It  Takes  a  Village:  Building  Resilience  by  Connecting  International  Students  to  the  Broader  Community

This project had two main objectives:

• How can external stakeholders such as post-secondary institutions and off-campus community partners help international students studying in their community to build resiliency?
• How might connecting international students to the community enhance their employability post-graduation? 

What was our approach?

• Year 1 – We conducted the study in Windsor, focusing on the University of Windsor (post-secondary institution) and the New Canadians’ Centre of Excellence, Inc. (off-campus community partner). Information was gathered from administrators and international students to determine:
  1. The programs and services post-secondary institutions are providing international students in terms of boosting their employability in Canada post-graduation.
  2. The role off-campus community partners are currently playing to boost employability of international students in Canada post-graduation.
  3. Programs and services international students have taken advantage of, and their perceptions towards the effectiveness of these programs and services in terms of helping them find meaningful employment in Canada post-graduation.
  4. Coping mechanisms of international students when faced with the lack of services.
  5. Collaboration efforts between post-secondary institutions and off-campus community partners.
• Year 2 – We expanded this study to other post-secondary institutions and off-campus community partners nationally. The research scope was adjusted and expanded based on what we had learned from Year 1.