Former North Island College student Jacob Teichrib spent a year studying abroad in Japan and recommends all students take advantage of these opportunities available at NIC.
Teichrib spent a year in Japan at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, which turned into a life-changing decision. He was able to transfer his NIC and overseas credits to continue his education at UBC when he returned to Canada.
Teichrib encourages anyone to look into the study abroad opportunities available at NIC.
“You learn a lot about yourself when you’re in another country when you don’t know the language and don’t know the culture,” he said. “It’s really eye-opening and promotes a lot of self-growth.”
For study abroad opportunities, the University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific (UMAP) Multilateral Student Exchange Program is an international agreement that streamlines the process for over 500 institutions. UMAP includes a variety of study abroad options from semester-long exchanges to summer programs to short-term opportunities.
“This agreement gives NIC students more opportunities to go global with their learning,” said Mark Herringer, NIC’s executive director of international education.
“Our students can now take advantage of study abroad opportunities all around the world, while still earning transferable credits and working toward their credentials.”
All NIC students registered in programs are eligible to apply to the UMAP program. Once accepted, NIC works with the host institution to develop a study plan to ensure all credits earned while abroad will transfer to NIC credits.
“Studying abroad gives students a fantastic opportunity to learn about another culture, and about themselves in a fully-supported way,” said Herringer.
Applications are now open for exchange opportunities. NIC’s Global Engagement Liaison is available to help students determine which study abroad opportunity is right for them and to help them through the application process. To learn more about UMAP and NIC’s other study abroad opportunities, visit: https://www.nic.bc.ca/international/