Rhonda L. Lenton, Vice-Chancellor of York University, one of the major universities of Canada, downplayed any problems for Indian students in the backdrop of the present diplomatic tension between the two countries.
“I can assure that there have been no difficulties for the Indian students across our campus. I am in touch with them regularly. We have a very inclusive and diverse base in our university and have students from multiple different countries. We have international global cafes and we have different student services and I am quite confident that as universities we are all there to provide full support to our students from India,” remarked Lenton while interacting with media persons in Bengaluru.
“For students who are India-born and are studying in Canadian universities, there will not be any problems and will be able to move back and forth between the two countries without any problem. I do not think that there will be any issue for India-born students to travel to Canada to pursue higher studies.
"At our university, we have our own immigration officers as well and we are there to provide full support to any Indian student with regard to any difficulty in processing their visa application. We have a very inclusive and diverse base in our university and have students from multiple different countries. We have international global cafes and we have different student services,” added Lenton.
Canada’s York University and O.P. Jindal Global University have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for academic collaboration and supporting student mobility between the two countries. The MoU is expected to grow the collaborations that they have in academic programming, research, innovation, entrepreneurship activities, and conferences. As part of the partnership, the two universities intend to focus on student and faculty exchange programs, short-term study abroad programs, dual-degree programs, and collaborative research projects.
York University will invest in several critical initiatives that are expected to strengthen its ties with India and create mutually beneficial opportunities for talented students and researchers, including an India Immersion Programme with O.P. Jindal Global University. York is reportedly the first Canadian University to have a United Nations CIFAL Training Centre dedicated to promoting inter-sectoral cooperation on policy development in areas such as disaster risk, emergency management and humanitarian actions; health, development, environment and climate change, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
“India is one of the world’s fastest-growing markets and having our students come here for short entrepreneurship study tours under partnerships is a crucial development,” Lenton said.
C Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University, announced many joint initiatives as part of the MoU. These include the launch of an India Immersion Program for Canadian students to enable them to better understand India as a country and its growth story.
“It is too early to predict any kind of effect on the Indian students in the backdrop of the current turn of events between India and Canada. Recent data from the Canadian Bureau for International Education shows that nearly 34 percent of Canada’s international students come from India. There is a need to encourage growth in the number of Canadian students visiting India in near future. This relationship will not only boost the association between our universities but also strengthen the long-term educational relationship between India and Canada,” said Kumar of OP Jindal Global University.
