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.
