Volume 5, Issue 2, 2000
Table of Contents

SABER 2000 Education Fair

Held September 28-30, 2000 in Sao Paulo, Brazil the SABER Education Fair was orrganized by Brazil’s Syndicate of Private Institutions in the State of Sao Paulo (SIEEESP) - an association of 10,030 institutions that provide programs ranging from the primary to post-secondary levels for 3.5 million students. An annual event, the SABER 2000 Fair attracted over 12,000 participants including Mr. Paulo Renato, Brazilian Minister of Education, Dr. Ruy Berger, Brazilian Secretary for Technical and Professional Higher Education and educators from SIEEESP.

ACCC President Gerald Brown was invited by SIEEESP to deliver a keynote address on the significant role played by community colleges and institutes in Canada’s economic and social development as well as the college response to the changing global economy, the velocity of change and the development of new technology. ACCC and Cégep François-Xavier-Garneau, Georgian College, Institut de technologie agro-alimentaire de Saint-Hyacinthe, Mount Royal College and Niagara College participated in the Trade Fair. Information on the Canadian community college system and the participating institutions was provided to the local newspaper, which printed a two-page supplement devoted to the Canadian college and institute system and highlighted the desire of Canadian institutions to establish partnerships with Brazilian private and public training institutes.

ACCC and its member institutions have partnered with the Brazilian Federal Ministry of Education to reform Brazil’s technical, professional and secondary education system. Participation in SABER 2000 facilitated ACCC’s understanding of the Brazilian technical and professional education system, demonstrated its commitment to establish meaningful partnerships with Brazilian counterparts and provided business opportunities for Canadian institutions. For more information, contact Yvonne Desjardins, Senior Program Officer/Coordinator at tel.: (613) 746-2222 ext. 3148 or e-mail: ydesjardins@accc.ca.

International Mobility in Higher Education Program Expansion

Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) recently retained ACCC to conduct a three-step feasibility assessment for another student mobility program between Canada and selected Latin American countries, based on the current International Mobility in Higher Education Program (IMHEP) model. With the cooperation of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), ACCC first distributed a Regional Feasibility Study Questionnaire to its member institutions. Thirty colleges completed the questionnaire and the resulting analytical report was submitted to HRDC and AUCC on June 23, 2000.

In April and May, 2000, ACCC led a feasibility mission to eight Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. To assess a variety of bilateral and multilateral models of national, regional, institutional international student and faculty mobility, the mission team met with various officials from embassies, ministries of education, labour and external affairs, the National Assembly of Rectors and interest groups. The report on the feasibility mission was also presented to HRDC and AUCC on June 23, 2000.

The final step of the consultation process took the form of a roundtable discussion organized by ACCC in cooperation with the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program. Held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from December 1-3, 2000, the roundtable attracted numerous representatives from educational institutions as well as Latin American and Canadian governments. For additional information on this program, contact Yvonne Desjardins, Senior Program Officer at tel.: (613) 746-2222 ext. 3148 or e-mail: ydesjardins@accc.ca.

ACCC Conducts Institutional Expertise Survey

In cooperation with the former International Program Advisory Committee’s Communications and Marketing Working Group, the ACCC Secretariat developed an Institutional Expertise Survey that was distributed to all member institutions in November, 1999. The survey was designed to gather updated and relevant information on areas of institutional expertise in order to assist ACCC members in developing sectoral consortia.

The survey required members to indicate their expertise in the various sub-sectors of education and training. Although 60 percent of respondents indicated that their primary area of expertise lay in the area of Curriculum Design and Development/Competency Based Education, 56 percent indicated Technical/Vocational Training as their main strength. Another 40 percent of respondents indicated that their foremost area of expertise was found in the Teacher Training sub-sector.

Participants were also asked to list their expertise in areas other than education and training. The results indicated that college and institute expertise focuses primarily in the Finance/Business sector (54 percent), followed by the health sector (47 percent) and the Information Technology sector (43 percent).

The Institutional Expertise Survey is a work in progress and ACCC continues to accept modifications and feedback on the results. For more information, contact Nejat Gorica, Vice-President, Marketing and Development at tel.: (613) 746-2222, ext. 3130 or email: ngorica@accc.ca.

Learning Through Service - a CIDA-Funded Pilot Co-op Project

Funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and administered by ACCC, the Learning Through Service (LTS) pilot project is designed to enable Canadian students to further their education and training through practical overseas work placements focusing on particular issues or problems in international development.

Aimed at Canadian students, the LTS project fosters networking and leadership and provides a unique opportunity for youth to widen their knowledge and experience, enhance their marketability within the domestic and international workplace and become developmentally-aware, creative global citizens.

In order to receive LTS funding, Canadian institutions must submit a joint application with the student. The institution must also demonstrate a prior relationship with the developing country host and be in a position to help organize a fruitful placement offering local supervision and assistance. Students receive a monthly stipend of $1,250 for four months to cover meals and accommodation and ACCC covers the costs of airfare and health insurance. The overseas institution will receive a grant of $1,000 and the Canadian institution will receive a grant of $500. Overseas placements will take place during the Winter 2001 semester.

For further information or to obtain an application form, visit the LTS website at www.accc.ca/news/LTS-Pilot.htm or contact Debbie McDonald, Project Officer at tel.: (613) 746-2222, ext. 3108, e-mail: dmcdonald@accc.ca.

Second World Congress of Colleges and Polytechnics

Stemming from a recommendation emerging from the 1999 1st World Congress of Colleges and Polytechnics, the International Planning Committee for that Congress was re-designated as an Interim Steering Committee tasked with developing a World Council of Colleges and Polytechnics. Chaired by the Association of Colleges of the United Kingdom, the Steering Committee is comprised of representatives from college associations from around the world, including ACCC. The Committee has held two planning meetings and recently announced that the 2nd World Congress of Colleges and Polytechnics will be held March 24-27, 2002 in Melbourne, Australia. ACCC intends to organize a travel package to the Congress for members and will provide more information as it becomes available.

First World Education Market a Big Success

The first World Education Market (WEM), held in Vancouver in May, 2000, was attended by more than 2,200 professionals and over 1,000 participating companies from 64 countries. The event attracted new media and internet companies, colleges, universities, publishers, television producers and distributors, top-level buyers, educational and governmental decision-makers and industry leaders. A comprehensive conference program offered the opportunity for discussion on educational marketplace issues with key figures from around the world. Topics discussed included: international business expansion, the business of e-learning, new frontiers in training, university partnership models and broadband applications in education.

The WEM trade fair drew 467 exhibiting companies from 35. Many exhibitors presented technological solutions to educational programming and delivery issues. According to the Xavier Roy, Chief Executive Officer of Reed Midhem Organization, the success of the World Education Market was testimony "not only to the increased globalization of education markets, but also to the immense contribution made by technology in facilitating access to learning opportunities."¹

ACCC President Gerald Brown is a member of the International Advisory Committee for the next World Education Market scheduled for May 21-24, 2001 in Vancouver. For more information, visit the WEM website at: www.wemex.com.

1. WEM in Review, p. 1, July, 2000.

Sustaining and Extending Technical Vocational Education and Training in Jordan

ACCC is pleased to announce a new partnership project in Jordan. The Sustaining and Extending Technical Vocational Education and Training Project (SETVET) is a $5 million, CIDA-funded initiative designed to assist Jordan in strengthening its human resources for regional and global economic development, and supporting a stable society through increased employment and reduced poverty. ACCC is providing overall project management, design and delivery to ensure the greater involvement of industry in planning, designing and delivering programs and curricula as well as increased investment in the technical vocational education and training sector. The project also aims to achieve a broader knowledge of industry standards on the part of instructors and the establishment of articulation and credit transfer models based on the principles of lifelong learning. ACCC conducted the inception mission for this four-year project in August, 2000. For more information, contact Claire Soucy, Senior Program Officer at tel.: (613) 746-2222, ext. 3117 or e-mail: csoucy@accc.ca.

CIDA Awards Program for Canadians