Indian students tackle complex local research during three-month program aimed at attracting international talent to Canada.
They’re recognized as being some of the sharpest minds in the world. Now, 47 top university students from India have come to Ontario – including postings at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa – to apply their skills to complex research projects and interact with industry on our home turf.
It’s all part of a new innovative program called MITACS Globalink which is being launched to attract international undergraduate students to our country and promote the benefits of a Canadian education to those pursuing graduate degrees.
“Every year, tens of thousands of future entrepreneurs and scientists from India travel abroad to countries like the U.S. or U.K. for graduate studies,” said Arvind Gupta, Scientific Director of MITACS, a leading national research network that connects industry and academia through innovative programming. “Our message to international students is that Canada has world-class universities that provide superior education and innovative collaborative research opportunities. We also have some great companies interested in working with these students to help commercialize their ideas into the new products of tomorrow.”
At Carleton University, a student from the elite Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) in Kharagpur is working on a project to better understand the energy consumption and connectivity of directional antennas, which emit a signal in only one direction. Only 4,000 out of one million applications to attend the IIT schools are accepted annually.
At the University of Ottawa, Dr. Benoit Collins of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics is supervising a student from the IIT Kanpur who is working on a project entitled A Study of Asymptotics of Representation of Classical Groups.
MITACS developed this one-of-a-kind program with the support of the Government of Ontario which today announced $500,000 in new funding over two years.
“In an increasingly global economy, it is vital that Ontario provides its students with learning opportunities abroad while opening our doors to the world as a destination of choice for postsecondary education,” said Minister John Milloy, Minister for Training, Colleges and Universities who announced the funding for Globalink today. “Through programs like this, we can strengthen our global ties and attract and keep more foreign students in Ontario.”
Dr. Roseann O’Reilly Runte, president and vice-chancellor of Carleton University, says: “We are delighted to host a student from the MITACS program and are creating additional opportunities for Indian students as well as an India-Canada Centre for Excellence in Science, Technology, Trade and Policy.”
“As part of our participation in the MITACS program, we are proud to welcome a student from India to our campus and to allow him to develop his skills at one of our country’s best research institutions,” said Allan Rock, president of the University of Ottawa. “As Canada’s University, we are committed to sharing our knowledge with our partners around the world.”
The Globalink program was launched following a successful pilot last year that saw 17 Indian students spend three months at British Columbia universities including University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria. That pilot was funded by Western Diversification Canada, International Science and Technology Partnerships Canada, and the Government of British Columbia.
Across Ontario, this year’s 47 students are visiting from May through July and are placed at one of 10 universities: Carleton University, University of Guelph, McMaster University, University of Ottawa, Queen’s University, Ryerson University, University of Toronto, University of Western Ontario, University of Waterloo and York University.
The Globalink program also goes beyond the classroom, Gupta explains, by providing “a big picture taste for life in Canada.” As part of the internship, for example, the students spend time working alongside their Canadian counterparts to understand Canadian culture and how easy it is for them to fit in, he said. “Our goal is to have these students interact with Ontario students and form new friendships that will extend well beyond their three months in the province.”
“In order to be an international innovation leader, Canada must become an attractor for global talent, ensuring that we can compete effectively with other leading jurisdictions,” Gupta said. “Building these types of linkages to India is a key part of that strategy.”
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Gail Bergman or Deena Nathanson
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