Oh, the places you’ll go — just fill out this form first

After not travelling for the last couple of years, many of us are eagerly planning our next trip abroad — and, for a portion of the University of Calgary community, that trip isn’t going to be for a vacation.

Students, faculty and staff enjoy a great number of travel opportunities including conferences, research projects and guest lectureships. Some get whisked away on internships, co-op jobs and international student exchanges, while others go on international sabbaticals, visit field schools, volunteer with global health projects or just attend out-of-town business meetings. Whatever your reason, you must review and complete UCalgary’s travel requirements before you go.

The Risk Management department keeps track of all UCalgary community members abroad and offers travel supports. So, if something happens in your country of stay, or in the world at large, we know where you are, how to contact you and, if necessary, pull you out. This very thing happened in March 2020, when nearly 260 UCalgary staff, students and faculty who were working, studying and researching in 27 countries were recalled home as the first COVID-19 lockdowns began.

There are several travel requirements that must be completed before travelling for all undergraduate and graduate students, as well as academic staff members, employees and postdoctoral fellows. Many of these requirements are the same regardless of which group you belong to, like registering your travel with the university, filling out forms and downloading UCalgary’s International SOS mobile app, while others may be person-specific or country-specific requirements. You can find a breakdown of these requirements on our International Travel website.

Risk Management also provides international travel briefings, safety, security and medical briefings, and access to other information such as international vaccination rates. While COVID restrictions have been lifted or reduced in much of Canada, it is important to check vaccine requirements, restrictions and rates in your destination country, as they may be very different from what we are used to.

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. And, as soon as you do the paperwork, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

If you have any questions, please email riskmgmt@ucalgary.ca.