Moderated Panel Discussion on Attraction and Retention of International Students in Ottawa

International students constitute a major area of migration growth in Ottawa. At the end of 2012, the number of active international student visas in force, over 8,500, exceeded the intake of immigrants for that same year by some 2,500. Current domestic and international policy directions support the idea of students as a ‘preferred’ immigration stream and an ideal pathway for recruitment into Canada.

As such, developing shared understanding on what is needed to create the right conditions for attracting and retaining international students was a key objective of the 2^nd Annual Ottawa Immigration Forum.

An expert panel, moderated by Dr. Chedly Belkhodja, a Professor of Political Science at Moncton University addressed this pertinent topic and answered the questions from the audience.  Panelists representing local institutions of higher education reflected on their respective institution’s learning on best approaches to recruit and integrate international students and the opportunities and challenges that they face. The members of the panel were:

Gary Slater, Professor of Physics and Associate Vice-President International, University of Ottawa
John Nelson, Manager of the International Student Services Office at Carleton University
Gilles Tousignant, International Project Manager at La Cité Collegiale
Christine Peachey, Manager, International Partnerships and Programs, Algonquin College
Mohammed Alshaebi, Programming Coordinator, International Student Centre, Carleton University Student Association