Europe, Middle East, and Africa

The University of Alberta collaborates with a number of leading institutions and universities throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. U of A’s key university partners are RWTH Aachen University, the Université Grenoble Alpes, the Aga Khan University, and the University of Ghana. 

The University of Alberta also works with several major research and development funding agencies, including the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the German Research Foundation (DFG). Additional work is done with the embassies and consulates of many European, Middle Eastern, and African countries to promote U of A’s research and academic portfolios.

U of A is home to the Wirth Institute for Austrian and Central European Studies and the Canadian Institute for Ukrainian Studies (CIUS).

As part of its commitment to the public good and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the University of Alberta supports various displaced students and scholars through its refugee engagement activities.

Europe

Since 2007, the University of Alberta has had an agreement with the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to house the Humboldt Foundation Liaison Office in Canada (HFLOC). Through this liaison office, U of A promotes opportunities offered by the Foundation to professors across Canada. 

Launched in 2013 and 2017, respectively, the U of A e3 Berlin and the U of A e3 French-Alps study abroad programs combine language instruction, internship opportunities, and academic courses. U of A also offers a number of exciting exchange and summer programs at many universities across Europe. There is a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) professor at U of A, as well as several DAAD Research Ambassadors who serve as resources for DAAD programs, including student mobility with Germany.

The University of Alberta portfolio includes various graduate joint and dual degree programs with European institutions, including in arts and science with Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) Munich, engineering with the Université de Lorraine, hybrid functional materials with the Technical University of Munich, membrane biology with Saarland University and the University of Kaiserslautern, and forestry, environmental, and conservation sciences with partners in various European countries.

Middle East

The University of Alberta welcomes many students from Middle Eastern countries, including those with external sponsorship. Iran is the second largest source country for international graduate students at the university.

The Faculty of Arts, through the Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities Chair in Islamic Studies, awards annually the State of Kuwait Graduate Award in Islamic Studies. A generous endowment by the State of Kuwait, the award is intended for graduate students in the Faculty of Arts whose research projects are focused on socio-cultural, historical, religious, and/or political issues in the Muslim context.

The Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has a long history of engagement with a number of universities and institutions throughout the Middle East, including in Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. These engagements include such activities as program development, student mobility, and research collaboration.

Africa

U of A’s engagement in Africa spans scholarship and development opportunities and programming with a variety of institutions and organizations. In 2016, the Faculty of Nursing received a Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships (QES) grant to support mobility of young researchers with the University of Ghana. The project is part of a larger partnership between the Faculty of Nursing and the University of Ghana School of Nursing to develop a community of global nurse scholars and leaders. 

U of A was awarded another Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship project in December 2020. This project provides feminist-oriented, interdisciplinary mentorship and leadership training to West African scholars, especially women, in order to equip them with the relevant skills, experience, and networks to situate them as young global leaders. The project involves collaborators from a number of UAlberta faculties (Arts, Education, Medicine and Dentistry, Nursing, Public Health, Rehabilitation Medicine, and Campus St. Jean), as well as from three West African universities (University of Ghana, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, and University Cheikh Anta Diop).

The Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, with funding from Global Affairs Canada, led a project on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health in Ethiopia with partners at St. Paul’s Hospital and the Ministry of Health in Ethiopia. The project’s goal was to reduce maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity in Ethiopia by expanding the reach and reliability of basic birthing services and techniques. Global Affairs Canada (GAC) provided $4.4 million in support.

Likewise, the Faculty of Education led a project entitled "Capacity Development for Mathematics Teaching in Rural and Remote Communities in Tanzania" with $3.2 million in funding from GAC. The University of Dodoma and Aga Khan University East Africa (Tanzania) collaborated on this project, building on previous collaborations with those institutions.

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