Top Ten
January 24, 2018
QC PSE receives significant investments into research infrastructure
Postsecondary institutions across Quebec are benefiting from an investment of $67M into research infrastructure from the Government of Quebec and the Canada Foundation for Innovation. McGill University has announced that its six infrastructure awards have a total value of $59M. Université du Québec à Montréal announced that it received a total investment of just over $8.2M. The Université de Sherbrooke has received $13M for new labs, equipment and research. Bishop’s University has received $280K for social sciences and humanities research. “We are supporting partnerships and knowledge transfer among players in the research and innovation ecosystem, two inseparable components of Quebec's economic development,” writes QC Deputy Premier Dominique Anglade.
COU releases Faculty at Work report
The Council of Ontario Universities has released a report on the composition and activities of ON universities’ academic workforces that quantifies the work done by academic faculty and, for the first time, part-time instructors. The report highlights a number of findings related to teaching, research, and service. Key highlights include the finding that 55% of courses and student enrolments are taught by full-time faculty members, that the average faculty member generates 2.3 research publications every year, and that 92% of Ontario faculty members participated in at least one substantial service activity in 2014-15. The report concludes with a recommended set of next steps for ON universities.
UoGuelph Accelerator Guelph program aims to commercialize agri-food innovations
The University of Guelph has launched a new initiative called Accelerator Guelph that will see cutting-edge agri-food innovations turned into products and applications. “Our researchers have bold, ambitious ideas, and their work addresses gaps and helps solve problems while shaping the future of food and agriculture in Canada and beyond,” said UoGuelph vice-president (research) Malcolm Campbell. “They also promote industry collaboration and accelerating growth in the thriving agri-food sector.” Accelerator Guelph's four-phase program will mentor UoGuelph agri-food entrepreneurs through business planning, executive leadership training, financial and accounting expertise, and human resources management.
Recent survey on student preparation suggests lack of confidence, not lack of skills
The results of a recent survey on student preparation for the workforce suggest that students are not as prepared as they should be, but John Warner argues that the data might be pointing at a different reality entirely. Gallup Executive Director, Education & Workforce Development Brandon Busteed determined that “students are not nearly as prepared as they could or should be, and they actually know it while they’re in college.” Warner dismisses this point upon examination of the original survey and report sources, concluding that there is “more a problem of student confidence, than student knowledge and illustration of the prestige gap than the skills gap."
Nutritional disease researcher receives $1M grant to continue research
Mount Saint Vincent University Applied Human Nutrition assistant professor Kyly Whitfield has received a grant of over $1M from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to further her research in Cambodia on nutritional deficiencies. The grant will also enable two MSVU graduate students to work in the field alongside Whitfield. “My collaborators and I are thrilled and honoured to have received support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Sackler Institute to be able to continue research in Cambodia,” said Whitfield. “With their support, we hope to make potentially life-saving strides in our understanding of thiamine deficiency and beriberi.”
Carleton Launches the Jean Monnet Network on EU-Canada Relations
Carleton has launched the Jean Monnet Network on EU-Canada Relations, a project that will see the university and four partner European universities share expertise in three areas of the EU-Canada relationship. Carleton and scholars from across Canada who are involved with the Carleton team will partner with EU universities on joint research and student exchanges. “With the signing of the EU-Canada trade agreement and the agreement on the Canada- EU strategic partnership, the opportunities for ever closer ties on a range of foreign policy issues has expanded,” said Joan DeBardeleben, Co-ordinator of the Jean Monnet Network on EU-Canada Relations. “We hope to promote a better understanding of the opportunities that the agreements offer and to facilitate discussions around climate change, the green energy transition and economic competitiveness.”
The need for new mental health solutions for PhD students
Stressful postgraduate environments do not lead to solidarity, writes Alfredo Cumerma, but instead to the impoverishment of research. Cumerma highlights the findings of research on the topic of mental health in the academy from across the world, and identifies causes for mental health problems in increasing demands for research and publications, a lack of work-life boundaries, and a lack of career opportunities after graduation. The article cites research from universities across Europe, and calls for further investigation into how PhD programs and work environments can be improved for the students in them.
Lawyers' group slams UCalgary “de facto expulsion” of sex offender
The Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association has slammed what it calls the “de-facto expulsion” of convicted sex offender Connor Neurauter from the University of Calgary. “It flies in the face of the University of Calgary's discipline policies. It is an act of cowardice and a denial of fundamental due process,” writes Alberta CTLA President Daniel Chivers, who accused the university of bowing to an “online mob.” Chivers added that the majority of sex offenders do not reoffend, and that enabling Neurauter to continue his education “does not hurt society - it helps it.”
UQAR receives CAGTA accreditation in business technology management
UQAR has become the the sixth university in Canada to receive accreditation from the Conseil d’agrément en gestion des technologies d’affaires (CAGTA), managed by l’Association canadienne des technologies de l’information. The school’s Bachelor of Business Administration concentration in Business Technology Management program now allows graduate students to earn the title of “Business Technology Management Associate,” a highly regarded title in the industry. The accreditation is a great achievement for UQAR and the result of a lot of work, says UQAR’s Lucie Laflamme, adding that the dynamism and professionalism of UQAR’s professors in management sciences demonstrate a constant concern to give students the best assets for when they join the job market.
UVic renews MOU with 11 faith communities
The University of Victoria has renewed an MOU with 11 faith communities to “celebrate the enduring value of these evolving and diverse relationships.” Signatories representing the Anglican, Baha'i, Baptist, Buddhist, Catholic, Christian Science, Jewish, Lutheran, Muslim, Unitarian, and United Church communities signed the MOU at a ceremony at UVic’s Interfaith Chapel. “I would like to thank the chaplains and their faith communities for their long-standing and ongoing commitment to the spiritual health and education of students, faculty and staff at the University of Victoria,” said UVic President Jamie Cassels. “Their contributions of time and resources, as well as their encouragement and involvement in thoughtful reflection and dialogue, have a significant and positive impact on our university community.”
