The BIE program has a partnership with UBC’s Community Learning Initiative (CLI) and International Service Learning (ISL) programs to offer exclusive opportunities for BIE students which will provide volunteer experience opportunities directly related to your academic studies.
CLI and ISL programs differ from other opportunities like internships, co-ops or placements solely based around volunteering. The BIE-CLI/SLI programs facilitate opportunities where you will engage in a continuous cycle of learning, acting and critical reflection.
Bring Academic Learning to Life
- Understand academic concepts better by applying them to real-world projects
- Learn to question assumptions and to reflect on alternative perspectives
- Consider solutions in the context of relevant community issues
Make a Positive Difference in the Community
- Gain awareness of an individual’s potential to effect change
- Understand the complexity of community issues and choices and begin to address them
- Engage with issues of social justice such as economic inequality and homelessness
- Explore the multiple facets of sustainability—economic, social, and environmental
Better Understand Your Career Options
- Experience new learning environments and develop transferable skills
- Articulate and refine career goals while further developing leadership, organizational, and communications skills
- Discover what work is most rewarding personally and most useful in the community
- Gain a deeper understanding of diversity by meeting people from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds