Global Skills Opportunity Fund

Global Skills Opportunity (GSO) represents an exciting, innovative way to realize the Government of Canada’s International Education Strategy. Thanks to GSO, Saint Mary’s University has been able to implement a Student Mobility Project, “Spring Abroad: Global learning for a pluralistic society”. Canadian students —especially Indigenous students, low-income students and those with disabilities— in this GSO project receive financial support to first undertake physical and virtual global learning activities through which they gain intercultural knowledge, skills and understanding. They will then use their transformative experiences to become life-long learners and contributors of pluralistic values – they help make their local and global communities a place where people of all abilities and backgrounds can choose to practice active citizenship without barriers.

This Project is funded by the Government of Canada through Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) in partnership with Saint Mary's University, and is administered by Universities Canada.

Read our Frequently Asked Questions below to learn more about the funding.

Who is Eligible for Global Skills Opportunity?

This GSO project is open to all Canadian post-secondary students but will prioritize Indigenous students, low-income students and those with disabilities.

Student participants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents*, registered at Saint Mary's University.
Students must be in good standing (having achieved a minimum cumulative grade point average of at least 1.70).
The program is only open to full/part-time undergraduate students.
Students must be 18 years of age or older. There is no upper limit to participation.
Participants chosen in the final year of the Project must complete their international activity by March 2025.
International students and graduate students are not eligible for GSO funding but are supported by Saint Mary’s financial support programs such as the VPAR International Mobility Awards and the Virtual Global Learning Awards.

(*A permanent resident is someone who has been given permanent resident status by immigrating to Canada, but is not a Canadian citizen. A person in Canada temporarily, like a student or foreign worker, is not a permanent resident.” See Understand permanent resident status.)

What Kind of Global Learning Opportunities are Funded?

GSO provides funding for physical and virtual international learning activities, lasting for 1 week to 1 year, for which academic credit/recognition is given. The types of activities include:

Exchange/Study abroad for academic credit (semester, full year, or summer sessions)
International field courses
Group training internationally
Language training outside of Canada
Volunteer placements that are recognized as part of an academic credit program

Where can International Learning Experiences Take Place?

All physical mobility experiences must take place outside of Canada. Activity is encouraged to take place in non-traditional destination countries (i.e., countries other than the US, the UK, France and Australia).

Saint Mary’s University works strategically with partner institutions in Brazil, Hong Kong, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Philippines, Poland, Turkey, Uganda, Costa Rica, Japan, South Korea, and Norway; thus, priorities are given to placements at those partners where possible.

Participants may study in any destination; however, physical mobility will not be permitted in countries (or regions within countries) with travel advisories from the Government of Canada recommending the avoidance of all travel or non-essential travel.

All outbound mobility programming is required to follow the Government of Canada’s travel advisories. Please refer to http://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories for more details.

How are student participants selected?

Each applicant’s eligibility is assessed through both needs and character-based criteria, rather than a merit-based approach. Funding is to support students who demonstrate a high desire to learn and a need for financial assistance, rather than those with the highest GPA.

How does the GSO funding work for virtual mobility participants?

Selected participants within the low-income students, students with disabilities and Indigenous students may be eligible to receive up to CAD$1,000 per student and other eligible students up to CAD$500. In all cases, individual student funding is to be determined based on financial needs.

Funds may cover direct costs related to the implementation of virtual mobility programming including participation costs for students, operational costs, software expenses, systems maintenance, connection fees, equipment, hardware requirements, inclusion and accessibility tools (i.e. closed captioning, translation, etc.).

Funds are disbursed to the applicant’s Saint Mary’s banner account. 80% of the funding will be given prior to the start of the activity, and the remaining 20% will be given after the program requirements are completed. Alternative arrangements may be made on a case-by-case basis.

How does the GSO Funding work for physical mobility participants?

Selected participants within the low-income students, students with disabilities and Indigenous students may be eligible to receive up to CAD$10,000 per student and other eligible students up to CAD$5,000. In all cases, individual student funding is to be determined based on financial needs and destination costs.

Funding can cover a range of student expenses, including, but not limited to, tuition, living expenses, dependent care, health insurance, immunizations, transportation and accommodation during their outbound mobility experience.

Funds are disbursed to the applicant’s Saint Mary’s banner account. 80% of the funding will be given prior to the start of the activity, and the remaining 20% will be given after the program requirements are completed. Alternative arrangements may be made on a case-by-case basis.

How many applicants are chosen to receive funding?

The number of students selected to receive GSO funding each year depends on how many eligible applications are received and the amount of their individual student funding.

Saint Mary's University's GSO Student Mobility Project, “Spring Abroad: Global learning for a pluralistic society”, is co-financed by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Saint Mary's University. The estimated total funding amount available for distribution is the following:

FY2021-22 (October 2021-March 2022) FY2022-23 (April 2022-March 2023)

Virtual mobility $3,500 Virtual mobility $12,000

Physical mobility $80,000 Physical mobility $150,000

FY2023-24 (April 2023-March 2024) FY2024-25 (April 2024-March 2025)

Virtual mobility $10,500 Virtual mobility $13,000

Physical mobility $190,000 Physical mobility $110,000

What are the requirements for GSO project participants?

GSO participants are asked to:

attend pre-departure training
arrange for supplementary medical insurance appropriate for their GSO destination that covers the entire duration of their international experience
register online with the Government of Canada’s Registry of Canadians Abroad (ROCA).
not travel to destinations where travel advisories issued by the Government of Canada recommend the avoidance of all travel or non-essential travel.
obtain a valid passport, visa, medications (such as anti-malaria pills) or vaccinations, as required by the destination country.
complete the pre-departure form prior to starting their physical or virtual mobility experience at least two weeks before departure through Universities Canada’s online portal. This form seeks to gather information on participants’ mobility experience details, motivations for participation and baseline skill evaluations.
complete a post-experience report through Universities Canada’s online portal within four weeks of completing their experience.
participate in program evaluations which may include surveys, interviews, and case studies, among other activities
provide airfare purchase receipt, original plane tickets and all boarding passes, receipt for accommodations, as appropriate.
attend re-entry sessions.
meet any other requirements set by Saint Mary’s University or international partner that will host them.