VIU Expands Overseas Presence

International education is a vital part of VIU’s success. 

To foster relations and enhance VIU’s international presence, Dr. Ralph Nilson, VIU’s President and Vice-Chancellor, and colleagues travelled to India, Vietnam and China last spring.

During a visit to VIU partner institution Chitkara University, at the Chandigarh campus in northwest India, Nilson signed a new agreement for VIU’s Hospitality Management Program to allow students to take their first two years of a hospitality program at CU and then transfer to VIU to complete an undergraduate degree. There are already two agreements in place for Computing Science and the Bachelor of Business Administration degree between the universities.    

In New Delhi, India, Nilson discussed recruitment and partnership opportunities with Canadian High Commission officials. While in Vietnam, Nilson and Dr. Graham Pike, VIU’s Dean of International Education, hosted the official opening reception of VIU’s East Asia office in Ho Chi Minh City. VIU has had an East Asia office for five years, but it was previously based in Seoul, South Korea. 

In mid-March, Pike and colleagues fostered relations in China by visiting eight partner institutions in Beijing, Shanghai and the Shandong province. The visit included a stop at Shandong Technical and Business University in Yantai to celebrate VIU’s successful 10-year partnership with the school.

*This article originally appeared in the Winter 2017/18 edition of VIU Magazine. Check out more stories on the VIU Magazine webpage.