Mobility by Design: Outbound Mobility of Canadian College Students

Project Description:

This study’s research objective was to understand the many drivers, rationales, and factors of outbound student mobility and identify ways to better prepare and engage students for these mobility experiences.

Data was collected through interviews with Subject matter Experts (SMEs), professors and coordinators from Canada and Nigeria, as well as student participants from Algonquin College.

The research data reveal that most Algonquin college students are not aware of any study/work abroad programs at the college. However, the research suggests that all the students believe that there are numerous benefits from the program and unanimously believe that better marketing and promotion are needed. Staff, academic and administrative, expressed optimism at the idea of the outbound mobility program. An important key finding is that barriers to implementation at the college level have to do with limited resources and support, and adjusting courses to fit into a mobility schedule may be difficult. All SMEs from Nigeria have collaborations with foreign institutions, including the United States of America which is significant to acknowledge looking forward to future partnerships and opportunities. From the research, cost was identified as another huge barrier, and so the possibility to expand funding is crucial. The current Covid-19 pandemic and short duration of this project was identified as major limitations to the project.

The research focused on potential pathways for program development by evaluating our key findings, which translated into short, medium, and long-term recommendations. Essentially, this research project provides insights and discussions on best practices and serves as a pathway for these recommendations to leverage new sources of funding and resources to support study or work abroad opportunities.

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