On April 29, individuals from across campus and the Calgary community came together to celebrate the winners of the University of Calgary Internationalization Achievement Awards. The event recognizes and celebrates the outstanding contributions of students, faculty, staff and community members in progressing our institutional commitment to excellence in internationalization, and achieving the goals set in our International Strategy.
“This annual event highlights how internationalization is more than just an institutional strategy — it is also core to our university’s values,” says UCalgary President Ed McCauley. “The University of Calgary derives great strength from our global partnerships, exchanges and development efforts. Internationalization has brought a diversity of ideas, education, cultures and talent to the UCalgary campus, and I’m happy to see our champions of internationalization being recognized for their impact.”
“The internationalization achievement awards is a great opportunity to celebrate some of our international champions and thank them for their commitment and dedication to internationalization on our campus, in our city and around the world,” says Dr. Janaka Ruwanpura, vice-provost (international). “We set out on an ambitious journey to internationalize UCalgary over five years ago, and we are now an award-winning leader in internationalization thanks to the hard work of passionate individuals like these.”
Ismat Ali (Student Award, Domestic Graduate, Cumming School of Medicine) was recognized for her outstanding contribution towards Mama na Mtoto project. For this project, Ismat traveled to Mwanza, Tanzania for 3 months, and added her valuable contribution in Calgary as well.
Tanzania – Mama na Mtoto
Mama na Mtoto, or ‘mother and child’ in Swahili, is an initiative between Tanzanian, Ugandan and Canadian partners that strives to improve maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) in rural Tanzania. We work together with local governments and health facilities to support communities in adapting and leading activities that address their own health challenges. Joint expert teams (Tanzanian-Ugandan-Canadian) advise on technical issues, curriculum, strategic direction and research. They also provide clinical training and mentorship to local healthcare practitioners and community health volunteers.
