COVER STORY
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: CANADA’S ADVANTAGE
Image credit: ANDREA PIAQUAIDO on Pexels.
By SHAGORIKA EASWAR
If one were to visit the University of Toronto campus in the first week of September, one might think they were at a university campus in New Delhi or Hong Kong, Grant’s Desi Achiever professor Vivek Goel had said in 2005.
He was, at the time, vice-president and provost at the university, and his appointment as the first South Asian to the post was reflection of the diversity on campus, he had said.
“It is important for people, specially young people, to see that people from all communities can move into significant roles. It’s very important for them to have role models.”
The number of role models has only grown with the burgeoning international student population over the years.
A new survey reveals that international students from around the world have rated Canada as the top destination for post-secondary studies.
The Crossroads study included over 4,000 respondents from over 20 countries, including the major source countries of India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Philippines, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Singapore.
Almost 60 per cent of international students interested in studying in Canada are fully vaccinated and an additional 33 per cent will get their vaccines as soon as they can, according to the study. Additionally, 83 per cent are willing to quarantine upon arrival to ensure safety on campus.
The numbers, compiled by IDP Connect, was welcome news as universities and colleges across the country grapple with reopening scenarios.
Canada was ranked as the overall top destination by international students in the same research. It scored top marks in five of the six categories, including welfare of international students, policies for international students, post-study work-visa policies, safety of citizens and visitors and economic stability. It came second to New Zealand for best response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The findings are part of the fifth instalment of IDP Connect’s International Student Crossroads research, which has examined the attitudes and behaviours of more than 4,000 international student applicants, offer holders and current students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other destinations rated in the study included Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
“Canada continues to lead the world in terms of being seen as a welcoming destination for international students,” says Jonah Duffin, director of External Relations. “Not only do students from around the world want to come here, but when they get here, they are satisfied with their decision,” he adds.
According to the research, Canadian post-secondary institutions can expect increased numbers of international student enrolment, with 79 per cent of students saying they expect to start their studies as planned this fall. Even if Canadian schools can’t initiate full-time, in-person classes, students are more committed to studying here than in any of the other countries included in the study. Almost half (49 per cent) of respondents say they are unlikely to switch destinations to gain face-to-face instruction, while the average for students committed to studying in the remaining four countries is 39 per cent.
“Canada policy makers and educators should be commended for how they have shown care for students, visitors and citizens,” says Duffin. “This research demonstrates students are showing increased loyalty towards Canada as their destination.”
This, of course, is good news for Canada.
Anita Anand, Canada’s minister of Public Services and Procurement and another Grant’s Desi Achiever, had said, “International students not only contribute $15 billion to the Canadian economy every year, they are often ideal candidates for Canadian residency as they are fluent in the language and well-versed in Canadian ways.”
And yet there has been some noise in the media about international students.
Are they net-contributors or are they net takers? Worse, are they “displacing” Canadian students? While some of the concerns may appear genuine, the debate remained uni-dimensional. The presence of international students has multiple facets including monetary and social and the results are long-lasting. Most of these international students are making a commitment to Canada and the country is gaining bright young minds. Yes, it might be a pathway to immigration, but the country gains people who are schooled – literally – in Canadian ways.
All of the following Grant’s Desi Achievers came to Canada as international students, some for post-secondary schooling, others for post-doctoral studies. All of them have gone on to make a name for themselves and to make their new country, Canada, proud. They contribute to the Canadian fabric in countless ways.
“Believe in yourself and you will get there,” says Dr Shashi Kant.
World-renowned forest economist Dr Shashi Kant came to Canada as a Commonwealth Fellow to the Uof T where he did his Master of Arts (Economics) and Ph. D. (Forest Economics).
He has received the Order of Ontario for outstanding achievements in the field of forest resources, economics and sustainability management.
The director of the Master of Science in Sustainability Management program at the Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto Mississauga, and professor, Forest Resource Economics and Management at the Faculty of Forestry, UofT, professor Kant is recognized as a leading authority in the field. He is the first Canadian to receive the Queen’s Award for Forestry and has a slew of other prestigious awards including the International Union of Forestry Research Organization’s Scientific Achievement Award and the Premier’s Research Excellence Award. He was an honorary professor at Nanjing Forestry University and a visiting professor at the Zhejinag Agriculture and Forestry University in China. He has authored and co-authored books on the subject and is editor-in-chief and guest editor of several professional publications. He has presented papers at international conferences across the world.
Professor Kant has received grants of over $3 million to fund his research and been on the selection committee of the Sören Wibe Prize in Forest Economics, the top prize in forest economics. He was invited to speak to the Standing Committee on Bill 151 and some of his observations became key elements of the Ontario Forest Tenure Modernization Act. He was consultant to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and to the Credit Valley Conservation Authority.
He advises newcomers to let go of their ego.
“We come with expectations. I was at this position back home, how can I take an entry level job here? Well, a job is a job. Do it well and you will move up. It may take time, but believe in yourself and you will get there.”
“If you thrive personally, you thrive professionally,” says Dr Srividya Iyer.
Srividya Iyer came to Canada as a post-doctoral fellow in 2006. Her name figures prominently on the list of Canadian women in public health.
As the Scientific-Clinical Director of ACCESS Open Minds, she is working in the field of youth mental health and early intervention in Canada and beyond.
ACCESS is a pan-Canadian youth mental health network that includes urban, rural, and Indigenous communities, the homeless young in Montreal and first-year university students in Alberta. Offered at 14 sites across the country, it helps researchers gain knowledge from different contexts. Such projects are usually conducted in urban, academic settings and conducting it in the real world has its challenges, says Dr Iyer. But it also allows them to take what they learn and apply to other communities that much faster because they partner with young people, their family members and service providers to identify their needs.
A faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University, Dr Iyer is also a member of the Global Mental Health Program. She has received numerous awards and was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.
She tells newcomers and women who seek her advice not to put off personal milestones.
“It can be hard to do justice to both, but if you thrive personally, you thrive professionally. Resilience depends on a stable base of love and support.”
She tells them to find a core group that they can look up to. “Because there aren’t too many people like you in positions of power, the journey can be longer, there are setbacks, but if you have people like the seniors at my university who mentored me, it is such a boost.”
And to find something meaningful.
“It’s a long, hard journey. Newcomers, specially women, have to work twice as hard to prove themselves. You make the choices that make the most sense as you navigate a new country, a new system, but every step is worth it if it is meaningful.
“For me, it is so personally rewarding to work in partnerships that find data not just in numbers but in stories and in lived experiences. I’m very privileged to work in this field.”
“Bright young people should be in professions they are passionate about,” says Dr Tarlochan Sidhu.
Dr Tarlochan Sidhu came to Canada in 1983 from Punjab, India, to do his Master’s at the University of Saskatchewan.
The string of letters after his name attests to a long and distinguished career. He has developed new techniques for power system automation and protection and holds several patents. He has also prepared standards and guides for the industry through the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and is the recipient of many prestigious awards including Fellow of IEEE – only 0.1 per cent of IEEE members belong to this elite group – and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering which picks just 50 engineers a year for the honour.
The professor and dean, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Ontario Tech University, is perfectly positioned to describe what international students can expect in Canada.
“Canadian universities are among the best in the world and our engineering programs are very well regarded, so our programs, lab facilities and curricula have high standards to meet,” he says. “We have to generate new ideas and our research has to look to the future to build capacity, to keep our position globally. At almost every university in Canada, students receive guidance and help in how to make a pitch, how to raise money on legal issues, patenting. It’s a robust system.”
He cites the examples of Mohamad Vedut (Software Engineering, class of 2017) and Mechanical Engineering student Yasin Othman. Vedut’s startup, EMAGIN Clean Technologies, is helping develop innovative solutions for water management through the application of artificial intelligence and has been nominated one of the world’s top-10 global digital water companies. Othman is a co-founder of Root-works, a nonprofit aiming to provide long-term access to clean water for rural communities in Somalia and Ethiopia through building sand dams.
They have a good mix of ethnicities at Ontario Tech, with many South Asian students, too. Dr Sidhu chuckles when asked if many of them are following their desi parents’ dreams of seeing their children become doctors, engineers or lawyers.
“A few certainly are. I tell them that those were the preferred professions 40 or so years ago because there were fewer options. Now, there are so many, bright young people should be in professions they are passionate about.”
He advises newcomers to get Canadian qualifications if possible.
“Even doing a course or two is a great help. When I was a student in India, I found the system was fantastic in many respects, but lacking in a few. It was all textbook learning and scoring well in exams – ideas of innovation and communication skills were missing. My Canadian education helped me locate the gaps in my education and fill them.”
And he tells them not to lose hope.
“There may be an initial period of struggle, but Canada is a great country and rewards hard work. If you put in the effort, you will find success.”
“Volunteering on boards of film festivals and at volunteer artist-run centres allowed me to understand the Canadian context in my area of interest,” says Ali Kazimi.
Ali Kazimi was pulled aside for questioning when he landed in Canada for the first time in 1983 as a 22-year-old graduate student from Delhi who had been offered scholarships through an exchange program with York University.
Though a professor was waiting to receive Kazimi at the arrivals gate, the immigration officer questioned the veracity of his documents. He eventually let him go, mainly because he “spoke such good English” and said he would thank him for this some day.
And thirty-six years later Kazimi did, as he celebrated being selected as one of eight artists in the country to receive a Governor General’s Award for lifetime achievement in Visual and Media Arts, the first time an Indo-Canadian or even a South Asian Canadian artist has received this honour.
Not facetiously, but because it opened up a path for him to explore for the rest of his life what power was and how it impacted our lives says the documentary film maker and associate professor at the department of Film and Media Art at York University.
UBC bestowed a Doctor of Letters, honoris, on Kazimi – most honorary doctorates are Doctor of Laws, the D.Litt. is given specifically to scholars.
His critically acclaimed documentaries Narmada: A Valley Rises, Shooting Indians: A Journey with Jeffrey Thomas, Continuous Journey, Random Acts of Legacy and others have been shown at festivals around the world. They have picked up several prestigious international honours and awards including a Gemini. Many Canadians only became aware of the infamous Komagata Maru incident through watching Kazimi’s Continuous Journey.
“I started from scratch, I knew it would be very difficult and it was – I lived extremely frugally for the first 20 years of my career and only found financial stability after I began teaching. But I knew arts councils judge on merit, not on your connections. Canada Council for the Arts has been absolutely central to my growth, as have the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council.
“One of the best ways for immigrants to connect with the land, literally, is to go out and see what grows when and how,” he says. “I find gardening immensely calming. Our yard is filled with trees.”
He also suggests volunteering as a way of getting to know the community intimately.
“Volunteering on boards of film festivals and at volunteer artist-run centres allowed me to understand the Canadian context in my area of interest. The nucleus of my friends’ circle comes from that. Otherwise you risk getting stuck in this paradox of having come with your qualifications but not being able to break in because of lack of Canadian experience. We all make trade-offs in terms of how far we’re willing to deprive ourselves of material things to achieve our goals in life. It’s a personal choice that we have to confront with clarity.”
“Stay the course and take calculated risks,” says Neeraj Monga.
Neeraj Monga, a forensic accountant and financial analyst who works in equity research and corporate governance, came to Canada in 1998 to study at the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.
“Mainly because it offered the same world-class education as Harvard, and I could afford the first-year tuition with my limited financial resources,” he says. “I could then apply for Canadian residency after five months and get a student loan to cover the second year.”
Apart from the course itself, he found almost everything challenging.
He’d rented a room in a basement apartment that was mere minutes away from the bus stop from where it was a straight ride to the university. One morning Monga opened the door and stepped into three feet of snow. With no winter boots, nor a proper winter jacket, that walk is still etched in his memory.
“It took me 25 minutes to wade through the snow! Finding the kind of food I was used to was also hard. But it was learning by experience.”
Monga was offered an internship by his professor in his very first summer. Straight out of management school, he landed a job with Bain & Company. He then joined Veritas as their first employee and would go on to become executive vice-president and head of research before leaving to launch his own company, Antya. His firm offers discretionary investment management services to Canadian investors, helping them preserve and enhance capital through focused and disciplined wealth management.
Some of the most respected institutional investors globally seek his advice on corporate governance and security valuation, and in performance from portfolio, Antya is probably in the top one per cent of money managers in North America based on its returns in the equity growth portfolio.
He tells those who seek his guidance on finding success in Canada that they have to first know where they are headed.
“Know your True North. Then stay the course. Take a professional path and keep working hard to make it happen. And take calculated risk. People think that an accent can come in the way and it might, but everyone here is competing on an equal intellectual basis. In Canada, 99 per cent of the people are as educated, or more, than you. When I graduated 20 years ago, most people had two degrees. There was a doctor or a CA doing his MBA with me. Now, three or four degrees are the norm.
“Think of it as a marginal return on investment. The marginal return on education diminishes as more and more people attain the same education. So you have to pull yourself above the crowd.”
Monga pursued success because he wanted to be the best in what he did, he says.
“I managed to do that, but what continues to drive me is that now I have a more tempered outlook. Earlier, I was cocky, now I know I can be wrong, that I don’t know everything. It’s important to keep learning. To change your position as facts change.”
Shrad Rao’s advice: Focus on the most important tasks for just the next step in front of you. Don’t worry about what happens 10 steps ahead.
Shrad Rao changed the spelling of his name, Sharad, to improve efficiency.
“This was back in university, twenty years ago,” says Rao, who came to Canada in 2001 at age 19, as an international student, and graduated from University of New Brunswick in 2005 with a business degree and a major in accounting.
“People were struggling with my name, one person called me Shrub! I’m a creature of efficiency, and I thought, this enunciating one’s name slowly and clearly at the beginning of each conversation takes too much time, let’s shorten that cycle! Let’s really get to know each other, let’s talk about more interesting stuff.”
After a few years of valuable experience in the world of business and finance, he launched Wagepoint, a payroll software for small businesses, when he was 31. He left his job with just $18,000 in the bank, giving himself one year. His wife Leena helped backfill some of the living expenses. Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency in Halifax made an initial investment of $500,000 and followed that up with two more over the next two years.
Today, Wagepoint provides payroll software to more than 12,000 small businesses across North America and move three-and-a-half billion a year in payroll.
“It takes a lot of hard work to build a high-growth company in Canada, especially right now. We’ve gotten here by being laser-focused on giving entrepreneurs, accountants, and bookkeepers the tools and flexibility they need to succeed. This investment is a big step forward for the Wagepoint family, which includes our small business customers and partners – and it’s only the beginning. The goal is to become number one in Canada.”
An Eastern philosophy, a harmonious worldview has informed his approach to running the business.
“I believe that we are all the same, we have the same needs, wants, desires,” says Rao. “That’s just the way I see the world and it helps foster a culture of camaraderie.”
Asked for guidance by international students, he recounts his own experience.
“I didn’t really experience a culture shock. Unless you count the fact that moving from bustling Dubai to a very quiet St. John was bit unnerving initially – I wasn’t used to so much space and such few people! I’d look down the street and see a lone figure in the distance! A small town can be a closed society, but students build our own communities. I was part of so many groups. I don’t see the world in terms of differences. Habits and ways of doing things are all nuances, people are people.”
And his tips on finding success as an entrepreneur?
Focus on the most important tasks for just the next step in front of you. Don’t worry about what happens 10 steps ahead.
Self-awareness is critical. Be honest with yourself.
Try to keep your ego flat because great ideas come from everywhere and you should never be so sure of yourself that you miss them.
IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS
Image credit: NEWS CANADA.
• In 2018, international students accounted for more than $22 billion in spending in Canada, representing 17.4 per cent of Canada’s total service exports that year.
• In 2018, nearly 54,000 former students transitioned to permanent residence, an all-time high.
• Over 52,000 Indian post-secondary students studied in Ontario’s world-class universities and colleges during the 2018 to 2019 school year.