Speaking Notes for Opening of South Asian Business Club Conference, March 16, 2007 (Conference Theme: India-A Promise of Sustainable Growth)

• delighted to be with you to welcome everyone on behalf of York University and to help open this conference
• commend the South Asian Business Club at Schulich for its initiative in planning this conference
• will begin with some general context about York’s international agenda and our activities in India (which are described in greater detail in the hand-out), and then share with you some reflections about opportunities for links with India based on my two trips to India, most recently with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty’s mission in January
• note that I have also for a number of years been involved in the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, which promotes knowledge and understanding between Canada and India through academic initiatives (research, teaching, and student support)
• while your conference centres primarily on India as a destination for business and careers, I hope that my comments in a somewhat broader context will provide a useful backdrop for your more focused discussions later in the day
• York University has been engaged in international activities throughout its history, but we have recently begun to approach internationalization more strategically following the recommendations of a task force on internationalization at York in 2000
• as a result, I established the position of Associate Vice-President International to foster and coordinate internationalization; we want to ensure that internationalization is pervasive at York, i.e., that it infuses our research, teaching, and academic programs and that it involves all Faculties
• our University Academic Plan (UAP) enshrines internationalization as an academic priority: it is our aspiration to be a leader in Canada in relation to internationalization and to provide all of our students with opportunities to gain international experience
• by "international experience" we do not just mean opportunities for study abroad (for example on an exchange) since we recognize that many students cannot or do not wish to spend a lengthy period at another institution, so international includes the "international at home," for example, studying a language, enrolling in one of our interdisciplinary programs such as African Studies or South Asian Studies, or doing research on one of the diasporic communities in Toronto
• we also welcome large numbers of international students to the University; these students enrich the cultural mix of the campus
• internationalization provides enormous benefits to both the institution and to students
• for the University, international initiatives enhance and celebrate diversity and multiculturalism on our campus; they provide links to local and international communities; and they open up opportunities for partnerships with outstanding institutions in other countries
• for students, international opportunities enrich their educational experience; they allow them to engage with languages and cultures other than their own, providing new global perspectives through "lenses" other than English and North American; they prepare students for "global citizenship;" they offer enhanced alertness to ways in which the world is changing; and they frequently give students a competitive edge in pursuing future employment opportunities
• there are also challenges to international involvement, again for both students and institutions
• for students costs, language barriers, bureaucracy, apprehension (about spending time abroad, impact on grades, etc.), and concerns about how to integrate study abroad into their program of study are often impediments to participating in exchanges
• for institutions, the identification of appropriate exchange partners (in terms of quality, programs, and locations) and the need to provide supports to students are challenges
• until very recently, federal and provincial governments have shown little interest, let alone leadership and vision, in relation to internationalization of universities
• in Ontario, little or no funding has been devoted to international aspects of higher education in comparison with some other provinces and the U.S.
• however, I am happy to report that we are now seeing signs of greater government interest in developing international links generally and in the internationalization of post-secondary education specifically
• for example, in his report on postsecondary education in Ontario for the provincial government, former Premier Bob Rae argued for the importance of supporting opportunities for international study: "International study is intensely enriching. Participating students benefit from a broader educational experience. Home and host institutions benefit from a more diversified student body. Ontario benefits from stronger ties and contacts with the rest of the world and citizens with a better understanding of global issues." – he also urged that governments and institutions work together to develop a "comprehensive strategy for marketing Ontario’s higher education sector abroad"
• the Ontario government is developing an international strategy which includes universities and is intended to forge cultural, social and economic links with international partners
• Premier McGuinty’s January mission to India was part of this strategy, and followed a similar mission to China last year
• there have also been other important signs of increased provincial government interest and support: York played a key role in making an argument to the government to reinstate funding for the Ontario/Baden-Württemberg and Ontario/Rhône-Alpes exchange agreements involving a consortium of Ontario universities and consortia in regions of Germany and France, and we were recently successful; there is also now the Ontario/Maharashstra-Goa agreement (about which I will say more later) on the same model
• and just last month, the government announced a significant new scholarship program (significant both for the students it will serve and as an indication of changes in the government’s policy directions); the Ontario International Education Opportunity Scholarship Program will provide crucial support ($2500 each) for more than 1000 students studying abroad over the next two years
• part of York’s internationalization strategy has been the identification of key regions where we wish to develop partnerships; India is one of these strategic areas
• we already have a good deal of activity in India, as indicated on the hand-out, encompassing research, teaching, exchanges, and other activities
• teaching activities have been focused largely in Arts and Fine Arts, and research activities in Science and Engineering, in particular in relation to space research and technology; we also have an innovative (and prize-winning) international internship program, which allows students to spend the summer months working (with York support) in international placements and which includes several opportunities in India; in addition, we have a number of successful exchange agreements with Indian institutions
• Schulich, in particular, has a very active and visible presence in India and plans for expansion; currently SSB has undergraduate and graduate exchange links with the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and Bangalore, and the School recently opened a satellite centre in Mumbai, which recruits students to the School’s programs, works with alumni in relation to career planning, and provides executive and leadership development programming for Indian executives, including in-house training for some leading companies, e.g., the Tata Group; this centre provides an excellent foundation for activities in India for both Schulich and York more broadly
• the invitation to participate in Premier McGuinty’s delegation to India represented for me an important opportunity to further promote York’s interests in India
• I had also made a trip to India in January of 2006, visiting a total of eight cities in just under two weeks – quite a whirlwind tour!
• as part of that tour, I had an opportunity to visit a wide range of academic institutions, both public and private, and including undergraduate, graduate and comprehensive institutions, research institutions, and management training institutes
• a number of things struck me in particular, from the perspective of a Canadian university administrator, as I visited Indian universities:
• first and foremost, I was impressed by the academic quality of the institutions I visited and the excellence of the education and research that is being conducted, despite significantly fewer resources than are typically available to North American universities; whatever they lack in financial and material resources, Indian institutions more than make up for in "people resources"
• in part, the quality of the institutions is a function of the quality of the students; I became aware of just how fierce the competition is to study, particularly at Indian Institutes of Technology: close to 300,000 students take the IIT Joint Entrance Exam every year and of these only about 3000, or approximately 1%, are accepted (compare this to an acceptance rate of about 10% at Harvard)
• perhaps it is a combination of Indian culture and the need to make the best possible use of resources at universities that has led to a willingness to share facilities (e.g., laboratories) that in turn fosters productive collaborations across programs and fields in a way that is not common in Canadian universities, even one like York that prides itself on its interdisciplinarity
• there is great potential for Canada-India academic collaborations; as countries we share some similar roots and contexts and therefore face similar challenges
• it is probably the case that initially Canadian universities had recruitment interests in mind in their dealings with Indian institutions (and India remains an important recruitment destination), but now we are and should be looking at exploring broader links on the basis of mutual partnerships, and York is a leader in Canada in the development of collaborations and exchanges
• opportunities clearly exist to promote a two-way flow of students and/or colleagues, for example through summer study abroad programs as part of India studies and Canadian studies programs, joint programs between institutions in the two countries, internship and co-op placements, and research collaborations with institutions and industry
• there is tremendous scope for collaboration in areas such as management education, executive education, languages, film, media, communications, health, urban issues, and environment, as well as sustainability more broadly
• my recent trip to India as part of the McGuinty mission confirmed the views I had developed earlier with regard to the quality of Indian institutions and the potential for collaborative endeavours in India
• international communications and technology have enhanced international opportunities and supported their development, but ultimately there is no substitute for bridge-building with people and institutions through direct contact; the McGuinty mission therefore provided a significant opportunity to solidify and build on existing contacts and foster new ones
• the delegation included about 100 representatives of government, business, and educational institutions, and its purpose was to promote cultural, educational, and economic links with India; we visited New Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai
• the mission received coverage in the Indian media, including an article in the Economic Times of India which reported on opportunities for Indian graduates educated in a global context and possessing excellent management and technical skills to contribute to meeting the need internationally for workers with this kind of background; because of its disproportionately large youth population (54% of the population is under the age of 25), India is uniquely positioned to respond to and benefit from these opportunities in the global labour market – this means a need for educational programs offering skills training as well as language training and experience with a range of cultures – for some, this will mean studying overseas, but for others it may mean programs offered in India through collaboration with Western institutions – there is also a need for policies to facilitate international education and migration
• more than 20 agreements between postsecondary institutions in Canada and India were signed during the mission, including student and faculty exchanges, research collaborations, and creation of joint programs
• as part of the visit, I signed new exchange agreements on behalf of York with several outstanding Indian universities: Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Indian Institute of Technology (Mumbai), St. Xavier’s College (Mumbai), and the University of Pune
• York has led in making the case to the Ontario government for support in the establishment of a student exchange agreement with India, modelled on the highly successful Ontario/Baden-Württemberg and Ontario/Rhône-Alpes agreements, to which I referred earlier; these efforts culminated with the signing on this trip of the Ontario/Maharashtra-Goa exchange agreement; as with the OBW and ORA agreements, York will serve as the Ontario coordinating university for the exchange, which involves a consortium of about 15 Ontario universities and a similar number of institutions in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Goa
• I also gave a short presentation on the Schulich School to financial services executives in New Delhi and Mumbai and participated in an alumni event in Mumbai (we have a number of well-positioned alumni in India) – these kinds of events provide a foundation and networks for further development
• I was delighted to discover that York already enjoys a strong and very positive profile in India: David Malone, Canada’s High Commissioner to India, reported to the group of participants from Ontario educational institutions that York is regarded as one of the top five Canadian institutions in terms of both reputation and initiatives in India, and is coming ahead very fast and strong
• looking to the future, there is enormous interest in India at the educational and corporate levels in further development of partnerships with Canadian institutions to expand awareness of our cultures and provide training
• there are also challenges in relation to partnering with Indian institutions, including infrastructure, bureaucracy, resources, and legal aspects
• in this regard, a debate with important implications for our future presence in India relates to the establishment of campuses in India by foreign universities, and the regulations to which they will be subject
• in the meantime, we should continue to enhance our strong profile and connections in India; they will help us to address these and other issues as we move forward with plans for expansion of activities in India

Sheila Embleton
Vice-President Academic
York University
embleton@yorku.ca