Students choose Canadian universities for their higher education because it offers variety: variety of nationalities, campus sizes, city or town sizes and a range of activities. Best of all, the cost of a Canadian education and living costs are cheaper compared to the United Kingdom or United States while still ensuring quality.
The UAE Canadian Education Fair held at the Canadian University of Dubai last week helped students narrow their options.
Why choose Canada?
Deborah Schuck, Trade Commissioner in Education and Training, Embassy of Canada, said it is important for students to choose an institution that's right for them. "We believe Canada is a good destination as we have excellent institutions and cutting-edge research," she said.
Schuck added that Canada's mostly public universities are not ranked and students should look carefully at the programmes of its 200 institutions.
"Students can be assured that whatever course they do, it will have the same quality and they can take it anywhere in the world," she said, adding Canada's friendly society was a drawcard, as well as the fact that one out of six Canadians is an immigrant.
Campuses are active, Schuck said, with sports, activities, student associations and cultural associations available. "One of the biggest clubs when I was in university was the Arab student club. There's a lot to make students feel at home."
The good news for prospective students is the recent change to Canada's immigration laws, which allow students to work up to 20 hours a week while they are still in school and stay afterwards for two to three years to gain work experience.
Universities have their say
Algonquin College's assistant manager of international marketing and recruitment, Nadia Ramseier, said students come to Canada because of the quality of education and lower costs of education and living.
"With such a diverse range of options I think putting Canada as your first choice is definitely a good idea. You have cities that are very diverse – small cities like Halifax, big cities like Toronto and French cities like Quebec and Montreal," she said.
Algonquin College, which offers two-year degrees, aims at creating skilled graduates as it offers work experience. Its students often transfer to universities in order to graduate with four-year degrees.
Admissions advisor Kemale Pinar at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) said the institution was among the top 10 in Canada. "We're ranked number five among the comprehensive universities by MacLean's magazine," Pinar said.
The university offers the full spectrum of undergraduate, masters and PhD level courses with more than 80 majors.
Pinar said engineering – chemical, civil, electrical – was popular with students at the fair. The university is also well known for its environmental science and business programmes.
UNB has two campuses, which have a 20 per cent and seven per cent international student population. New students enjoy the social life there, Pinar added. "We're in a small city, there are activities that people like to pass their time with and that's music from bluegrass to jazz."
Transferring students
Current Canadian University of Dubai students Sanika Kulkarni, Arslan Aslam and Agha Akbar are all hoping to transfer to Canadian universities in the near future.
"I want to transfer to Canada to do my BBA or MBA because I'm already at a Canadian university and it's easy to transfer. It's also a better study option for me I think and the quality of education is extremely high," said Kulkarni, a second year student.
For Aslam the main reason for his transfer is to gain Canadian citizenship. "It's a big positive point and secondly it's the quality of education and the fact that it's recognised around the world."
Aslam also wants to gain work experience in Canada. He is considering a business degree at the University of Waterloo or the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.
Akbar has studied at a Canadian university. He returned to Dubai for family reasons. He now wants to go back to continue his education there. "I chose Canada because of the different learning environment, the diversity of the people," he said.
Participating universities
Algonquin College
Carleton University
College of New Caledonia
Columbia College
Dalhousie University
Edunova
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Mount Saint Vincent University
Nippising University
Norquest College
SAIT Polytechnic
Coquitlam International Education Programme
Seneca College
St Mary's University
University of Alberta
University of British Columbia
University of Calgary
University of Guelph ESL Programmes
University of Manitoba
University of New Brunswick
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
University of Victoria
University of Waterloo
University of Western Ontario
University of Prince Edward Island
Vancouver Island University
By Amelia Naidoo, Notes Staff Reporter