Dr. B.S Ghuman and Dr. Dhian Kaur of Panjab University, Chandigarh visited UFV as a part of a CICS partnership grant funded by the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute. The objective of this project was to provide educational models towards the development of community colleges in India. The Government of India has proposed to set up 200 new community colleges in the next academic session. The Indian State of Punjab has to set up 4 community colleges, out of which 2 will be set up in the field of polytechnics and the other 2 as general degree colleges.
The first workshop held in Punjab, titled “Canadian Model of Community Colleges: Lessons for Higher Education Policy in India,” initiated the discussions and was held in partnership between Panjab University and the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies, with the CICS sending an intern to Panjab University to help organize the workshop.
Upon Dr. Ghuman and Dr. Dhian Kaur’s arrival to UFV, the CICS hosted its own forum and discussion, and invited representatives from various different UFV departments and student support groups to speak on the benefits that their respective departments provide for students at UFV.
Dr. Ghuman and Dr. Dhian Kaur have thoroughly enjoyed their time here at UFV and have gained a lot of insight and knowledge which they look forward to taking back to India.
