India 19 years after he graduated. Krupa Shah became the first international president's medal winner in 2019
This was the 9th year university transfer students have gone to Mexico. It even inspired 2 of them to return there to teach.
Real estate appraisal & assessment students also went to Mexico in 2019. Previous destinations included Brazil, Greece, Thailand and Vietnam.
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