Skip to main content

Planning, Geography, and Environmental Studies

Queen Elizabeth Scholars program

The QES Program aims to propel a community of young global leaders to create sustainable impact both abroad and at home. The program partners with professionals and experts in their field in East Africa, India and Abbotsford BC. Through cross cultural exchanges, the QES program sets students up for a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn with other professionals in the field and be involved in significant impact and lasting change. Many of the opportunities past scholars have had has been pivotal in launching students into their next career and giving them the opportunity to network with a wide range of experts in the field.

The University of the Fraser Valley is in the third round of funding for the QES program thank to Dr. Cherie Enns who is the driving force behind the QES program at UFV.  One of the highlights of the program at UFV, is the opportunity for reciprocity and a circular relationship. In the First 3-year cycle of QES, we saw eight scholars from Africa come to Canada, while 30 Canadian students were placed in internships in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi.

“The narrative is changing in terms of how we learn and what relationships should look like and reciprocity. It should never be about us going to help them; its relationship building and learning together. “says Cherie Enns, recipient of UFV's 2018 Teaching Excellence Award. (link)

Both incoming and outgoing scholars have been a part of significant projects that help address change and facilitate an exchange of information and learning between cross cultural contexts. From learning about a Childs Right to Play in Chandigarh, and impacting change in local food supply chains in Abbotsford BC.

“The role students can play in terms of transformative community change, funding mobilization, and policy analysis is really useful in developing strategies that address locally and globally the sustainable development goals created by the united nations.”—Dr. Cherie Enns, professor in the School of Land Use and Environmental Change at UFV.

The Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships (QES) is managed through a unique partnership of Universities Canada, the Rideau Hall Foundation (RHF), Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) and Canadian universities. This program is made possible with financial support from the Government of Canada, provincial governments and the private sector.

To find out more about the program, please email Cherie Enns. As well, please visit the UFV Food Security Internship and the Global Community Lab webpages. 

Featured interns

Description

Hi, my name is Brooke! I am a political science student in my last year of school, interning for UN Habitat. I am working on ways to put youth at the forefront of leadership and battling COVID-19 as well as creating more safe and sustainable cities. While completing my internship with UN Habitat, I have had the opportunity to analyze and use raw data while also contributing in report writing, concept and policy notes.


Description

Hello! My name is Natasha and I am in my third year of the Bachelor of Arts program majoring in Geography with a concentration in Urban Planning. I have had the privilege of interning with Ardhi University and City Lab virtually in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. My internship has focused specifically on food security and child friendly planning initiatives and how Covid-19 has impacted these. The virtual aspect of the internship has presented its unique challenges where, navigating time zones, technology, and finding creative ways to collaborate are the norm. Although I would have enjoyed to physically be in Tanzania working with our partners, the opportunities presented to grow and learn in spite of distance has proven to be very valuable. I have had the opportunity to work on a pilot project and modules that advocate for the Right to Play and promotes child friendly initiatives and food security. 


Description

My name is Abbey and I’m a fourth year Global Development Studies student. I had the amazing and unique opportunity to work virtually with the Center of International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in the summer of 2020. I worked with another fellow UFV student, Taelyr, in writing country profile reports and conducting donor intelligence. I learned a lot about how COVID-19 has impacted environmental and sustainable development right as it was all happening.