Travelling to Vancouver for the international education conference

By: Ritz Cruz and Catarina Pham

In 2023, your Executive Team and Maja from the Marketing Team took a trip to Vancouver for the International Student conference from November 25th – 30th.

When we attended the CBIE Conference (Canadian Bureau for International Education) in Vancouver,  the whole experience was amazing and very interesting. It’s such a privilege for us as international students to be able to attend a conference about international education. Also, travelling with the SSU team for a work trip is something that we always look forward to. We had the opportunity to meet with various professionals from across Canada and around the world to share ideas with and collaborate on ways to enhance the international education experience.

The first night was the opening ceremony at the Vancouver Aquarium. It was everyone’s first time visiting the Aquarium and we all loved it! The organizers did a very good job adding a unique educational experience to the networking event. We got to meet and talk to so many people, including the Student Care team, representatives of Student Unions, and other conference attendees.

Starting our conference week, we got to choose 3-4 workshops to attend per day from their program list. Each of us aimed to pick different ones so we could learn more things when we converged again as a team and shared the important learnings we got from the sessions. One of our favourite sessions was: “Navigating High-Risk Waters: Strategies for Successful International Partnerships”—where they talked about different strategies a post-secondary institution can use to expand their academic, training, research, and recruitment globally. Both presenters were from the University of Calgary and happened to be a father-and-son duo, which is fun to know. Another session we enjoyed was: “Zero Plans for Net Zero? Brainstorming Solutions for Studying Abroad in a Climate Crisis,” which discussed providing culturally immersive experiences for students while having climate action in mind. We did a campfire session where we brainstormed ideas on how to design programs for students with the intention of reducing our overall carbon footprint.

The highlight of the trip for us is our University of British Columbia Campus Tour. Kyle, our SSU President, gave us a tour of The Nest—AMS Student Center Building and other campus facilities. We were really amazed to see a very modern building with a lot of social, recreational, and study spaces for students. We sensed the lively vibe right away, truly the heart of their campus. On top of that, there are a lot of sustainability aspects applied to both the structure and building management that we can apply to our college as well! From collecting rainwater and recycling it to having greeneries, waste management, and much more. It’s called The Nest because of the floating auditorium in the middle of their main hall that is shaped like a nest. 😊 It’s fun to visit different universities and observe an interesting campus community. Since our goal is to create an exceptional student experience, going on these kinds of trips is very helpful in discovering ways to elevate our approach. I think we’re all really interested in that because it’s a chance for us to get to know more student unions outside of Ontario.

Besides the conference, this trip was also a chance for us to bond with each other, the Executive Team and Maja from the Marketing Team. We spent every moment together, from getting breakfast to attending the conference to going back to the hotel and getting dinner together—we spent a lot of time with each other. There were tons of things that we talked about, so many photos we took together, and many times when we all burst into laughter throughout the trip. 

We believe that the best #SheridanLife is one where students have access to opportunities, experiences and tools that help them grow and serve their fellow students.

That’s why the Sheridan Student Union is committed to offering our student leaders career development opportunities and experiences that help them grow and serve the needs of our students. To read more about how your student leaders are working together to advocate for the best #SheridanLife, visit thessu.ca/sheridanlife.