It's been three years since the School of Continuing Studies spearheaded a campaign to support bursaries for refugees through Seeds of Change, McGill’s crowdfunding platform. That campaign was a success, surpassing its initial $10,000 target and snowballing into so much more.
"The project was successful, no doubt about it," says Nabil Beitinjaneh, BEng’88, a member on the Seeds of Change campaign team. "The funds have increased quite a bit since then."
Beitinjaneh continues to track funds generated for refugees and newcomers to attend McGill: a total of 565 donors for the initial Seeds of Change fund, a scholarship fund established by Montreal's Centre Culturel Syrien, and a partial matching gift from the McGill Association of Continuing Education Students. There’s also the Nizar Qabbani Bursary, the Karim Ghassan Ejjeh Bursary for Syrian Refugees, and the Hakim Family Bursary for newly arrived immigrants and refugees. The result is nearly $250,000 to help newcomers and refugees, with the majority going towards bursaries for McGill's School of Continuing Studies.
"What the School does is excellent; it's focused on adult newcomers. Some might already have a degree and they're looking to access to the local marketplace, so it helps to have something from McGill. They will find that the School on Continuing Studies is the right place to go: the programs are shorter, they're market-driven, and it provides a professional network. It's a big advantage."
Beitinjaneh is President of Montreal's Le Centre Culturel Syrien and a former member of the School of Continuing Studies' Faculty Advisory Board. He's still involved with the School as a faculty lecturer and program coordinator.
"There's a lot that the School is doing. Career Advising and Transition Services offered career workshops for newcomers with reduced prices for those in need. I sat in on it, and I found them to be very useful."
As the numbers of refugees and internally-displaced people continues to grow globally, Beitinjaneh believes the University can make a difference. "The role that McGill has to play is with education. It's in educating people, solving problems, and helping others."