George Brown College’s Global Skills Opportunity project to help underrepresented students gain career-boosting international experience

Woman typing on a laptop

George Brown College received funding over four years to provide international work-integrated learning (WIL) and experiential learning opportunities for underrepresented students, including low-income, Indigenous and racialized students and students with disabilities. The multi-year funding of $500,000 will provide international work placements for hundreds of students until 2025. This project is funded by Global Skills Opportunity, the Government of Canada’s Outbound Student Mobility Pilot Program. 

“We will leverage our network of international partners to give priority to students traditionally underrepresented in education abroad programs and increase access, equity and diversity in mobility experiences,” said Dario Guescini, George Brown’s Director of Work-Integrated Learning, Experiential Education and Global Mobility. “International opportunities help students develop cultural competencies, strengthen their professional networking skills, and put what they’ve learned in the classroom into practice. We're grateful to our funding partners as we work to eliminate barriers for students to access these invaluable learning experiences.” 

George Brown provides a variety of global learning opportunities, including study abroad, outbound exchanges and work-integrated learning experiences for our students to build new skills, bring their creative ideas to life and prepare for success in the global innovation economy. WIL opportunities will continue virtually through 2021 with plans to start incorporating in-person placements that follow all public health guidelines when it is safe to do so. These may include study tours, courses for credit and one or two-semester work abroad placements.  

Related: 

Business student makes her mark with virtual international work placement  | George Brown College 

Virtual work-integrated learning pilot makes international opportunities more accessible | George Brown College 

Experiential Learning at George Brown College 

Access Tomorrow’s Talent Today