Le Blog Du Maire

An International Recruitment Mission in Côte d’Ivoire for French-language Postsecondary Education in Ontario: January 10th and 11th

10 January 2012

Today, the group of representatives is in Côte d’Ivoire. This country has three large public universities (the University of Cocody, the University ofAbobo Adjamé and the Université de Bouaké), twounités régionales d’enseignement supérieur (URES) (regional units of higher education) in Daloa andKorhogo, 10 large public schools (including institutes), 18 private universities and 123 large private schools.

Côte d’Ivoire has a gross higher education enrolment rate of approximately 6%, with a student population in constant growth. There has been a significant increase in the number of private schools in Côte d’Ivoire, and a growing number of studentsare choosing to attend French-language and North American schools, including Canadian universities. The current socio-political situation has increased the already-present interest in Canada as a destination. Canada continues to have a solid reputation in Côte d’Ivoire as a country that provides high-quality education. The bilingual nature of the country, as well as the quality of the programs and teaching methods, are attractive features.

A number of people in Côte d’Ivoire are turning to the North American education system. As Côte d’Ivoire is a Francophone country, Quebec universities are often favoured. The most sought-after programs are in business management, engineering, information technology and computer science. Continuing education in businesses is becoming more and more popular, and a growing number of Ivorians are looking for distance learning programs, especially MBAs from England and the United States. One solution to consider is the promotion of Canadian education partnerships abroad and of incentives offered by Canadian establishments to provide programs on foreign campuses.

Good luck in the second part of your mission,

Marie