International students offered taste of grad studies at Queen鈥檚

International students offered taste of grad studies at Queen鈥檚

By Wanda Praamsma, Senior Communications Officer

July 10, 2017

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Queen's in the World

Students from around the globe got a glimpse of life as a graduate student at Queen鈥檚 at a recent event held through the School of Graduate Studies (SGS).

Every summer, SGS invites students participating in the to visit Queen鈥檚 and Kingston. During their day-long visit, the undergraduate students 鈥 who are spending the summer working on research projects at various Canadian universities (including Queen鈥檚) 鈥 take a campus tour, meet with graduate students and professors from various fields, and take a trolley bus tour through Kingston.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an opportunity for them to learn about research opportunities at Queen鈥檚 and the advantages of studying and living in Kingston,鈥 says Kim McAuley, Acting Vice-Provost and Dean, SGS.

Several international students visited Queen's last week, exploring graduate studies options, and touring campus and Kingston (with Kingston Trolley Tours, above). 

鈥淭he interns make personal connections with our faculty and current graduate students so they can envision studying as future master鈥檚 or PhD students at Queen鈥檚. The interns see that current international graduate students are working on interesting research projects with talented professors. Globalink helps Queen鈥檚 attract top international graduate students with external funding from Mitacs.鈥

For Daniela Iribe Gonzalez, the Queen鈥檚 visit was a chance to explore Queen鈥檚 research program and see if it would be a good fit for her and her studies in geodetic engineering.

鈥淚鈥檇 heard that Queen鈥檚 is really good at research. I enjoy the research and I want to do more,鈥 says Ms. Iribe Gonzalez, a student from Mexico who is spending the summer on a Globalink internship at the University of Ottawa. While she hasn鈥檛 made any decisions on where she鈥檒l apply to graduate school, she was impressed with what Queen鈥檚 offers. 鈥淧eople are very welcoming and the campus is beautiful,鈥 she says.

Jiaqi Chen, from China, is currently a research intern at Queen鈥檚, working with Professor Mark Daymond in Mechanical and Materials Engineering. He鈥檚 considering graduate studies in Canada, but has yet to make any firm application decisions.

鈥淚鈥檝e only been here about 10 days. The work I鈥檓 doing is different than I expected, but it鈥檚 interesting,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 find Kingston and Queen鈥檚 to be a quiet and beautiful place. Life is slower here than in China and the people are very nice. I鈥檝e never been abroad before, and my English is not always great, but so far, I think everyone understands me and they have been helpful."

In total, Queen鈥檚 hosted seven Mitacs research interns and 13 undergraduate Globalink students from other universities at the event. Currently, seven Mitacs Graduate Research Fellows study at Queen鈥檚, and this summer, the university is hosting nine undergraduate Globalink research interns. Many of them attended the event as well. More info about the organization鈥檚 internships and scholarships is available on their .

Through existing and developing research collaborations, student mobility programs, and international activities at home, Queen鈥檚 continues to expand its global reach and offer students and researchers a diverse and enriching environment that pushes their thinking and offers them opportunities to create a lasting impact on their communities, and the world as a whole. Learn more on the .