With the recent upswing in the economic activities in countries such as India and China , global focus on educational needs of such countries has significantly increased. There has been a significant policy shift in the education related governing bodies of these countries in the recent years, to facilitate global education partnerships.

In the last few years a number of initiatives have come up in Ontario and in Canada to support international academic collaborations. For example, these include the MITACS Globalinks (for example, for internships from Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs), BITS, and other selected universities), Canadian Commonwealth Scholarships (for graduate students only) and the recent OMG Student Exchange Program (for undergraduate and graduate students) which was established in 2007 by the Government of Ontario as an initiative for the development of post-secondary educational linkages between Ontario and the Indian states of Maharashtra and Goa with the aim of promoting the reciprocal flow of knowledge.

In this talk, emerging global educational trends with focus on student demands and career opportunities will be discussed. Global education partnerships in the context of Canadian institutions will also be covered.

Prof. Lalu Mansinha obtained a Bachelors in Geology and a Masters in Geophysics from the Indian Institute of Technology, and a PhD in Physics from the University of British Columbia . With stints at Rice University , Houston , NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and University of Western Ontario where he retired. He has been involved with projects in India at all levels, including research collaborations with the IITs. He is a founder member of SEEDS (Sustainable Education and Economic Development Society) that funds and runs community development and education projects in India . He has been the Editor of the Geophysical Journal International of the Royal Astronomical Society. Currently he is the Director of the OMG Student Exchange Program.