McMaster’s Office of International Affairs and International and Exchange Student Service attend International Staff Week 2025 organized by the University of Amsterdam and University of Edinburgh

McMaster was honoured to participate in the annual International Staff Week 2025  organized by the University of Amsterdam and University of Edinburgh, March 3 -7, 2025.

This event combines a series of professional development workshops with networking for a select group of universities. This year Dr. Bonny Ibhawoh delivered a session on “Strengthening Global Partnerships in an Era of Uncertainty”. Guido de Wilde, one of the key event organizers from University of Amsterdam expressed that “Dr. Ibhawoh delivered a critical message: International education is not a luxury, it’s essential for shaping a better world,” and that, “we must continuously articulate why global engagement matters. Without advocacy, even the most impactful initiatives risk losing momentum.”

Staff from our Office of International Affairs (OIA) and International and Exchange Student Experience (IESE) also attended the innovative week long event which takes place for 2 days in Amsterdam and 2 days in Edinburgh. Paul Leegsma, Manager of Strategic Initiatives in the OIA, said of the event, “it truly provided an exceptional chance for professional learning in a setting with colleagues with whom we would actually apply the learnings, whether in relation to short-term mobility programming, strategic international engagement, understanding the power dynamics in internationalization between the Global South and North, etc. The relatively small scale of the event further increases the impact of the workshops and the opportunities for networking with key partners.”