The Office of the Vice-Provost International helps create opportunities for learning and global engagement responsive to the needs and aspirations of the entire UBC academic community. When it comes to developing formalized partnership agreements, we usually begin by asking, what are we trying to achieve? Often a written agreement is not necessary to foster meaningful international collaborations between scholars, students and staff. When a contract is needed to formalize a partnership, we identify the best format and approach for the agreement.
Email global.partnerships@ubc.ca.
The process
Partner evaluation
Check whether there is already an agreement in place with that partner. (Contact us to find out whether or not there is an expired agreement with the partner.)
If you want to renew an existing agreement, or if you would like to organize a formal signing ceremony, please email us with your request.
Partnership summary
Email us information on the partnership you are developing. Outline what you are trying to achieve with the partnership and by formalizing an agreement. We might request a brief phone call to learn more. This will allow us to assess if an agreement is necessary, and if so, which type.
Agreement type
We will work with you to determine the type of agreement needed; for example, Memorandum of Understanding, Statement of Cooperation, Student Mobility Agreement and so on. If the type of agreement needed is out of our scope – for instance, funding agreements – we will advise you on next steps.
Expert process guidance
If some kind of an agreement is necessary, we will guide you through the agreement development process – including consulting the expertise of UBC’s Global Partnerships Facilitation Group for more complex partnerships. We invite faculty members, administrators and faculty representatives to consult with the GPFG on proposed academic partnership agreements in the early stages of development.
Signing the agreement
We will coordinate the signing of the agreement with the partner institution and the appropriate signatories at UBC, and will keep records of the agreement.