Market intelligence for international student recruitment from ICEF
2nd Sep 2020

ICEF Podcast: Building safe student corridors: A case study from Canada

Our podcast series continues with a closer look at some comprehensive plans and protocols for safe student arrivals during the pandemic.

The Canadian example is an interesting one for a couple of reasons. Owing to a limited exception to a ban on international travellers, students that already had student visas in hand as of mid-March have been granted an exemption to travel to Canada to begin or continue studies this year.

But having a visa and having permission to enter the country is one thing. There are many more details to sort out when it comes to travel planning, pre-departure checks, safety while in transit, quarantine after arrival, and then transition to homestays or other longer-term housing.

We have seen a number of stakeholders step forward with detailed and comprehensive plans for safe student arrivals this year, and this episode features two guests who have really made important contributions in this respect.

Rachel Lindsay is the director of international affairs and operations for Languages Canada, the country’s peak body for the language teaching sector. And Karen Symonds is the director of international education for the Delta School District in Delta, British Columbia.

They join our host – Robin Garcha, ICEF's director for Canada – for a wide-ranging discussion around the practicalities of safely welcoming international students this year. 

You can listen to the episode in the player below, and we encourage you to subscribe via your favourite podcast app in order to receive future episodes automatically.

For additional background, please see: 

Most Recent

  • New Zealand reports solid foreign enrolment growth for 2025 Read More
  • US immigration officials allege OPT is being widely abused and say “more actions are forthcoming” Read More
  • New IDP research shows link between visa uncertainty and the perceived ROI of study abroad Read More

Most Popular

  • Which countries will contribute the most to global student mobility in 2030? Read More
  • Research shows link between study abroad and poverty alleviation  Read More
  • Beyond the Big Four: How demand for study abroad is shifting to destinations in Asia and Europe Read More

Because you found this article interesting

New Zealand reports solid foreign enrolment growth for 2025 New Zealand’s international student population grew by +11% last year, bringing it to 80% of its pre-COVID high...
Read more
US immigration officials allege OPT is being widely abused and say “more actions are forthcoming” US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has intensified its scrutiny of the Optional Practical Training (OPT) post-study work...
Read more
Universities urged to focus on “factors they can control” as policy settings depress international student enrolments in the Big Four Through the first quarter of 2026, restrictive immigration settings in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US continued...
Read more
Survey finds “growing pressure” on youth group travel to UK this year Findings from a February-March 2026 pulse survey conducted by the British Educational Travel Association (BETA) highlight “growing pressure”...
Read more
Malta: Non-EU students keeping ELT weeks stable in the face of falling enrolment from Europe Data from Malta’s National Statistics Office shows that the characteristics of Malta’s English Language Teaching (ELT) sector are...
Read more
UK to rejoin Erasmus+ in 2027 The UK will rejoin the Erasmus+ mobility programme in 2027 for an initial one-year term. This will end...
Read more
US to end “Duration of Status” for F, J, and I visas and limit the time international students can study in the US It is likely that as of September 2026, most international students in the US will need to complete...
Read more
ICEF Podcast: Sustainable international student recruitment from a UK-China perspective Listen in as ICEF’s Craig Riggs and Martijn van de Veen recap some of the latest developments in...
Read more
What are you looking for?
Quick Links