An agreement between UBC and Canadian Airlines will open doors to international travel for 18 graduate and undergraduate students this year.
Six undergraduates and 12 graduate students will receive a free pass to any Canadian Airlines destination for academic business use thanks to the agreement signed in January.
Under the agreement, Canadian Airlines will provide UBC with 24 passes. Previously, only four passes were provided by the university's official carrier airlines.
International travel will be given priority in order to obtain the best value and to support UBC's vision statement regarding internationalization.
Dean of Graduate Studies Frieda Granot and Maria Klawe, vice-president, Student and Academic Services, will decide which students will receive tickets.
"I'm thrilled," said Granot. "The passes are a wonderful opportunity for graduate students to promote their research or to receive major prizes."
The remaining six airline passes will be awarded as prizes at major UBC events that reach a wide range of faculty, staff and students or that return benefits to the university through exposure to the broader community.