Vedanth Govi, a doctoral candidate at York University, has been recognized by the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) for research and advocacy advancing international student rights and community.
Govi has received the Elizabeth Paterson Award, presented annually by the CBIE to an international student who has made significant contributions to the internationalization of their campus community.
The CBIE is a national organization that supports Canadian students studying abroad, helps attract international students to Canada and provides resources, research and advocacy for educators, as well as policymakers, to strengthen the country’s global education presence.
The award committee cited Govi’s “exemplary advocacy in both their academic and volunteer contributions to the international student community in Toronto” as the reason for their selection.
“I am exceptionally humbled to be recognized for my advocacy and scholarship by this award,” says Govi, who notes that their academic and advocacy pursuits are united by a shared purpose. “My doctoral project and my advocacy off campus have both been geared towards one fundamental aim: to think of international students in ways that offer more than simple parables and moral panics around immigration in Canada; to move beyond ‘crisis’ narratives; and to really evaluate the choices that international students make once they arrive in Canada against the larger infrastructure of higher education that has facilitated their path.”
Govi’s academic work – including their current doctoral research – explores how international South Asian students navigate and reshape the infrastructures of internationalization and higher education in Canada. Their research examines how international students advocate for themselves through a migrant rights framework, challenging and redefining traditional understandings of mobility, labour and belonging.
They have also advanced this work as a graduate associate at the York Centre for Asian Research and as the sole graduate member of a Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies research cluster dedicated to studying migrant student labour.
Beyond academia, Govi’s activism focuses on supporting migrant and international students across Ontario. CBIE highlighted their efforts to foster community and cultural diversity including through the York chapter of Migrant Students United, which they helped found.
Through these initiatives, Govi has helped build networks to improve international student experiences in Toronto and organized workshops and symposiums that deepen understanding of student migration and advocacy.
Govi says the recognition offers encouragement for the future, noting it solidifies their path ahead in pursuing public-oriented research.
Looking forward, Govi aims to strengthen connections among groups that can work together to ensure higher education continues to advance the well-being of students.