ACOTUP - Newsletter - Issue 27

5OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY STUDENTS GAIN

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE THROUGH QEII

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

HEATHER ALDERSEY, PHD

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, QUEEN’S NATIONAL SCHOLAR

n March 2015, Queen’s School of Rehabilitation

Therapy (SRT) was pleased to announce that it

would be a host site for Queen Elizabeth II (QEII)

Diamond Jubilee Scholarships in International Community

Based Rehabilitation (CBR). The unique QEII program runs

from 2015-2018. Students selected for this prestigious

scholarship are named “Queen Elizabeth Scholars.” The

QEII scholarship programs “aim to activate a dynamic com-

munity of young global leaders across the Commonwealth

to create lasting impacts both at home and abroad through

inter-cultural exchanges encompassing international edu-

cation, discovery and inquiry, and professional experi-

ences.”

One component of the SRT’s QEII scholarship will en-

able sixteen Occupational Therapy students to have Com-

munity Development and Advanced Clinical Practicum in

low- and middle-income Commonwealth countries. This

summer, an inaugural class of four Canadian OT QE Schol-

ars will travel to India and four OT QE Scholars will travel

to Tanzania. We plan to select eight more OT QE Scholars

for the 2016-2017 school year.

Throughout their time in the program, QEII Scholars

will engage with each other and with QEII Scholars from

across Canada and other Commonwealth countries. These

connections will support the development of a global net-

work of leaders committed to enabling positive change in

communities throughout the world.

For more information about the QEII Scholars pro-

gram, visit:

Also, to follow along with Scholar journeys around the

world, check out the QEII Scholars Board here: