Resources for faculty and staff

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International exchange

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Supporting employee work abroad

We're committed to supporting NIC faculty and staff working on international learning opportunities for students. The Office of Global Engagement (OGE) can help employees in a variety of ways, including:

Planning a field school
Accessing funding
Developing proposals
Technical training and logistics
Sharing best practices
Incorporating international learning into program curriculum
Guidance on Indigenizing the study abroad experience

How to get involved

Below are a variety of options for faculty and staff who are considering international work on behalf of NIC. For more detailed information, contact us or visit Office of Global Engagement Employee Resources.

Field schools and faculty-led programs

Faculty will travel with a group of students and teach a course on-site at an international location. Participants will live in the same location, participate in group excursions and travel from site to site together. Faculty travel costs are normally covered by student fees and salaries are based on the course(s) taught during the study abroad trip.

While collaboration with an international post-secondary institution or organization to deliver instruction is possible, NIC faculty are responsible overall for providing instruction to students.

The OGE can help you develop the concept and structure of the field school, as well as plan budgets, itinerary, travel support and more. For more information and to access the faculty study abroad field school development handbook, visit myNIC.

Collaborative Online Intercultural Learning (COIL) projects

COIL is an innovative way of engaging students and faculty online international collaboration. This can take the form of group discussions and assignments, team projects, videoconferences and class-to-class digital meetings. These projects vary in both format and duration, spanning anywhere from a few weeks to an entire semester.

Launching a COIL project requires the co-development of a course module by two or more instructors from different countries or regions. Instructors may share a similar academic background or approach the project from an interdisciplinary perspective.

The OGE can help you connect with other faculty, identify potential partners and connect you with resources for the technical and structural aspects of your COIL project, including training.

Become a visiting scholar

Faculty may be interested in taking a term abroad as a to complete a teaching, project or applied research opportunity with one of our partner institutions around the world. Faculty can pursue these opportunities directly with the host institution or reach out to OGE for help.

Leave for Change program

Leave for Change is a partnership between you, NIC and World University Service of Canada. Under the program, NIC any regular, full-time employee can take unpaid leave or vacation time to take a volunteer assignment with a WUSC partner, such as an NGO, a public or private-sector organization or a social enterprise in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. Over the years, our employees have travelled to locations such as Peru, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Tanzania, to name a few.

Learn more about Leave for Change, including program benefits and FAQs.

International project work

Engaging in international project work provides the opportunity to share your expertise, boost your professional development and collaborate on a project with colleagues from around the world. Browse our list of partner institutions below.