With global travel starting up again, the BGInS Program is reopening opportunities for students to go abroad for their international experience requirement. We are also maintaining experiential learning opportunities here at home for those who choose not to travel.
The Vice President of Students and Enrolment has stated that travel for university purposes is now allowed for students who have an international experiential learning requirement. BGInS students have already travelled this Winter to university exchange destinations and have applied for 2022/23 Fall/Winter exchange opportunities. Although the application deadlines for these opportunities have passed, students may still apply for Letters of Permission as well as Winter virtual placements. Exchange applications for the 2023/24 academic year will be available in the Fall.
Currently, we are giving priority to third and fourth year students who need to complete the IER for graduation. However, we anticipate that any backlog of senior students seeking to complete their IER will clear quickly, and we should be back to normal next year.
In addition to travel opportunities, the BGInS Program has two non-travel options for the next year, including GINS 3300 which is a virtual offering for IER credit. In this course, students will learn environmental impact assessment methodologies and will prepare vulnerability assessments for various sectors of a Global South country. The course will teach students the research skills and formats for these reports and how to present the findings to decision-makers.
The BGInS staff and faculty are excited to begin the process of sending students abroad to develop their skills and knowledge of global processes and society. We are hopeful that international travel will remain open from this point forward.
Take care,
The BGInS Staff and Faculty