What’s Happening
The Marine Institute actively participates in projects and initiatives in Newfoundland and Labrador and around the world. We connect students, faculty and staff with global opportunities to enable them to apply their experience in our region, develop global competency and leadership potential, and help our partners build and improve institutional capacity.
Together, our Marine Institute community benefits from the international development projects and engaging educational opportunities provided by MI International.
Here you will experience how our students, faculty and staff are engaging and participating in global activities and bringing positive and innovative perspectives back to the Marine Institute.
International experiential learning has become a cornerstone of post-secondary education in Canada, providing opportunities for young people to develop both technical skills and global competencies. The Marine Institute (MI) is one of many educational institutions in Canada participating in the Global Skills Opportunity (GSO) program, funded by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and implemented by Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) as part of the Government of Canada’s Outbound Student Mobility Pilot Program.
MI recently completed its inaugural activity of the GSO program, building on partnerships already developed in Barbados to provide MI students with the opportunity to learn first-hand about conservation and climate change mitigation efforts in that country. Eight MI students from a variety of programs travelled to Barbados from October 9 to October 15, 2022. The students were able to share skills related to the assembly and deployment of remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) with students at partner institution Barbados Community College (BCC) and with Sea Cadets at the Barbados Coast Guard. MI had previously supplied BCC with ROV kits and related equipment through funding from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) to build the partnership between MI and BCC, promote skills related to Blue Economy, and provide opportunities for MI students to build their global skills through collaboration with students in other regions of the world.
The trip also included a tour of the Folkestone Marine Reserve, a meeting with Blue Shell Productions to discuss the DigiFish project using digital technologies and innovative data analytical methods to support the application of the ecosystem approach to fisheries in Barbados, and a tour of the Walkers Reserve, a rehabilitated quarry that has been regenerated to increase biodiversity and to co-create self sustaining systems. The team also attended a meeting with the Barbados Coastal Zone Management Unit to discuss the potential use of ROVs for coral reef protection and restoration.
The next activity is planned for Winter 2023.
For more information, please contact:
Marlene Power
International Program Officer
MI International, Marine Institute
marlene.power@mi.mun.ca
The Marine Institute (MI) was delighted to be selected in 2018 to implement the Global Affairs Canada (GAC) funded International Aboriginal Youth Internships (IAYI) initiative. This unique initiative provides Indigenous youth from Canada the opportunity to live overseas and gain meaningful international work experience. MI worked with various Indigenous organizations for recruitment and support in this initiative with a special focus on engaging youth in Newfoundland and Labrador. In August 2018, the first three interns selected for the program flew to Belize for their four month internship placement with our institutional partner Galen University.
Since then, the program was revised and in response to COVID re-launched as virtual internship with the support of Global Affairs Canada and Parkland College. In June 2021, six interns were selected to participate in the program.
Lee Seaton, Phoenix Friday, and Maleysia Brass were hired from Parkland college. They worked on gender components of a Belize-based CICAN capacity building project Parkland College is working on, along with other institutions across Canada.
Bethany Jacobs, Elijah Doucette, and Lauren Kruszewski were hired from Memorial St. John’s and Grenfell campuses. They contributed to a research projects on Ocean’s governance with a faculty member in the Department of Geography and on the history of Guatemala City and exploring Indigenous identity through use of census-based data collection with a faculty member in the Department of History.
In addition to their remarkable contributions to international research work, the interns participated in workshops to share culture, build personal and professional skills, and learn more about international development work. Despite working online, and across provinces, they remained connected and engaged in their work and the program. Marine Institute International is happy to say that this first virtual cohort was a resounding success and builds on our long history of building strong partnerships and engaging the broader Memorial community in our global work.
This first virtual cohort wrapped up in early September and recruitment for January 2022 interns and placements has begun. Please contact Mica (Mica.McCurdy@mi.mun.ca) for more information about how you can be involved in the International Aboriginal Youth Internships.
August 11, 2021
MI’s School of Maritime Studies, with the support of MI International, has recently established a partnership with Novikontas Maritime College in Riga, Latvia through the Erasmus+ program of the European Union.
Novikontas Maritime College is a private educational and training institution which focuses on the provision of skills training for incumbent and new personnel in the maritime sector. With STCW-required courses, college and upgrade programs, a diverse approach, state-of-the-art equipment, and a team of motivated personnel, Novikontas is a significant player in training and education in Europe.
Through the Erasmus+ program, the two institutions conducted a series of online discussions and presentations to identify common and complementary areas of activity and to explore potential areas for future collaboration. Notable among these areas is the potential for MI to benefit from Novikontas’ experience in applying skills and expertise from the oil and gas sector to the wind energy sector. With increasing attention being paid to wind energy, and in particular to the ways in which this sector can both support and build from the oil and gas sector, this partnership is both timely and potentially lucrative as an access point to Europe and an area of diversification and growth.
Novikontas also recognizes the significant experience and expertise at MI and our value as a collaborative partner within the maritime sector, and both institutions have agreed to continue the partnership beyond the Erasmus project.
For further information, please contact:
Fred Anstey, Head of the School of Maritime Studies
Fred.Anstey@mi.mun.ca
Fabian Lambert, Assistant Head of the School of Maritime Studies
Fabian.Lambert@mi.mun.ca
Marlene Power, International Program Officer at MI International
Marlene.Power@mi.mun.ca
The Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University is partnering with Seneca College and Niagara College to support a project aiming to develop and create strong education and training opportunities to prepare Kenyan youth for work.
Known as the Young Africa Works in Kenya - Youth Employability Through TVET (Technical and Vocation Education and Training), the project is also supported by the Mastercard Foundation and Colleges & Institutes Canada.
The project is part of a five-year initiative with the Kenyan Ministry of Education, Kenyan agencies and the private sector to increase youth workforce participation in five sectors: manufacturing, affordable housing, universal health, food security and digital technology.
It will also increase women’s participation by placing them in market-relevant training programs. This means that young people, especially young women, will have a better chance to secure dignified and fulfilling work. Colleges & Institutes Canada will administer the project through its partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.
The Marine Institute will work with the project lead, Seneca College, and Niagara College to develop new processes and frameworks to improve the process of gathering labour market information to better match supply of labour and the demand in the market.
The Marine Institute’s global projects and consultancies are coordinated by MI International, which has successfully implemented more than 250 projects in more than 50 countries in the past three decades.
“We are excited to be playing a role in the transformation of Kenya’s post-secondary system,” said Bill Chislett, director, MI International. “The Marine Institute will provide expertise in program development, design and training that will make a difference in educating Kenya’s youth. This engagement will further expand the institute’s global perspective and experience, and it will also benefit our students and faculty.”
The project aligns with the Marine Institute’s internationalization strategy to expand its global leadership in applied oceans education and research. Kenya is particularly strategic for the Marine Institute, as the Government of Kenya has made the sustainable development of the Blue Economy central to its economic diversification plans.
The Young Africa Works in Kenya - Youth Employability Through TVET project will involve 26 Kenyan TVET institutions, including national polytechnics, Kenya Technical Trainers College and leading TVET institutions.
“With the majority of young people set to pursue work in the informal sector, it’s critical that we both equip them for opportunities and ensure that these work opportunities are dignified and fulfilling. Having Seneca on board our technical and vocational training program in Kenya will go a long way towards doing both,” said Daniel Hailu, head of East and Southern Africa, Mastercard Foundation.
