Global engagement is at the heart of what we do.
As one of the most international universities in Canada, McGill unites over 150 countries on its downtown, Macdonald, and Outaouais campuses.
Global Engagement Strategic Mission
Continuing to strategically build on McGill’s global engagement is of critical importance for the University’s future. Global engagement offers the unique opportunity to build ties with peer institutions, increase developmental and exchange opportunities for McGill students, faculty and staff, support academics in securing funding for international initiatives, strengthen McGill’s global reputation, and advance McGill’s mission of service to the global community and the University’s role as a motor of social inclusion.
Global Engagement Unit
McGill’s Global Engagement unit is responsible for operationalizing the strategic vision for McGill’s global engagement and for clearly communicating that vision to McGill’s internal and external stakeholders. The unit supports the implementation of the international components of McGill’s Strategic Academic Plan 2017-2022 and provides guidance to Faculties on Faculty-specific international initiatives that support the Academic Plan. The unit facilitates international agreements with partner institutions that have a university-wide benefit, encouraging research collaboration, revenue-generating opportunities, and international mobility across the globe. Support provided by the unit also contributes to advancing social accountability and social justice programs in a global context, including development programs and programs tied to sustainable development goals. The unit also collaborates closely with other units, including Research and Innovation, to identify potential areas of risk for foreign interference and to implement risk-mitigation measures. Additionally, the global engagement unit capitalizes on the geographic expertise of its team to identify potential opportunities for expanded global engagement and shares those opportunities with relevant Faculties and internal stakeholders.
Strategic Presence
McGill’s reputation attracts interest for collaboration from around the world. Although the University remains open to all potential opportunities, a number of countries and regions have been identified as priority areas for global engagement.
Among those identified countries and regions, some represent more traditional partners with established systems of higher education and significant numbers of peer institutions. Others are countries and regions that are emerging, representing potential opportunities for growth and programs that address sustainable development goals. The countries and regions are geographically and linguistically diverse.
