Dr. Julia Bentley Shares Canada’s Foreign Policies And Educational Opportunities
The Canadian High Commissioner to Malaysia, H.E. Julia Bentley shared Canadian foreign policies including educational opportunities with the students of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) at the Ambassadorial Talk programme organized by the School of International Studies (SOIS) at the SoIS Auditorium.
The lecture entitled, “The Canada-Malaysia Partnership In Education” focused on Canada and Malaysia relations and the nature of Canadian diplomatic relations including education.
Dr. Julia said one of the three basic foreign policy objectives highlighted by the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau is to enhance Canada's cultural and educational interactions worldwide.
"One of Canada's focused elements in education is to promote institutional relationships between Canadian universities and universities in Malaysia.
"Last year, Canada announced a new scholarship programme that could help students further their studies in Canada. The Canada-ASEAN Scholarships and Educational Exchanges for Development (SEED) offer students in Malaysia a chance to pursue short-term studies or research in Canada.
"In 2018, a total of 15 Malaysian students participated in the SEED programme and I hope more students from Malaysia can participate in this programme in the future," she said.
She further added that Canada is the best choice for students from this country to pursue education because Canada is an attraction for academic collaboration and innovation.
"Canadian researchers collaborate with scientists from all over the world to find solutions to urgent world issues, drive innovation and improve the quality of life of people around the world, for example the Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative (CHVI) and ArcticNet – network of Canadian Centres of Excellence with partners from all over the world studying the effects of climate change and the modernization of the Arctic which has attracted researchers from many countries," she added.
In addition to touching on education, she also shared information on geography, culture, flora, fauna, politics, Canada's role on the international stage, Canadian diplomatic relations, Canada's foreign policy priorities and its implications on relations with Malaysia.
"What we can expect from Canada in the future is that we will continue to increase our strategic commitment to exchange diversity in this high-growth region.
"We hope to develop mutual prosperity through trade investment. But the relationship with Asia is not just investment, it's more than that, for example education and cultural interaction.
"We also support foreign policy promoting peace and security in the Asian region and will continue to actively cooperate in multilateral relations in the Asian region including with ASEAN and APEC.
"As for relations with Malaysia, there are many opportunities for cooperation to be explored together and I think we can contribute to world peace and prosperity in a meaningful and valuable manner.
Canada is also looking forward to Malaysia to hosting the APEC summit in 2020,“ she said.
Also present was UUM COLGIS Assistant Vice-Chancellor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Fuad Othman.