B.C. #1 DESTINATION FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

VICTORIA – B.C. is the number one destination of choice for international students coming to Canada, announced Advanced Education and Labour Market Development Minister Murray Coell during International Education Week.

“In the last year, British Columbia has become the most popular study destination for international students, drawing about 30 per cent of all students who come to Canada,” Coell said. “With almost 22,000 students entering the province last year – most of them from the Asia-Pacific - B.C. surpassed Ontario in the number of initial entries of international students for the first time.”

International Education Week is celebrated around the world between Nov. 17 and 21, to raise awareness about the many contributions international education makes to society.

B.C. has celebrated significant accomplishments in international education over the past year that helped attract students to this world-class destination, including:

· Creating One World Scholarships for study abroad opportunities.

· Expanding the federal Off-Campus Work Permit Program to 11 eligible private degree-granting institutions in B.C.

· Participating in a major China Education fair circuit (spring 2008) and the BC-Canada Olympic Pavilion at the Beijing Olympics.

· Promoting and marketing B.C. as a study destination of choice through collaborative efforts with the British Columbia Centre for International Education and international educational institutions.

· Facilitating opportunities for international students to apply to remain as permanent residents in the province by working with Citizenship and Immigration Canada on the new Canadian Experience Class for immigration.

· Partnering with the Ministry of Trade, Technology and Economic Development on the BC Alumni Initiative to engage B.C.’s expatriates and graduates of B.C.’s post-secondary education institutions presently living and working in Asia. More information about BC Alumni is available online at www.bcalumni.ca.

“International students contribute greatly to the communities in which they study and live. Not only do they have a positive economic and social impact on those communities, but they also add to the globalization of our colleges and universities,” Coell said. “The presence of international students in B.C. helps prepare our domestic graduates to be citizens of the world and learn the skills of working across cultures. These are skills and understanding required for our graduates to succeed in the global knowledge economy.”

Since 2001, the Province has invested more than $1.5 billion in campus capital expansion, opened six new universities, added 32,000 seats, and increased operating funding to post-secondary institutions by 40 per cent.

More information about international education in B.C. is available online
at www.learnlivebc.ca, and www.aved.gov.bc.ca/studyabroad.

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Media contact:	Richard Chambers Communications Director 250 952-6508 250 361-7241 (cell)

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