Marie-Ève Thérien
As markets and borders open up, more and more students want to get experience abroad. The new School of International Development and Globalization has been meeting this growing need for courses, internships and fieldwork around the world.
The School, housed in the Faculty of Social Sciences, was the logical next step in the evolution of the International Development and Globalization Program, which has experienced great success since its establishment in 2003. According to Professor Pierre Beaudet, the program’s coordinator, “the program was more than meeting the demand, and the external feedback was positive. Over the course of the years, we continued structuring and strengthening the program and this culminated in the creation of the school.”
The hiring of new professors, the development of a number of international projects and the internships offered were among the factors that supported the transition from program to school. The school uses an innovative approach to deliver its two main components, namely international development, research and analysis, which form the first component, and professional work, both at home and abroad, which forms the second. Students can explore these fields at the undergraduate and master’s levels.
The school’s vision is attuned to actual social concerns including equality, justice and the erradication of injustices throughout the world. Pierre Beaudet argues that “Many more people feel affected by these issues because of the dialogue around globalization, openness to the world, economics, and environmental issues.”
The student population now has access to a myriad of courses matching their varied fields of interest. “The program’s multidisciplinary character gave me the flexibility to take courses in different disciplines, including sociology, political science, women’s studies, and economics. I was also able to travel abroad to complete a field research course in Argentina and Senegal as well as an international internship in Argentina,” explains Marie-Hélène l’Heureux. She will move on to the University of Ottawa’s Master’s in Public and International Affairs in September.
“We are training a generation of young people who will have a 360° perspective on the world,” concludes Pierre Beaudet. For further information, please visit www.sciencessociales.uottawa.ca/edim.
