Global View Newsletter - Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science ...

GLOBAL VIEW
CONTENTS
Program brokering
brings SIAST to
the world 1
SIAST in Vietnam 2
New name
and expanded
role builds on
international success 3
New developments
at BDIP 3
BBIT 4
SIAST President and CEO
Dr. Robert McCulloch and
Chairman Charutar Vidya
Mandel sign an MOU for the
SIAST CAD brokerage.
Global View is published by the
Business Development and International
Partnership unit of the Saskatchewan
Institute of Applied Science and
Technology (SIAST). Saskatchewan’s
primary public institution for postsecondary
technical education and
skills training, SIAST is recognized
nationally and internationally for
its expertise in developing and
delivering career-oriented programming.
SIAST’s international services division
enriches the organization’s learning
environment and reputation by
marketing and managing the delivery
of education and training services to
international clients.
For more information, visit
www.goSIAST.com.
Vol. 2 Issue 3 Winter 2007
SIAST Business Development and International Partnership Newsletter
Program brokering brings
SIAST to the world
SIAST has long brokered many of its
programs across Saskatchewan in close
cooperation with regional colleges. Through
this arrangement, learners at regional colleges
can receive nationally and internationally
recognized credentials from SIAST without
setting foot on a SIAST campus.
Now SIAST has brought a further innovation
to brokering by delivering SIAST programs
with international partner institutions.
Since 1995, the Charutar Vidya Mandal in
Gujarat, India, has been delivering SIASTcertified
CAD/CAM continuing education
courses. The program allows Indian
technicians and engineers to upgrade their
computer drafting skills and receive a
SIAST credential at the same time.
“This experience has been a unique initiative
for Bhailalbhai and Bhikhabhai Institute of
Technology (BBIT). The partnership further
enhances our commitment to the local
population through competency-based
educational programming,” comments Indrajit
Patel, project manager and director of the
Continuing Education program at BBIT. “We
look forward to extending our partnership
with SIAST and hope that other similar
initiatives can be established in the future.”
In 2006, the Ho Chi Minh University of
Industry (HUI) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam,
began delivering the SIAST Business
Administration diploma program. More than
100 students are now completing their first
year, and the first graduates are expected
in June 2008.
The graduates at HUI will have options to
enter the local labour market—largely with
foreign companies that seek employees who
can speak English and understand Western
business practices. Other graduates will
seek to further their education at
Vietnamese or foreign universities.
(continued next page)

(Program brokering brings SIAST to the world…continued from page 1)
SIAST students in the Business Administration
diploma program at HUI are currently in the
process of forming their own student
association. SIAST is facilitating the links
with existing SIAST student associations and
planning greater cooperation between the
two institutions. Ideally, HUI and SIAST hope
to begin student exchanges in the brokered
program areas in the near future.
“Collaboration between HUI and SIAST
not only creates a good opportunity
for our students to gain professional
knowledge and necessary skills,” explains
SIAST in Vietnam
SIAST is delivering an innovative and
ambitious program that brings quality
business education and training to Vietnam, a
gateway to continental Asia and a country
many are calling the next Asian ‘tiger.’
SIAST is delivering its two-year Business
Administration diploma program at
Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh University of
Industry (HUI) in the heart of the city
formerly known as Saigon. The brokerage
agreement was signed between the two
institutions on March of 2006. Classes
began in October 2006. This venture marks
the first time that SIAST programming has
been delivered internationally.
In January 2007, HUI president Mr. Te
inaugurated the new SIAST office on-campus
amid a throng of student performances and
a signing ceremony for the second year of
SIAST’s Business Administration program.
SIAST president Dr. Bob McCulloch and
David Harvey were present to speak to the
students and faculty and took part in the
signing ceremony. This also marked the
extension of the brokerage project for
an additional five years.
PAGE 2
HUI President Mr. Te, “but also enhances
HUI’s staff management and teaching
competency approaching the advanced
levels in the world. SIAST’s instructors are
professional and enthusiastic in teaching.
The program has actually contributed to
the development of HUI in particular, and
Vietnam in general.”
International program brokering holds real
promise for SIAST. New programming
opportunities are being explored in India and
Vietnam. Potential also exists with partner
institutions in the Philippines, China and
Ukraine. International program
brokering is a cost-recovery
program so the recruitment of
fee-paying students is the key
2007/08 SIAST
Vietnam student
association
executive.
114 students are enrolled in the two-year
Business Administration program. Training is
being delivered under the guidance of
visiting SIAST instructors and a Canadian
representative from SIAST to guide the
overall program, monitor academic
standards and manage instructor support.
The entire program is being delivered in
English because students must meet
predetermined English language
requirements to gain entry into the program.
The students have finished their first year of
English training to prepare for the SIAST
program and have completed their first four
Business Administration courses. They have now
begun their second set of five first-year classes.
The graduates at HUI
will have options to
enter the local labour
market — largely with
foreign companies that
seek employees who
can speak English and
understand Western
business practices.
criterion as SIAST evaluates future
international partnership opportunities.
“Many international institutions and
international students are willing to invest
significantly into SIAST education and
training services. This is a very strong
indicator of the quality SIAST brings to its
clients” says David Harvey, director of
SIAST Business Development and
International Partnership (BDIP).
“I’m gaining good
knowledge and I am
in contact with the
best study methods
in the world
through SIAST.”
The Business program helps students learn
Western business practices and, upon
graduation, will give them the opportunity to
work with expatriate companies. The students
will also have the opportunity to receive
transfer credit to continue their studies at a
Canadian university. SIAST is currently
working on an agreement that would see
Athabasca University deliver Years 3 and 4
of a business degree program at HUI.
The response from students has been
outstanding. First-year Business Administration
student Vu Nam Thai, 26, said, “I really like
SIAST’s HUI project co-ordinator,
Miles Fahlman (back left) poses with
Vietnamese Business students.
(continued next page)

(SIAST in Vietnam…continued from page 2)
top: SIAST
Business
students in
Vietnam.
bottom:
SIAST
Business
students Vu
Nam Thai
and Dinh
Hoang Bien.
the course content, the texts include websites with
extra exercises, and this is new to Vietnam.”
The SIAST office has become a regular haunt for
students; although most are shy, they still come in to
volunteer, practise their English and search the Internet.
“It’s great to come into the SIAST office,” Thai said “We
can work here, and I can also improve my English.”
Fellow first-year student Dinh Hoang Bien, 21, echoes
Thai’s sentiments, “SIAST has an interesting program that
is great for the students. This helps because Vietnam
has a lot of hurdles to overcome in education right now,
and I want a good job in the future.”
“I’m gaining good knowledge, and I am in contact
with the best study methods in the world through
SIAST,” Bien said.
Their progress has been remarkable; many students
are, for the first time in their lives, learning to interact
with Westerners, and are rapidly developing their
written and spoken English. The skills being passed
on to the Vietnamese instructors and the students are
invaluable in Vietnam, as the developing country
opens up to foreign input.
The courses are delivered by the Vietnamese
teaching staff that is becoming well-versed in
SIAST instructor protocols through course content,
interaction with visiting SIAST staff, and interfaculty
contact online. The “train-the-trainers”
technique has proven to be one of the best
measures of the course thus far, as it has built the
training capacity of the faculty at HUI, while also
educating the students attending the program.
SIAST Palliser Campus Communications instructor
Linda Wrigley spent four months at HUI at the start
the Business program. She was instrumental in
getting the Canadian curriculum up-and-running.
New name and
expanded role builds
on international success
In January 2007, the SIAST board of
directors approved International
Services’ name change to Business
Development and International
Partnership (BDIP).
The new designation was put in
place to accommodate an expanded
mandate. Building on its success
internationally, BDIP helps coordinate
the marketing and management of
larger training and service contracts
domestically. In cooperation with
division extension consultants, BDIP
manages contract training efforts
across academic divisions.
The expanded mandate gives BDIP
the opportunity to develop new
partnerships. Enhanced collaboration
with larger provincial and national
private sector firms and with federal
private sector departments and
agencies is a particular priority.
“We believe there is significant
untapped potential for SIAST to
work with larger provincial, national
and international organizations that
are willing to invest in customized
training services,” says David Harvey,
director of BDIP.
Aside from the expanded mandate,
BDIP continues as a “cost recovery”
unit within SIAST. Likewise, BDIP’s
operational focus remains on
marketing and management. The
implementation of training and service
contracts remains the responsibility of
SIAST’s academic divisions.
New developments
at BDIP
A number of new initiatives are being developed at BDIP:
SIAST’s history in Ghana in new documentary
In collaboration with the Wa Polytechnic in the Upper West Region of Ghana,
SIAST is implementing a one-year project under the Canadian International
Development Agency’s (CIDA) Stand Alone Public Engagement Fund (SAPEF).
The project will see SIAST staff and students travel to the Wa Polytechnic
and document on video the successes of both the Wa Polytechnic
in general, and more specifically SIAST’s involvement in the project. Upper
(continued next page)
“HUI is a place of enormous youth, energy and movement,” states Wrigley. “Both the
staff and students are eager to learn and to be successful. SIAST could not have
chosen a better International partner for its first brokered Business diploma program.”
Based on the consistent presence on campus, SIAST is extremely lucky to have
been granted an office on the second floor promenade. This central location gives
SIAST great exposure in the student classroom building.
SIAST is looking forward to expanding its partnership with HUI and growing
SIAST’s student population overseas.
PAGE 3

BBIT
In summer 2006, SIAST signed an agreement
with Charutar Vidya Mandal (CVM) to broker
SIAST’s Computer Assisted Drafting (CAD)
continuing education programming at the
Bhailalbhai and Bhikhabhai Institute of
Technology (BBIT) in Gurajat, India.
BBIT is one of the leading technical education
institutes in the western region of India. BBIT
offers numerous diploma programs in fields such
as engineering and information technology.
BBIT students will obtain a SIAST transcript
upon successful completion of three courses
from SIAST’s CAD/CAM Engineering
Technology program—Drafting Levels
1, 2 and 3. All courses are taught by BBIT
instructors in English. As such, CVM is
responsible for preparing the students with
basic learning skills and with sufficient
English language proficiency to enable
to be eligible for enrolling
into the CAD program.
As part of its continuing education
programming, BBIT delivers the CAD
statement of achievement program to
members of the community looking to
enhance their skills in this area. These
students receive credit for the courses and
are eligible to receive transfer credit at
SIAST if they wish to continue their
education in Saskatchewan.
Indrajit Patel, continuing education manager
at BBIT, visited SIAST in early July 2007 to
extend the agreement between CVM and
SIAST. So far the program has seen close
to 400 students receive their CAD
statements of achievement.
“BBIT is committed to enriching the socioeconomic
status of the rural and urban
community by providing competency-based
continuing education programming that
meets the needs of our students both today
and in the future,” states Patel. “The BBIT
SIAST partnership has continued to evolve
since 1995. We are excited to extend the
partnership with SIAST to deliver the unique
CAD/CAM program, and we hope to bring
other popular courses to BBIT as well.”
PAGE 4
(New developments at BDIP…continued from page 3)
West Region is establishing a new
polytechnic in a region that faces
significant struggles in undertaking a
project of this magnitude.
The project will be used in conjunction with
other SIAST Canadian public engagement
activities and aims to engage the SIAST and
greater Saskatchewan population in
international development issues.
For more information, contact Jason
Mazzei at mazzeija@siast.sk.ca
or (306) 933-5371.
New supports to skills
immigration examined
In partnership with Human Resources and
Social Development Canada (HRSDC),
SIAST is completing a study of a potential
skills assessment service for immigration
applicants, primarily under the
Saskatchewan Immigration Nomination
Program. The assessment will allow
immigration applicants and potential
Saskatchewan and Canadian employers to
have a much better idea of an immigrant’s
skill set and how they may fit in the
Canadian workplace before they arrive in
Canada. This will allow the potential
immigrant and employer to better identify
who to hire and successfully address the
challenges of integrating into the Canadian
labour market.
SIAST is leading the program with a
steering committee that includes the
Saskatchewan Immigration Branch, the
Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trades
Certification Commission, regional
economic development authorities and
selected private sector employers.
Should the program prove feasible, SIAST,
in partnership with HRSDC, is hoping for
implementation to begin in early 2008.
BDIP director David Harvey
receives a warm welcome
from BBIT Dean of Technology
Dr. Umarger.
For further information, contact
David Harvey at harvey@siast.sk.ca
or 306-933-6273.
Consulting work in the
Middle East expanded
In Jordan and Yemen, SIAST is significantly
expanding its consulting work. On contract
from the government of Jordan and the
government of Yemen, SIAST is currently
designing two World Bank projects to
improve the technical and vocational
education and training systems in those
two countries.
Similarly, SIAST is also supporting the
Jordan Education Reform for the Knowledge
Economy (ERfKE) project funded by a
number of agencies such as CIDA and
the World Bank.
As recognized by the local governments and
international agencies, SIAST has longstanding
expertise in the region, dating back to 1994.
SIAST’s experience in linking employers’ and
learners’ needs to the labour market is a
critical need as many countries in the region
seek to bolster their local economies and
improve social development.
For further information, contact
David Harvey at harvey@siast.sk.ca
or (306) 933-6273.
SIAST selected as CMHC social
housing training provider
Resulting from a national tender, SIAST
was selected as a trainer for Canada
Mortgage and Housing Corporations’
program to train social housing managers
across the country. SIAST’s experience
designing and implementing the Social
Housing Management applied certificate
program—especially with Aboriginal
communities—and SIAST’s experience in
“train the trainer” programming were
important factors in SIAST winning the
tender with CMHC.
For more information, contact
Garry Whitley, continuing education
consultant at whitley@siast.sk.ca
or (306) 953-5538.