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Queen’s is celebrating International Education Week with interactive presentations, workshops, exhibitions, and a two-day conference for students and educators to learn together and share their stories.

Embracing Identities: Stories and Strategies for Global Learning is being hosted by the Queen’s University International Centre (QUIC) and Student Academic Success Services (SASS) in Student Affairs. Running Nov. 17-18, the conference offers interactive presentations, panels, and social media campaigns to celebrate and learn from the global experiences of students and educators.

“We want to celebrate the creation of international education opportunities and initiatives in post-secondary,” says Sultan Almajil, Director of QUIC. “Our focus is to showcase the work and perspectives of students, staff and faculty from different parts of the globe and to create a platform that inspires dialogue, learning, and promotes further understanding. We look forward to welcoming members from the campus community as they attend and participate in our scheduled sessions.”

Among this year’s conference sessions, presenters from Queen’s and University of the Fraser Valley will speak on a panel entitled “Should We All Sound White? A Conversation about Accent Discrimination in Higher Education.” Attendees will be invited to share their experiences to raise awareness of this issue in our community. This session will take place on Zoom, on Nov. 17 from 1 to 2 p.m.

The following day includes “Rethinking Academic English: Balancing Assessment and Linguistic Diversity,” a faculty-focused session that will explore faculty expectations of academic English at Queen’s, and how we might balance use of a shared language for classroom discussions with the need and value of embracing linguistic diversity among students. This panel will take place on Friday, Nov. 18, also on Zoom, from 1 to 2 pm.

Conference sessions for international students cover topics such as studying abroad and finding employment. All session details and registration links can be found on the conference website.

“This is a great opportunity to learn more about the contributions of international students to Queen’s, and to engage with some of the issues that concern not just our students but our entire community,” says Susan Korba, Director of SASS.

This is the second year SASS and QUIC have collaborated on this conference.

“The conference was a special experience to share my journey as an international student and listen to other folks' stories. I felt connected and supported,” says Eunju Son, a PhD candidate on the Department of Psychology, who attended sessions last year.

Students are encouraged to participate in a conference giveaway by describing what international education means to them. The winner will receive student tickets to see Hilario Duran and His Big Latin Band in concert on Jan 21 at The Isabel. Students can enter the giveaway here.