It’s time you were WOW’d
World Opportunities Week aims to spark student interest in international travel
Signy Holmes, Staff
Ask first-year student Kerry Harris about the University of Manitoba and she will have mostly positive things to say, with one notable exception: “I’ve lived in Winnipeg my whole life [so] it would have been nice to go somewhere new for university, but in the end that didn’t work out.”
Financing — arch-nemesis to students everywhere — was the culprit that kept Harris from her dreams. “With everything so expensive, it just didn’t make sense to leave the city,” concluded Harris, who still hopes to travel over the summer.
She is far from alone in her dilemma. The majority of students at the University of Manitoba are Winnipeggers, and many of them express envy for friends who have “escaped” out-of-province. But if students are so desperate to travel, why do dozens of the international exchanges offered by the university go unclaimed year after year?
Why so little interest?
Crystal Bernier has asked herself the very same question.
“There are programs offered that no one goes to. There just isn’t as much of an international interest as you might expect,” she said.
Bernier is the resource officer at World W.I.S.E., the centre for students interested in overseas travel located inside the International Centre for Students on the fifth floor of University Centre. World W.I.S.E. will be holding their annual World Opportunities Week (WOW) November 8-10 to promote the wide variety of programs they facilitate.
They should be preaching to the choir. What student wouldn’t want to spend a term or two in Europe, Asia or South America? Unfortunately, things aren’t as straightforward as you might think. While an average of three per cent of Canadian students spend time studying abroad, according to Rhonda Friesen, the study abroad & exchanges coordinator for the university, the proportion for the U of M is around 0.3 per cent — 90 per cent below the national average.
“Students do want to [travel], there’s no doubt,” said Bernier, who feels that many students just aren’t aware of how many options they have.
That’s why the goal of WOW is to get out as much information as possible to the student body. Organizations including Canada World Youth, Doctors Without Borders and Hostelling International will be setting up booths and sending representatives to answer students’ questions and talk about the programs they offer. Classroom presentations are also on the agenda this year.
World W.I.S.E. will have a display of their own, hoping to promote all aspects of the opportunities available to students. Exchanges may be their most popular program, but there are also many overseas options for students interested in work, internship and volunteering. In fact, Bernier said, most people would really benefit from overseas internship.
“No matter where you work today, you’re going to be working with people from different backgrounds [and] different cultures, and companies really appreciate [applicants who are] culturally aware. . . . It gives you a real advantage,” she said.
The hope is that WOW will lead to increased interest in exchanges and other programs. Bernier noted that once students hear about programs and come to talk to someone at World W.I.S.E., most of them are hooked.
Andrew McGillivray concurred. The arts student, who now volunteers at World W.I.S.E., found out about the student exchange program from a poster. He went to talk to someone at the centre and was soon studying at the Aalborg University in Denmark: an experience he has described as “unforgettable.”
Bernier has been to Mexico on several occasions. “You get to that point where you’re no longer the tourist that sits there on the beach, and you see the country and culture from a different perspective,” she said.
Why not try a year in Brazil?
Exchanges are currently available in 17 countries — including France, Germany, Japan and Brazil — and Friesen noted that the program is always growing. If you want to go to France, Germany or Mexico, Bernier suggests you know the language in advance, but most countries have courses available in English.
For students like Harris, an enormous advantage of the exchange program is that students pay the same tuition that they would at the U of M — translating into thousands of dollars in savings in countries like Denmark, Sweden and England, where the cost of living is much higher than here. Additional funding is available for students hoping to travel to Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong or Japan, and residence costs are covered in Hungary.
“You’re still eligible for student loans and scholarships, and you’re still considered a student at the U of M,” said Bernier.
Some students may express concern over getting the credits they need, but an exchange can expose students to courses not offered by the University of Manitoba.
“The best thing to do is look at the universities and their courses, take the information to your faculty and double check with student records,” advised Bernier.
An exchange, and in fact a change of almost any sort, can be a valuable thing for a second- or third-year student. A 2001 survey by the Mental Health Foundation showed that around 50 per cent of university students show signs of clinical anxiety. The constant pressures of school and work certainly lend credence to this statistic. A new climate, new friends and immersion in a new language can change your focus or pull you out of a slump — and it’s also good for your resume, Bernier added.
A range of options
The World W.I.S.E. centre does more than provide information on programs and organize WOW; it provides international course calendars and a wide selection of travel directories, reference books, application forms for the various programs available and advice on how to ensure that your credits can be transferred. The centre also offers resources for all travellers, including information on passports, taxes and financing.
Yaseen Al-Ghadeer, a U of M student originally from Saudi Arabia, knows how important all this information can be. Despite graduating an impressive fourth overall in a class of over 500, he found entry into his program of choice (dentistry) to be too competitive in his native country. He spent a year in Jordan only to find that, upon transfer to the U of M, the credits he had earned would not be accepted.
“[That year] was a waste of my time and money,” said Al-Ghadeer, who finally settled on a Canadian university, considering a combination of financial and educational factors.
This cautionary tale sums up the fears of many students leery of travelling abroad to study. World W.I.S.E. can provide assurance and information to these students. Students may also want to talk to their faculties.
“A lot of times faculties can offer direct programs and help with course transfers,” Bernier said. “[This] can really help if you’re worried about being able to get your degree and still travel.” Specific faculties and departments may also have ties to particular programs, like German and Slavic studies and anthropology.
For students hoping to get into medicine, the opportunities offered by an exchange may be outweighed by a potential cost to their marks or the limits placed on the credits they can take. Bernier recommends overseas volunteer work over the summer, noting that this gives students the chance to travel and gain experience in their chosen field.
“You don’t need a medical degree to go help,” pointed out Bernier, as there is a need for volunteers with a wide range of talents and abilities. “[Evidence of] experience and dedication can be very important when you’re being considered for medical school.”
Get out there
Any other doubts students may have are staunchly challenged by Bernier. “There’s always a chance something can go wrong . . . that you might not be happy, no matter what you do,” she said. What matters is the desire to travel and experience the world: “I’d be more worried that they’d regret not going.”
That’s not to say World W.I.S.E. would throw its participants to the wolves — far from it. “We prepare them to the best of our abilities,” said Bernier. Indeed, an orientation is provided to all students before their exchanges, and they have access to World W.I.S.E.’s equivalent in their host country. They can also get in touch with the centre here, where someone will be glad to give them a word of advice or encouragement.
“We’ve had exchange programs around for a while, and we do our best to have [future participants] meet with past participants for tips and advice,” said Bernier.
In a perfect world, there would be no need for WOW at all, as students would be battering down the doors at World W.I.S.E.’s offices. Of course, as we are all aware, this is not a perfect world. University Centre is host to countless booths throughout the year, along with crowds and line-ups for students to dodge.
Friesen concedes that this and the wide variety of student groups and organizations available can lead students to tune out what is happening. The cost of this ignorance could be high (a year in Australia or Japan), which is why World W.I.S.E. is doing everything in its power to let students know what they could be missing. WOW will be bringing these options into the university, leaving procrastinating students interested in travel with no excuse.
