Bringing Leading Minds Together

Thousands of U of T faculty members conduct research with colleagues around the world. But the university itself also teams up with leading international institutions. These partnerships give U of T students and faculty opportunities to engage with some of the world’s top scholars; they help attract the best faculty and students from around the world to U of T; and they enhance Canada’s ability to find solutions to global challenges. U of T has long-standing partnerships with universities in the U.S. and Europe, but has been developing new relationships in rapidly growing regions such as Asia and South America.

Family Medicine in China
U of T’s Faculty of Medicine and Chinese universities exchange faculty, conduct research and foster Chinese student placements at U of T. For example, U of T’s department of family and community medicine works with Fudan University to improve physician training. And U of T’s Centre for Integrative Medicine collaborates with two universities in Hong Kong to integrate traditional Chinese medicine with conventional medical care.

Sustainability in India
U of T is one of the three Canadian institutions (along with UBC and the University of Alberta) that are part of an India-Canada research collaboration called IC-IMPACTS, which aims to find solutions to challenges that affect the lives of both Canadians and Indians, such as water safety, disease prevention and treatment, and safe and sustainable civil infrastructure. Projects include “green concrete” technology and the development and evaluation of new technologies in water and health.

Joint Conferences in São Paolo
U of T and the University of São Paulo have agreed to hold joint conferences, the first four of which have taken place, on the subjects of neuroscience, oncology, international politics (through the Munk School of Global Affairs) and global cities, which President Meric Gertler attended in São Paulo last fall.

Engineering Exchanges with China
Engineering partnerships with China focus on graduate student education and student mobility. For example, one program enables Peking University undergraduates to spend a semester at U of T and U of T undergrads and faculty to participate in a four-week summer program at Peking University. And in mechanical and industrial engineering, students at U of T and three Chinese universities visit each other’s campuses and collaborate on design projects provided by GM, Bombardier and Siemens.