Nova Scotia·Audio

Global Studies: Listen to interviews from CBC's series on international students at CBU

CBC Cape Breton produced a week-long series on the thousands of international students who are now attending Cape Breton University, totalling 56% of the enrolment.

More from our series on the influx of students from around the world

Parteek Gunny Brar is the CBU student union president. (Tom Ayers/CBC)

Cape Breton University saw a 44 per cent increase in its overall enrolment from 2017 to 2018, and international students now account for more than half the student body.

There are students from 39 countries other than Canada on campus, and a vast majority are from India.

CBC's Holly Conners went to the multicultural hub at the CBU students union office to meet some of those students — Samual Shaji, Tintu Sebastian, Jaya Kaushik and Gurjot Singh are all from India.

Hear Holly's conversation with them here.

Alex Usher has been studying the growing trend of international enrollment at Canadian universities.

Usher is the president of Higher Education Strategy Associates, a consulting firm that advises governments, institutions and corporations in the higher education sector. He recently wrote a blog post about CBU called "Good Lord Cape Breton."

Listen to his conversation with Steve Sutherland of Cape Breton's Information Morning.

International student enrolment is growing at universities across the country, particularly in Atlantic Canada according to Statistics Canada. Highest among them is Nova Scotia, which saw an 11 per cent growth in international students between 2000 and 2015.

In 2018, the Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training commissioned a report to look at the economic impact of international students in the Atlantic region.

Gregor MacAskill is an economist with Garnder Pinfold Consultants and one of the researchers on the study. He spoke with Cape Breton's Mainstreet host Wendy Bergfeldt.

An influx of international students means a serious infusion of cash at Cape Breton University. International students pay twice the amount for tuition than domestic students.

Gordon MacInnis is CBU's vice-president of finance and operations. Listen to his conversation with CBC's Steve Sutherland here.

Two departments at CBU are particularly attractive to international students — the business and engineering departments have seen some of their classes double and triple in size.

George Karaphillis is the dean of the Shannon School of Business. Rick Pierryknowski is the dean of the School of Engineering.  Listen to their conversation with CBC's Steve Sutherland below.

To get a sense of the impact of the influx of international students on CBU, Mainstreet host Wendy Bergfeldt spoke with Calvin Howley.

He's the president of the Cape Breton University Faculty Association and chair of the chemistry department. Listen to their conversation below.

A panel of CBU officials explained how the university is accommodating and supporting the international students.

Victor Tomiczek is the manager of enrolment services for International students. Nadine Ratchford is the manager of career services.  John Mayich is the director of student affairs. Hear their discussion on CBC Cape Breton's Information Morning below.

Nova Scotia's immigration minister said it's an "exciting time" in Cape Breton. She said the province is working to try to retain some of the international students who are attending CBU.

Listen to CBC's Steve Sutherland's conversation with Lena Metlege Diab below.

Nadine Paruch is a settlement counselor with the CB Island Centre for Immigration at New Dawn Enterprises

She helps connect newcomers, including international students and graduates, with supports in the community.

Her position is funded by the province. She spoke with the CBC's Nicole MacLennan, hear the interview below.