Atlantic TU Visit to Canada

In June 2022, Atlantic TU took part in the first in-person British Columbia Colleges International Education Week (BCCIE) in western Canada since the global pandemic interrupted international travel.

At the previous BCCIE event in March 2019, Education in Ireland sponsored part of the conference and provided opportunities for Irish Institutes of Technology to meet potential Canadian partners. During the pandemic, ATU used this opportunity to further develop these relationships.

During the BCCIE event ATU signed agreements with Vancouver Community College, Selkirk College and Douglas College, in the presence of Minister for State for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Mr Niall Collins and Consul General at the Irish Consulate in Vancouver, Mr. Frank Flood.

In addition, colleagues from across ATU visited several other potential new partners including Royal Roads University, Emily Carr University, Vancouver Film School and Simon Fraser University.

The ATU team included Ms. Nollaig Crombie, Head of Department, ATU Donegal, Ms. Úna Parsons, Head of Faculty ATU Sligo, Mr. Paul Lynch, ATU Sligo, Mr. John Joe O’Farrell, Director for International Engagement, ATU Galway-Mayo and Ms. Cáit Noone, Head of the Galway International Hotel School and VP for International Engagement at ATU Galway-Mayo. Team members used this visit meet new and existing partners in the region as the university plans to broaden engagement across Canada.

Future ATU International Strategies

Visits such as these will inform future international strategies in ATU and will provide opportunities for staff and students across campuses and disciplines.

The International Working Group, comprising International Officers from ATU’s three legacy institutes, worked with two global Internationalisation experts last year – Hans de Witt and Elspeth Jones. The experts developed a proposed international framework for ATU, and this was presented to the CUA Steering Group last winter. The three outgoing executive teams adopted the report, and it continues to be shared across campuses.

ATU Alumni

Alumni are key stakeholders in our new university, and we recognise their significant contribution to many aspects of our work. ATU hosted its first ever alumni event on June 26 in Vancouver at Smiths of Gastown. The venue is owned by Galway man William Donnelly and his team looked after everyone on the night.

We welcomed twenty alumni from across Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal and we were joined by the team from Education in Ireland and Consul General at the Irish Consulate in Vancouver, Mr. Frank Flood. Over two hundred alumni are working in Vancouver across the engineering, science, business and hospitality industries. The university plans to further develop a global network of alumni connecting ATU graduates all over the world.