CNC signs international agreements

College of New Caledonia has signed two agreements, which will result in more Chinese students attending the college.

CNC signed recruitment agreements with Beijing Jun Yi Private High School and EduGlobal China during the Team Northern B.C. trade mission to China in June.

“It’s a little difficult with a new agreement to know how many students it will mean,” CNC international recruitment manager Micki Lalonde said.

“(But) with EduGlobal they may become one of our major recruitment partners in China.”

EduGlobal works with the Canadian Education Centre in Beijing to assist Chinese students seeking to study in Canada.

EduGlobal China client services manager Lina Li is a CNC alumnus and Simon Fraser University graduate.

Jun Yi Private High School will promote CNC as an option to study English and begin their university studies before graduating from a Canadian university.

Currently CNC has approximately 150 international students, including nearly 50 per cent Chinese students. Chinese students typically spend three to five years studying at CNC and contribute $20,000 to $25,000 to the local economy each year.

“There is a lot of competition in the world today for international education,” Lalonde said.

“It’s hard for a small school like CNC...to compete with Vancouver and Toronto. But with a small school, students get a lot of one-on-one education and supports they wouldn’t get at a large university.”

CNC’s network of home-stay families is a competitive advantage for the college, she said.

“It’s a big step for a student to come to a foreign country and take classes in English,” Lalonde said. “We have a great home stay program. They offer a warm, Canadian welcome to the students and help them in their studies.”

During the Beijing mission, CNC also began partnership discussions with Beijing Founders University and Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

If successful, the agreements will allow a two-way exchange of students between CNC and the Chinese universities, Lalonde said. Currently three students from Nanjing are studying in Prince George.

Initiatives Prince George president Tim McEwan said the education agreements will pay dividends for the city.

International students help bring an understanding of their culture to Prince George, and go home with knowledge about Canadian culture and the city.

“Anything that builds a deeper relationship with our Asian trading partners is a good thing.”