If you’ve ever had the chance to scan through the Dalhousie University website, you’ll see the term ‘world-class’ appear more than once or twice. As the new executive director of international strategy, Alain Boutet plans to take Dalhousie’s world-class initiative on international strategy from good to great.
Alain Boutet hails from Quebec City where he completed his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in anthropology from the Université Laval. He continued his education at the Université du Quebec in Montreal where he received a PhD in communications and development with a strong focus on Latin America.
Dr. Boutet spent the next several years working for a number of prominent universities in their international relations offices; University of Quebec in Montreal, University of Regina, University of Montreal and up until recently, Saint Mary’s University.
Welcome to Dal
He came to Dalhousie University in April of this year as Executive Director of International Strategy and so far he’s adjusting nicely.
“A research intensive university like Dal is a profile I like. There’s so much potential for international opportunities and activities.”
Dr. Boutet officially reports to Carolyn Watters, Vice-President Academic & Provost, although his position requires close collaboration with Martha Crago, Vice-President Research and Bonnie Neuman, Vice-President Student Services.
Not only is he new to the Dal community, but the position is also new. He says it’s becoming more and more of a priority for universities to focus on its international element whether it’s through academic programs, research, recruitment or student and faculty mobility.
“When you think of world-class universities, the international dimension is an important component. Dal has a recognized brand, strong educational programs and research clusters, a significant presence of international students on campus and it gives students the opportunity to experience international education and learning.”
“One of my goals is to development and deploy an international strategy for Dalhousie that will benefit students, faculty and staff. This will be done through assessment of and research on international trends and working with academic, administrative and research units to see where the potential, the interest and the need for international collaboration are,” he explains.
One of the first steps in drafting an international strategy will be overviewing and capturing the international profile of the faculty. Faculties at Dalhousie have a broad range of connections and experiences through research, training and teaching and Dr. Boutet believes those partnerships need to honed in on.
Enhancing profile
“Whenever you try and establish an international strategy, you need to identify the types of activities available to students and faculties and the regions of the world there’s potential for partnerships, exchanges and research. We have a lot of that information here; it’s a matter of coordinating and communicating with the faculties and seeing where Dalhousie can build on existing partnerships and also create new ones.”
Dr. Boutet wants to create programs to enhance Dalhousie’s international profile as well as opportunities abroad for students and faculty. He also believes staff can benefit from an international experience. He explains that well-rounded exchanges and partnerships involve both the academic and administrative units.
Looking ahead, Dr. Boutet hopes to roll out the university’s international strategy by the end of this year.