During this highly interactive workshop, participants will have the opportunity to engage in a series of activities and conversations to assess international student support systems within their respective institutions. Through this process, they will identify potential gaps and participate in the sharing of insights and best practices to promote ongoing dialogue and advance resource development on international student support.

Prior to the workshop, participants will be provided a document highlighting key points from the BCCIE Guide for Comprehensive International Student Support (2024), a report developed for BCCIE by Tricia Best and Dr. Philip Reichert, that examines international students’ stages and engagement as they transition towards, in, throughout, and beyond Canadian post-secondary institutions using a student life-cycle approach. Leveraging the key points from the BCCIE Guide and drawing on her personal experience as a Global Community (GC) Adviser at the University of Victoria (UVic), the facilitator, Theresa Lundy, will also share learnings and practical strategies in fostering belonging, genuine relationship building, and meaningful student engagement. Discussing examples such as UVic Bound, a new Global Community pre-arrival program cultivating a sense of belonging as international students embark on their journey at UVic, participants will reflect on their student support systems and start using the BCCIE Guide for Comprehensive International Student Support as a tool to assess and improve programming.

Workshop Preparation

Participants are expected to do some reading prior to the workshop. The document will be provided closer to the workshop date. It is also expected that participants come prepared to evaluate their international student support programming and to collaborate and share their programming and experiences with other practitioners at the workshop.