Seneca College RED 2020 - 12

PRO
FILES

Q&A with Brian Bell

Seneca International
Academy (SIA)

What is SIA? SIA is a new initiative of Seneca
- an academy dedicated to international
students looking to learn and grow in
Canada. The original plan was for SIA to
welcome international students to Markham
Campus starting this fall. They would
receive student services and extracurricular
offerings specific to their requirements
along with a curated list of in-demand
academic programs. Last month, we
welcomed our first group of learners who
are excited to begin studying in these
high-demand program areas that focus on
business, finance and information technology.
Needless to say, however, plans have
changed a bit because of the COVID-19
pandemic. We are still welcoming
international students to SIA but classes
are online for the fall term. Registration is
already open for winter and spring 2021
and student interest is high, especially
given these uncertain times. I'm confident
that SIA will eventually reach its goal of
approximately 3,000 on-campus students.
Why was SIA established? It's to meet the
increasing global demand for a quality
Canadian education. It is not a replacement
for existing Seneca offerings but is
incremental and acknowledges the need,
for some international students, for an
experience more precisely tailored to their
requirements.

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How is a SIA education delivered?
As mentioned earlier, SIA's inaugural term
is being delivered online so students can
study safely from their home during the
COVID-19 pandemic. The safety of students
and faculty is essential, so on-campus
learning will only take place when it's safe
to do so. In the meantime, students are
receiving the best possible virtual experience. Seneca is working hard to deliver
a variety of online experiences outside of
the classroom to all students. Students
will have access to all that Seneca has to
offer as well as some SIA-specific material.
Why would international students
choose to study at SIA? The environment
at SIA is dedicated to the unique needs of
international students. Many international
students will find the tailored services,
extracurricular events and dedicated
campus space helpful both in their studies
and in their introduction to Canada. Our
research indicates that many international
students were very interested in an experience dedicated to their needs. Those
students will gravitate towards SIA while
other international students will be
more interested in the traditional Seneca
experience.
During the fall term, activities will obviously be limited to those that can be offered
virtually, but in the future, I have every
confidence that SIA will offer unique
and helpful experiences to our students
who are looking to learn and grow in Canada.
How do international students contribute
to the Seneca community? In so many
ways! Our international students bring
diverse experiences, viewpoints and
cultures to Seneca. This mix enhances the
postsecondary experience for students,
faculty and staff.
Since many international students
prefer to remain in Canada as citizens,
their Seneca experience - both inside and
outside of the classroom - prepares
them to become excellent candidates for
Canadian citizenship.

To learn more about SIA please visit
www.senecacollege.ca/SIA.

PHOTO: IAN PATTERSON

Brian Bell has worked
at Seneca for more than
10 years, nine years as
a professor with Seneca
Business and one as
Chair of the School of
Leadership & Human
Resources. In January
2020, he started as
Principal of Seneca
International Academy
(SIA).
http://www.senecacollege.ca/SIA
Seneca College RED 2020

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