What we do
McMaster University consistently ranks among the world’s Top 100 universities (#85 is 2023 Times Higher Education Rankings, #90 in 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities). As articulated in our McMaster Model for Global Engagement: A Strategy Document<link>, we pursue an approach to global engagement informed by our motivation to:
- cooperate for peaceful coexistence and mutual benefit
- meet international demand for the University’s expertise in research and education
- fulfil the civic mission of the University
The Office of International Affairs is responsible for the development and realization of our Global Engagement Strategy. We achieve this through:
- exploration and facilitation of international institutional partnerships
- advising and assisting McMaster faculty and staff with strategic development and coordination of international activities
- creating opportunities for McMaster faculty and staff for strategic international collaboration
The Office of International Affairs reports to the Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic).
People
Information Box Group
Dr. Bonny Ibhawoh
FRSC
Vice-Provost, International Affairs
Dr. Bonny Ibhawoh is Professor and Senator William McMaster Chair in Global Human Rights at McMaster University, Canada. He is a United Nations Human Rights Expert serving on the UN Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development in the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva. With over 30 years of experience as a human rights educator, policymaker, and practitioner, he has taught in Universities in Africa, Europe, the United States and Canada. He is the Project Director of the Confronting Atrocity Project, and Participedia, a global scholarly network on public participation and democratic innovation. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Paul Leegsma
Manager, Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects
Paul Leegsma
Manager, Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects
Dr. Bonny Ibhawoh
FRSC
Vice-Provost, International Affairs
Dr. Bonny Ibhawoh is Professor and Senator William McMaster Chair in Global Human Rights at McMaster University, Canada. He is a United Nations Human Rights Expert serving on the UN Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development in the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva. With over 30 years of experience as a human rights educator, policymaker, and practitioner, he has taught in Universities in Africa, Europe, the United States and Canada. He is the Project Director of the Confronting Atrocity Project, and Participedia, a global scholarly network on public participation and democratic innovation. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Dr. Bonny Ibhawoh
FRSC
Vice-Provost, International Affairs
Dr. Bonny Ibhawoh is Professor and Senator William McMaster Chair in Global Human Rights at McMaster University, Canada. He is a United Nations Human Rights Expert serving on the UN Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development in the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva. With over 30 years of experience as a human rights educator, policymaker, and practitioner, he has taught in Universities in Africa, Europe, the United States and Canada. He is the Project Director of the Confronting Atrocity Project, and Participedia, a global scholarly network on public participation and democratic innovation. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Paul Leegsma
Manager, Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects
Paul Leegsma
Manager, Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects
The McMaster Model for Global Engagement: A Framework
Vision: McMaster University aspires to make global engagement in education and knowledge generation an integral part of its identity and presence in Canada and the world.
Five Key Focus Areas
The McMaster Model for Global Engagement identifies 5 priority focus areas to thematically guide and provide a framework for McMaster Faculties and administrative reporting units to identify and plan relevant supporting goals and activities within their respective areas:
The University endeavours to include an international dimension in its core activities of teaching, learning, research, and outreach. We will do this by:
- promoting the value of studying abroad
- encouraging students to actively contribute to and benefit from the international flavour of our university
- offering workshops to help faculty and researchers share international points of view
- actively engaging in partnerships that create innovative learning environments
- diversifying the countries from where students are recruited
- creating a supportive and inclusive environment for international students
- fostering an atmosphere of mutual learning between international and local students.
International initiatives often require activities that fall outside of traditionally funded approaches to research. We will aim to:
- Provide the same level of university support for the development of complex international initiatives the administrative maintenance of successful proposals that exists for more conventional research endeavours
- Give tangible evidence to faculty and staff that international engagement is a valued activity and is viewed as a critical contributor to McMaster’s global position.
It is essential that global engagement become part of McMaster’s culture. We will:
- strive to establish an active learning process that prepares students for successful international engagement and value exchange
- work with provincial and federal governments in support of global programs
- involve our extensive network of international alumni in defining McMaster’s international culture as part of its global presence
We will identify specific institutions, countries, and regions that offer the best opportunities for sharing of learning and knowledge, as well as enhancing research, education and social and economic development. This includes:
- Support for the incubation of new ideas and initiatives to engage in world-class research in a global environment
- Capacity building for higher education at an international level.
The rapid development and ubiquitous nature of advanced communication technologies greatly facilitates international collaboration, with the added benefit of mitigating some of the financial and environmental costs of internationalization.
Although McMaster is engaged in a myriad of international activities, these generally are not well publicized and many individuals on campus are unaware of what is happening outside their immediate area of work. We will:
- Regularly update an inventory of international research and learning activities
- Create campus-wide opportunities for cross‐Faculty dialogue to:
- facilitate knowledge dissemination
- foster interdisciplinary international interactions
- Establish forums specifically for sharing of experiences among participants in international activities and those who have not (yet) participated. Such events will be widely publicized, both internally and externally.
To review the full ‘McMaster Model for Global Engagement: A Document,’ click here.
References
[1] https://publications.mcmaster.ca/catalogue/mcmaster-university/institutional-priorities-and-strategic-goals-2021-2022/
[2] https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/un-academic-impact-10-principles-illustrated-booklet-unai-member-european-institute
[3] https://u15.ca/international/