Malaspina and Downtown Nanaimo Partnership win provincial award

A team effort by Malaspina University-College and the City of Nanaimo's Downtown Partnership has resulted in a prestigious provincial award.

The two organizations have received an Internationalization Innovation Award from the BC Centre for International Education.

"We’re honored and delighted," said Bronwyn Jenkins-Deas, Malaspina's dean of international education. "Malaspina and the Downtown Partnership (a city council committee created to help revitalize downtown Nanaimo) have worked together since 2002 to further Malaspina’s goals of internationalizing the community. It’s wonderful to see that our efforts have been recognized provincially."

Each year, Malaspina welcomes more than 1,500 international students from more than 40 countries to the Nanaimo campus. International students contribute approximately $14-million to the local economy, "and contribute in meaningful and significant ways to the development of the entire community," said Jenkins-Deas.

Malaspina and the Downtown Partnership implemented several initiatives to increase the profile of international students, assist companies in internationalizing their businesses and services, enhance the international reputation of Nanaimo, and increase global awareness and understanding among citizens, she added.

For example:

* Malaspina students translated welcome messages for tourists from English into a variety of languages, and provided web page translation services for local businesses and the Downtown Nanaimo Partnership.

* The Downtown Partnership trains a group of Malaspina international students annually as downtown ambassadors. The students volunteer eight hours a week during July and August to welcome visitors to downtown Nanaimo.

* Students participated on a panel discussion with Downtown Partnership's housing committee to suggest ways that local developers might consider the needs of international students for new apartment and townhouse developments. Four hundred international students completed a survey outlining their needs, and the survey was distributed to a group of local developers.

* Students participated in a panel discussion with the Regional District of Nanaimo Transit Commission to suggest changes to bus routing that would facilitate local transit travel for international students. Since then, new routes have been put in place to assist international students in getting to the Nanaimo campus in a timely manner.

* Malaspina helped prepare an investors’ package for an international audience with a welcome message from Nanaimo Mayor Gary Korpan in Chinese.

* Students participated in the annual Old City Quarter Heritage Street Festival by setting up an international student booth, wearing traditional costumes and providing information about their countries.

* Malaspina worked cooperatively with local motels and banks to improve services for international students. Some local motels provide reasonable monthly rates to international students, daily pick-up and drop-off at Malaspina and weekend excursions. Another motel hosts a welcome barbecue and takes students crab fishing. The Royal Bank assists international students with their banking needs before they arrive in Canada.

"All of these initiatives represent a planned and strategic attempt to link international education with the Nanaimo community," said Jenkins-Deas. "We believe the community plays an important role in helping Malaspina provide a welcoming and supportive community for international students. Local businesses and the entire City benefits directly from the presence of international students in our community. If Nanaimo is seen as a welcoming community, this helps our efforts to recruit new international students in the future, which in turn provides more programs for Canadian students."

George Hanson, Managing Director of the Downtown Partnership, said "It’s an honour to be recognized for the award along with Malaspina University-College. The initiatives we’ve implemented over the last three years have added to the cultural diversity of downtown Nanaimo."

An ad-hoc committee made up of Malaspina staff and students and the Downtown Nanaimo Partnership continues to meet regularly to find new ways of internationalizing the community.