Mohit Dudeja Part of National Team Awarded SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant

Dr. Mohit Dudeja (Contract Lecturer, Faculty of Education, Thunder Bay) is a collaborator and project lead on a national research team that has been awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Engage Grant. The one-year project will examine the experiences of racialized 2S/LGBTQIA+ international students in Canada and develop strategies to strengthen institutional supports for this student population.

The project brings together researchers and national partners from across Canada, working in partnership with the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) and supported by the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies at York University. The research team includes Principal Investigator Dr. Jean Michel Montsion (York University); Co-investigators Dr. Kumari Beck (Education, Simon Fraser University), Dr. Ajay Parasram (History and International Development, Dalhousie University), and Dr. Roberta Soares (Education, University of Ottawa); and Collaborators Dr. Mohit Dudeja (Education, Lakehead University); Vedanth Govi (Anthropology, York University); and Rachel Poko (International Development, Independent scholar).  

The project will draw on findings from the 2025 CBIE International Student Survey and a series of stakeholder roundtables to identify the challenges faced by racialized 2SLGBTQIA+ international students. In Fall 2026, the research team will host a series of online public panels across Canada to discuss the survey findings and to engage higher education professionals, community organizations, student leaders, and other community members in discussions to understand the experiences of racialized queer and trans international students, and how institutions can better support this group of students as they navigate postsecondary education and life in Canada.

Although Canada is widely recognized as a welcoming destination for international students, many continue to encounter barriers that affect their sense of belonging, access to services, and overall well-being. Existing support systems often focus on providing either queer/trans-friendly services or ethnocultural community supports, leaving a gap for students whose experiences intersect across multiple identities in relation to racialization, ethnicity, gender identity and sexuality.

The project will produce practical resources to inform future policy and practice, as the research team will create a training workshop and policy brief for policymakers and higher education administrators interested in learning how to best support this group and foster more equitable and inclusive learning environments.

As the project lead, Dr. Dudeja will contribute to all stages of the research project, including the design of consultations, the selection of speakers, the analysis of regional roundtable findings and the development of project outputs.