Canada celebrates International Education Week Nov. 17 to 21, the Burnaby school district is looking to expand its growing international program into new markets.
The district runs the third largest program in the province, with 1,049 students expected to generate more than $14 million this year – an increase of nearly $6 million since five years ago.
The budget for the program is $8.7 million.
But international education is a competitive business worldwide.
“We’ve got a really strong program and we’re always looking at ways we can strengthen it,” assistant superintendent Heather Hart told the NOW.
Toward that end, the district struck an ad hoc international education committee this fall to look into different possibilities for the program, both at home and abroad.
Thirty-one countries are represented in Burnaby’s international student population, with most (about 70 per cent) coming from Asia, notably China, Korea and Japan.
Europe and Latin American each account for about 15 per cent, and the Middle East for another small handful.
To prevent recruiters from other programs around the world from swooping into their markets, local international education officials like to keep more specific data about numbers and countries close to their vests.
This year, however, they have said they will ramp up their efforts in two countries: Indonesia and Russia, according to a report to the school board last month.
“Each year we have Indonesian students and Russian students enrolling, and they’ve done really well in our program, so, of course, we would like to expand the number of students studying with us from those countries,” international education manager Angela Ferraro explained.
The plans for Russia have yet to be finalized, but for the first time ever, School District No. 41 will send a representative to Indonesia this year to participate in an education event hosted by the Canadian embassy.
The district sends recruiters on similar trips around the world about six to 10 times a year, according to Hart.
“That’s the primary activity abroad,” she said.
Word of mouth is another way the district draws students.
“We have a really good track record,” Hart said. “Students go back to their homeland; they speak to their family and friends, and we get repeat business and new business from that.”
The district’s comprehensive international program website also attracts a lot of students.
But rather than focusing on numbers alone, Hart said the district works to draw from many different countries to create a global experience for all students in the district.
“It adds to that piece of diversity,” Hart said. “We learn from them as much as they learn from us.”
For more information about the district’s international program, visit www.studyinburnaby.ca.
