All the WOW events that I went to were great – WOW does give a sense of a community trying to improve its attraction and retention!

Caroline Andrew
Professor, University of Ottawa
I was happy to see integration to Algonquin territory and indigenous culture related programming in 2014 WOW. Please continue to involve local Aboriginal organisations and…

Linda Manning
WOW 2014 participant, Senior Fellow, University of Ottawa
The target beneficiary of the work of OLIP is the whole community. In this short period we have planted together important seeds for Ottawa’s development.  

Dick Stewart
OLIP Council
In our city’s history, immigrants have always played an important role. They build our economic prosperity, diversify our culture, contribute to our social vitality.

Jim Watson
Mayor of Ottawa
The work and expertise that OLIP brings to our community is so important as it helps us to build bridges and break down silos.  I look forward to our continued work together. 

Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa
The Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre is so happy to have joined the OLIP Health and Wellbeing Sector Table. It is clear that OLIP cares about immigrants and refugees and…

Wendy Tang, Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre
Canada has been shaped by people who came from all over the world to build this country. WOW offers a platform for us to celebrate this history and the future it will help…

Alex Munter, Chair of the OLIP Council and President and CEO of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre
The OLIP Council is committed to leadership.  In only a few years, we have a common vision and priorities, and are up to the task of implementing the Ottawa Immigration Strategy.

Salimatou Diallo
OLIP Council Vice Chair, Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario
The City of Ottawa will continue to play a lead role in the implementation of the Ottawa Immigration Strategy, just as we did in the founding of OLIP.

Steve Desroches
City Councillor and Deputy Mayor of Ottawa
We are very pleased to have done the “Opportunity Cost of Not Investing in Interpretation” report – it is so important to have clarity on these challenges and…

Hindia Mohamoud, Director, OLIP

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

July 18, 2013

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 2nd 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

The full coverage of panel discussion on attraction and retention of international students and the Question & Answers with the audience is provided in the following video.