Though some secondary school students starting their higher education are interested in specific areas of study - environmental studies, international relations, business, Japanese, for those who know about IPC - most are simply excited about continuing to learn. At IPC, we are of course keen to grow students in areas they are interested in and excited about. But we are also keen to expand the areas of interest. So, for those of you who come to IPC to become proficient in Japanese, we hope we can involve you in environmental studies. For those who come to IPC to make our environment safer, we try to show how international relations is as vital as environmental studies to make our air cleaner and water available. And for those who realize the importance of international diplomacy, we introduce the profit motive to help you realize how profoundly money can influence both ways to save our planet and keep the peace.

If you come to IPC with one goal in mind, and achieve only that goal, we will have failed you. We want you to come with one goal in mind and leave with many goals in mind and many goals achieved.

No matter what you focus on at IPC - international relations, environmental studies, international business, Japanese language and culture, language teaching, sports - we want you and all our graduates to develop the characteristics in the IPC Graduate Profile.

We have developed our IPC Graduate Profile by asking employers, graduates, staff, prospective and present students, members of our advisory committees and parents what characteristics are most crucial to lead a rich and fulfilling life. The 8 characteristics of an IPC graduate below are the result of our explorations.

You will see that we have deleted some words from the IPC Graduate Profile. We invite each of you to write in words that fit the profile you want to have when you graduate that is in tune with ours but in tune with you as an individual as well. We do not want our Graduate Profile to be just a list we present to you as a set of slogans or clichés. We want it to be an organic, personal statement from each of our students as well. So you can compare our version with your personalized one, we have printed the complete profile without deletions below the deleted version.

IPC Graduate Profile to be personalized

Students will graduate from IPC who

1. are confident and __________ and are able to set their own __________;
2. contribute to the __________ they live in;
3. think critically and __________ problems __________ ways;
4. know how to __________ and evaluate __________ in a range of ways;
5. are __________ and __________ about learning;
6. have the ability to __________ to others from different countries and to __________ cross __________ and __________ - culturally;
7. are able to use at least two languages __________ in a range of __________ settings, content areas and in their __________ at a high level of __________ ;
8. will be __________ to apply what has been learned in a range of __________ settings.

IPC Graduate Profile

1. are confident and independent and are able to set their own goals;
2. contribute to the society they live in;
3. think critically and solve problems in creative ways;
4. know how to access and evaluate information in a range of ways;
5. are curious and excited about learning;
6. have the ability to listen to others from different countries and to communicate cross-culturally and inter-culturally;
7. are able to use at least two languages accurately in a range of social settings, content areas and in their work at a high level of fluency;
8. will be able to apply what has been learned in a range of vocational settings.

Of course, all institutions have goals for their graduates. Most institutions have school mottos. But pressures from individual staff who teach specific content, external examiners, government agencies, and many students get involved in specific areas of content, rather than in generic goals, and rightly so. At IPC, we want to value each area of content and at the same time remind all that each discipline, each club or sports activity and all personal experiences are vital not only in their own right but can contribute to the development of each of the 8 characteristics in the IPC Graduate Profile.

We invite you to accept the challenge of focusing on your areas of interest, expanding your areas of interest and exploring how your engagement with your studies and out of class activities can develop in a vital way the 8 characteristics in the IPC Graduate Profile. And we hope you will relish and enjoy the experience at no extra cost!

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