For the second year, the Corbett Exchange Program hosted a virtual cohort, composed of six UW students, three UBC students, and three UVic students. The 2021 program provided a strong model for success, and our students had an exceptional two quarters of workshops, discussions, video tours, and cross-border learning.
Over the course of four months, they learned about Canada-U.S. relations in the Pacific Northwest through workshops focused on a variety of topics: economics, Indigenous relations, environmental policy and stewardship, and border policy.
Once again, students ended the program by deep-diving into a cross-border topic of their choosing and presenting their learning to their cohort, UW leadership, and representatives from our Canadian university partners. Their topics this year were varied: comparisons of healthcare systems and refugee policies; analysis of Indigenous taxonomies and environmental language in the region; the impact of COVID on the Passenger Vessel Services Act; and many more.
The Virtual Exchange Program has provided a great opportunity for students at all three universities to learn about their neighbors across the border during a time of travel restrictions and uncertainties. While we hope that the Corbett Exchange Program can fully return to regular in-person exchanges, we also plan to incorporate some of the successes we’ve seen over the past two years into our regular program.
Read more about our students’ experiences in their own words through their blog posts here.
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The Corbett British Columbia-Washington International Exchange Program Fund provides an opportunity for undergraduate students at the University of Washington to spend two semesters at the University of British Columbia or University of Victoria; and for students from the University of British Columbia and University of Victoria to spend three quarters at the University of Washington.