Top Ten
June 15, 2011
RDC forecasts tough years should government funding not rise
Tough years lie ahead for Red Deer College if the Alberta government does not boost funding for post-secondary schools. RDC president Joel Ward says the institution has faced challenges in recent years, and should those challenges continue, there will be a greater impact on RDC's people, programs, and services in as little as 2 years. While the college has a balanced budget for the upcoming academic year, RDC is projecting a $1-million shortfall in 2012-13 and a $4.5-million shortfall in 2013-14 if government funding remains the same. Red Deer Advocate
Teacher cuts won't affect Laurentian, university says
Ontario's education ministry plans to reduce the number of new teachers produced in the province in response to overcrowding in the field, but for Laurentian University, the impact will be negligible, as the Sudbury-based institution offers an education program in French and has an Aboriginal aspect infused in its English program. A Laurentian official says on the francophone side, it is looking at a 5% cut in places in 2 years, equalling 9 to 10 spots. On the anglophone side, a 10% cut is expected, also equalling about 10 spots over a 2-year period. By comparison, Nipissing University will be accepting about 50 fewer education students. Sudbury Star
Study measures social, cultural contributions of Atlantic universities
The Association of Atlantic Universities has published a study measuring the extensive social and cultural contribution of universities in Atlantic Canada. The report notes that during the 2009 calendar year, over half a million people attended cultural events staged at Atlantic universities; institutions were involved in more than 800 charitable community service initiatives; MUN, Dal, and UNB each offered more than 500 programs across a wide variety of areas; and universities delivered over 800 recreational programs to people in the region. Read the report
$2-million donation funds Canada's first Chair in Brand Communication at WLU
Wilfrid Laurier University announced yesterday the creation of Canada's first Chair in Brand Communication with a $1.9-million investment from 45 leading Canadian brands and brand marketing professionals. The chair will continue to build upon WLU's relationships with the brand communication industry and other leading academic partners in a bid to raise the quality and profile of brand communication education across the country. WLU News Release
Carleton to launch enterprise cloud services research centre
On Tuesday Carleton University, telecom solutions provider Huawei, and TELUS signed a more than $1.4-million deal to establish a research lab dedicated to enterprise cloud services at the institution. Based at Carleton's new Canal Building, the Huawei-TELUS Innovation Centre for Enterprise Cloud Services will give students, faculty, and industry an opportunity to research real-world problems associated with cloud computing, such as security and performance issues. Carleton News Release
Confederation to build new health-care training facility
Confederation College will house a new education and training facility to prepare over 400 students for careers in health care and community services. With $1 million in support from the Ontario government, Confederation will be home to the new Regional Education Alliance for Community Health programs that will train students for jobs in health care, community and protective services, research labs, and elder and child care services. It will also help recruit Aboriginal people, displaced workers, and youth into these fields. Ontario News Release
Ontario invests in expanded media centre at Canadore
With a $1-million contribution from the Ontario government, Canadore College is developing a digital media workspace that will help launch 2 new programs -- mobile application development and digital cinematography. Among the improvements to the new 2,000-square-foot integrated media hub are hardware and software for student laboratories, wireless infrastructure, and building a working television studio. Canadore News Release
McGill to develop Quebec's most powerful supercomputer cluster
McGill University announced Tuesday an $8.3-million contract with IBM to acquire a supercomputer cluster able to support the data-intensive research activities of the CLUMEQ High Performance Computing Consortium, making it Quebec's most powerful supercomputer and Canada's second-most energy-efficient data centre. CLUMEQ is a supercomputer consortium network created by McGill, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec network, which includes the École de technologie supérieure, where the supercomputer is housed. McGill News Release
UVic Web series on freshman life wins award
Freshman's Wharf, an online comedic show produced by students in the University of Victoria's Department of Writing, has won the Best Web Series award at the 12th annual Leo Awards. Originally developed as a class project, Freshman's Wharf, which offers a light-hearted look at first-year student life at UVic, evolved into a for-credit directed studies course with 10 episodes being created, performed, and shot by a mix of UVic students and alumni. The series is available on YouTube. UVic News | Freshman's Wharf
MUN develops mobile version of undergrad recruitment, main sites
On Tuesday Memorial University launched a new mobile version of its undergraduate recruitment website and its main website. The mobile recruitment site features easy access to information on MUN's undergraduate programs, admissions and fees, campus life, contacts, as well as access to the institution's undergraduate social media channels. The mobile version of the main site features news and events, emergency information, cancellations, and a phone directory. MUN News Release | MUN mobile undergraduate recruitment site | MUN mobile main site
