North-South research

With the recent growth in the numbers and types of student mobility programs with the South, there has been increased debate on the effectiveness of such programs in developing global citizens and on their contribution to development results.

Universities Canada is currently studying mobility in North-South partnerships, particularly the outgoing mobility of Canadian students. Through research, consultations and policy dialogue, we are identifying and documenting promising practices in student mobility programs implemented by Canadian universities as part of their internationalization strategy and examining the success factors behind them.

Student mobility – collection of papers

Increasing student mobility is a priority for Canadian universities.  This new collection of papers presents original research carried by Drs. Rebecca Tiessen and Kate Grantham that explores the opportunities and challenges involved in meeting that goal. They focus specifically on Canadian university North-South student mobility, whereby Canadian students travel to countries in the Global South for educational purposes including studying; doing practicum placements (co-ops, volunteering or experiential learning), or combining study and practicum work.

This collection of papers takes a more in depth look at the themes covered in the guide North-South mobility in Canada’s universities.


Recent report

Background documents

Universities Canada managed the Students for Development program from 2005 to 2014. The program enabled 1,515 Canadian university students to participate in three to six month internships with host organizations in developing and emerging countries. As the program was coming to a close, Universities Canada commissioned studies to assess the impact of the program. Some of the results are provided below.

With the support of

IDRC | CRDI logo vertical

Universities Canada