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CBIE CBIE
  • About
    • About CBIE
      • Our History
      • Board of Directors
      • Leadership Team
      • Annual Report
      • Strategic Plan (PDF)
    • Development and Partnerships
      • International Capacity-Building
      • Collaboration Missions
    • Immigration Advisory Committee (IAC)
    • Careers
  • Scholarships & Programs
    • Student Centre
    • African Leaders of Tomorrow
    • Canadian Francophonie Scholarship Program
    • Ciencia Sem Fronteiras
    • IAEA Fellowship Program
    • Global Affairs Canada International Scholarships Program
    • Launching Economic Achievement Program for Women in Jordan
    • Libyan-North American Scholarship Program
  • Membership
    • Become a Member
    • Member Directory
    • Member Community
      • Education Abroad (EA) PLC
      • International Relations (IR) PLC
      • Student Advising – Conseil aux étudiants (SACE) PLC
      • International Network of Tomorrow’s Leaders (INTL)
    • Excellence Awards
      • 2022 Recipients
    • Institutional Resources
      • Canada’s Education Abroad Lexicon
      • Code of Ethical Practice
      • Internationalization Statement of Principles for Canadian Educational Institutions
    • Student Surveys
      • Learning Abroad Survey
      • International Student Survey
  • Learning & Events
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Nov 14

How an International Exchange Shaped My Professional Path

  • November 14, 2016
  • CBIE-BCEI
  • Student Blog

As an exchange student back in 2010, I was expecting so much, and most of it was related to the social and cultural experiences in a foreign country. Looking back at this adventure, there was something that came as a surprise. If I tell you that your learning experiences, and the way in which you apprehend your future, will be drastically changed after studying abroad, would you believe me?

Spending a year at the University of Ottawa shaped all compartments of my future life – here, I will focus solely on the professional aspect. Prior to the exchange, I went to law school in France. I learnt how to practice law and how to become a lawyer. I was taught to think in one specific way, toward one specific goal. I was learning in a vacuum. Studying in Canada was a cultural open-minder as I discovered a different approach of law. In addition to being more practical, I was facing interdisciplinary education for the first time. In other words, I was learning how to learn outside the “legal box” … What a shock!

I had a hard working year where I gained plenty of new knowledge. But overall, this experience acted as a revelation. I was able to identify this odd feeling I had while going to law school. I actually understood that “pure legal stuff” was not made for me, nor was becoming a lawyer… My education in law wasn’t lost however, as it taught me to be rigorous and methodic. So, after a master’s degree in public law, I decided to explore new grounds. I completed another masters in a non-legal field, a cross-disciplinary program in water management, which had been a decisive move. From natural to social sciences, I learnt to think differently. This journey lead to finally combining the best of two worlds by completing a Ph.D. in water law. I am now embracing the two facets of my academic career, and I am doing it in the angle of an interdisciplinary approach.

In the end, by being an international student and stepping out of my comfort zone, I discovered new horizons that influenced my learning experiences and my later choices. Because of it, I was able to target what I truly loved and what I wanted to become. Learning is an essential process to discover who we are … However, I would say that it becomes fully beneficial when you experience it through different lenses.


Alexandre Lillo is a PhD candidate in Water Law and Management at the University of Ottawa and Université de Montpellier

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