Higher education, international student mobility, and regional innovation in non-core regions: International student start-ups on “the rock”

Abstract

This paper makes a case for post-graduate international students as an increasingly important category of immigrant entrepreneur in Canada. We draw our findings from an analysis of new provincial immigrant entrepreneur programs and interviews with international student entrepreneurs in a mid-sized city in Atlantic Canada. We argue that three forces have become increasingly relevant in shaping immigrant entrepreneurs' opportunity structures: (1) the internationalization of higher education institutions (HEIs), (2) the corporatization of HEIs, and (3) the regionalization of immigration. We show how public policy shifts in immigration and education have expanded the opportunity structure for international student start-ups. These entrepreneurs are navigating multiple dimensions of risk that stem from being both temporary migrants and business owners.