I'm reading through @MitacsCanada's new report, titled "Graduate student international engagement and its potential for Canada" ( https://www.mitacs.ca/en/newsroom/publication/graduate-student-international-engagement-and-its-potential-canada) based on research and roundtable discussions (Jan 2020).

I've never thought about this broadly, so here I am, reading

Background: One of ’s important opportunities for building meaningful international networks is graduate student international engagement (never thought of it this way!). This has the "potential to kickstart" long relationships supporting research, innovation, trade & diplomacy

International engagement takes many forms, including obtaining a degree abroad, field work, study tours, internships, etc.
Research-specific engagement can include research co-production, sharing data sources, idea exchange, attending conferences, visiting labs, etc.

Student's objectives will vary e.g. a master's student likely to seek skills and experience, PhD students likely focus on advancing research
"Canada has little centralized data about the quality or quantity of international engagement taking place at the graduate level"

Students recognize the value, seen in past Mitacs program participation
2016 Canadian Graduate & Professional Student Survey found that half of respondents didn't have an opportunity to collaborate internationally. 76% say int'l research collabs are somewhat/very important

Benefits for students: Access to high-quality researchers & resources, build international perspectives & relationships, develop skills & global competencies, increase competitiveness for awards, tap into global networks of expertise

"Short-term mobility in particular is often associated with higher academic scores and degree completion rates...higher employment rates and salaries after graduation...benefits are greatest among students from less advantaged backgrounds."

(opportunities need to be accessible!)

Benefits for institutions: new skills enhance research quality, build capacity through research sharing, cross-border knowledge mobilization, build "research excellence"
Benefits for : support research excellence, attract top talent, build international knowledge networks

"International collaboration has been found to contribute to research quality, with one study estimating 40 percent higher citation rates for scholars with more than one country of affiliation"
ranked 7 out of 20 for publications with >1 int'l co-author between 2009-14

International engagement also brings in & retains talent e.g. "international graduate students in the natural sciences and engineering disciplines who have previously participated in a Mitacs internship have a higher retention rate than the national average"

Ofcourse, there are many challenges: logistics (e.g. immigration requirements), finances (international portability of awards, scarcity of funding for overseas research), absence of formal supports (have to navigate on own), disjointed communication & administrative challenges.

Approaches to address these:
Role of professors: can help shed light on benefits of international engagement, encourage more goal-oriented behaviours
Leverage international talent: help int'l students integrate better local students can build global competencies

Data tracking: most obvious approach - who is participating, the barriers and outcomes. "This data should be centralized, maintained, and made easily accessible"
Mobilize Canadian stakeholders: share best practices in engagement, programs, eligibility criteria, etc.

The Qs I have left right now: This report was carried out before the pandemic, so how has COVID-19 impacted graduate student international engagement? How can we continue to leverage virtual connections to make this form of engagement more accessible?

(/fin)