CREDIT: LAM LE
This year's Pathways Fair will take place in a virtual format on Nov. 11.

The Pathways Fair is an annual Fanshawe event helping students find information regarding external academic pathways for bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Amid COVID-19, organizers have converted the fair to a virtual format taking place on Wednesday, Nov. 11.

The fair will feature 20 of Fanshawe’s international and outof-province partner universities in a variety of panels and presentations. Universities in Ireland, the UK, Australia, Switzerland, and the U.S. will all be featured.

Pathways coordinator Gabriela Kongkham-Fernandez said the pandemic meant they had no choice but to make the event virtual.


“We have to do it, we have to make it work somehow,” she said. “And so we explore different options. And we decided to do a series of panels throughout the day, just to have it over the same day. And the idea is that students can pick a specific destination, country or region, and then they can join the panels that they want throughout the day.”

Education consultants will also be present among the panels to help students explore options for future education endeavours.

“It’s an opportunity for students to connect directly with those partners’ institutions and ask all the questions that they have, including pricing and scholarship opportunities,” said Kongkham-Fernandez.

A recent addition to the Pathways Fair is the Pathways Scholarship, which launched as part of last year’s fair. This year the scholarship was awarded to its first two recipients, Franco Chan, a graduate of landscape design, and Kiana Halonen, a graduate of fashion design. Chan is continuing his studies at the University of Guelph, while Halonen is pursuing a bachelor’s degree from the Limerick Institute of Technology in Ireland. Pathways offers a scholarship for a minimum of $1000 to one student transferring to a domestic partner institution, and one for a student transferring to an international partner institution.

“The fair is free for students but the partners who participate pay a small fee that helps us fund the scholarship,” explained Kongkham-Fernandez.

There’s still time left to register online for the fair, and Kongkham-Fernandez said students have nothing to lose by attending.

“Basically, if you are even a little bit inclined or considering options, just go register and take a look,” she said. “It’s free, you can do it from the comfort of your home. You don’t need to go anywhere. And you can ask questions directly to the panel at the partner institutions and you can have a contact directly at that institution that you can follow up [with] afterwards.”

For students that have concerns regarding COVID-19 and travel, Kongkham-Fernandez added that some of Fanshawe’s international partners have options for online programs. She said now is the time to begin planning and asking questions.

“It is very timely, because we typically start planning one year ahead of when they are planning to go abroad or go to do their pathway program,” she said.

The Pathways Fair is only for students seeking information about international and out-of-province opportunities. Another Pathways Fair is held in the winter for all of Fanshawe’s other partners, including Ontario institutions.