AUCC welcomes stronger Canada-China cooperation on education, science and technology

OTTAWA – The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada welcomes news of increased cooperation between Canada and China in education, science and technology. The Government of Canada announced yesterday the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding related to the Canada-China Scholars’ Exchange Program (CCSEP) and new calls for proposals under the Canada-China Framework Agreement for Cooperation on Science, Technology and Innovation.

The CCSEP’s eligibility criteria will be expanded to include opportunities for Canadian undergraduate students and mid-career professionals to gain academic and professional experience in China (the program is currently open to graduate students and faculty members). “The renewal of this program signals the importance of higher education and research collaboration as a key pillar of bilateral relations between Canada and China,” said Paul Davidson, president of AUCC.

Canada’s universities also look forward to the upcoming calls for proposals for joint research projects, which are expected to be launched in spring 2012. A total of $18 million in funding will be available to support these initiatives, which will facilitate stronger ties between Canadian and Chinese graduate students and researchers in areas such as human vaccines and clean automotive transportation.

“Canada’s future growth and prosperity depend on our ability to be more innovative and competitive. Investments in international education and research will prepare our graduates to drive the innovative capacity of Canada’s economy and make positive contributions to their local and global communities,” said Mr. Davidson.

There are currently more than 475 active partnership agreements between Canadian and Chinese universities, facilitating student and faculty mobility, research cooperation and joint academic programming in a variety of fields. Canadian universities also hosted more than 30,000 Chinese students in 2009, which is the largest group of international students in Canada.

AUCC is the national voice of Canada’s universities, representing 95 Canadian public and private not-for-profit universities and degree-level colleges.

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For more information:

 Helen Murphy
AUCC Communications Manager
hmurphy@aucc.ca
613-563-1236 ext. 238