Top Ten
May 2, 2019
Canada invests in top research labs across the country
The federal government has announced an additional $160M in funding through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) Major Science Initiatives Fund. The funds include nearly $40M to support collaborative international research at seven research facilities: the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan, Ocean Networks Canada at the University of Victoria, the CCGS Amundsee out of Université Laval, the Ocean Tracking Network at Dalhousie University, SNOLAB, VIDO-InterVac, and Canada’s National Design Network. CFI | Times Colonist (National)
Fredericton, UNB pool resources for new aquatic facility
The City of Fredericton and University of New Brunswick will put up $6M to fund a proposed $32M aquatic centre, reports CBC. The facility, which will include a competitive 25-metre pool with up to 10 lanes, will replace the university’s aging Sir Max Aitken Pool, which is scheduled to close in 2021. The facility wasinitially scheduled to close in 2018, adds CBC, but failed negotiations between the city and the university delayed the closure, as Fredericton’s swimming community would have been without a pool. CBC also notes that the project requires an additional $20M from the federal and provincial governments before it can get started. CBC (NB)
Van Wyck: PhD career strategies for uncertain times
As PhD candidates in the humanities and social sciences navigate how to gear their qualifications toward jobs beyond the professoriate, “[i]nstitutional, interpersonal and structural forces” can still hold them back, writes James M Van Wyck. Consequently, PhDs can find themselves “betwixt and between, navigating a world that has recognized the need to change ... but hasn’t yet figured out how to completely turn the ship.” The author provides a laundry-list of suggestions to help PhDs steer their way through early career uncertainty, which include staying abreast of on-campus professionalization workshops, making use of alumni networks, working on passion projects, understanding a given field’s tenure-track options, and procuring career advice from a variety of sources. Inside Higher Ed (International)
RBC Foundation gifts $1M to Haskayne for Fast Pitch Competition
The University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business has received $1M from the RBC Foundation in support of the RBC Fast Pitch Competition and three other initiatives. A release explains that the competition requires BComm students to deliver a four-minute pitch to a panel of judges, and that the pitch should include an outline of the idea, the problem it addresses, its competitive advantage, market research, a proposed solution, and next steps. “Canadian youth have the ambition and talent to give us a competitive advantage in the skills economy of the future. Preparing them for the future of work is a core part of RBC’s purpose to help clients thrive and communities prosper,” said Jeff Boyd, a Regional President of RBC Royal Bank. UCalgary (AB)
Jean Vanier Research Centre brings ideas for radical change to King’s
King’s University College at Western University has welcomed the Jean Vanier Research Centre to campus. King’s states that the purpose of the JVRC is to “use an interdisciplinary analysis of Jean Vanier’s applied form of scholarship to catalyze radical change in how people imagine the intrinsic value and social possibilities of those who are disabled or otherwise marginalized by exclusionary societal structures and discriminatory attitudes” “Dr. Vanier’s philosophical, social scientific, and theological writing has the potential for greater influence in a setting like King’s, where a diverse array of students and scholars can engage with, critique, and advance the best of his ideas,” said King’s Interim Principal Sauro Camiletti. London Free Press | King's (1) | King's (2) (ON)
McGill works with entrepreneurs to develop cannabis “idea incubator”
McGill University has announced that it is working with a group of Quebec entrepreneurs to develop an “incubator of ideas” that will be devoted to research on cannabis. La Pressereports that the project could breathe new life into a massive pharmaceutical complex in Montreal that was abandoned by the Swiss company Hoffmann in 1980. The Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at McGill has reportedly signed an agreement in principle to establish its Cannabis Research Centre as part of the project. Dean Anja Geitman says that the centre will look to enter into research contracts with companies that might move into the new site. La Presse (QC)
Brock gifted $1M from Robertson family
Brock University has received $1M and a painting in memory of Joe, Anita, and Laura Robertson from the Robertson family. A Brock release states that Joe Robertson served as Chair on Brock’s Board of Trustees from 2012-14, while his wife Anita volunteered with the university and the Niagara community. The couple’s daughter, Laura, had been recently hired to work with Brock’s Athletics and Recreation Department. The three were killed in a plane crash in 2018. A release states that Brock will add $600K to the $1M donation, which will establish an endowment to create and fund the Joe Robertson Awards for students in the Goodman School of Business and the Anita Robertson Awards for Nursing students. Brock (ON)
NAIT, Portage partner on delivery of BBA Management degree
Portage College and NAIT have signed a new Memorandum of Agreement that will allow Portage students in Lac La Biche and Cold Lake to complete a degree at their home campus. Students who complete Portage’s two-year Business Administration diploma program will be able to enter directly into the third year of NAIT’s Bachelor of Business Administration degree. “We are not only proud to offer this degree program to students in the Lac La Biche and Cold Lake areas, but also to have a strong partnership with Portage College that supports the broader initiative of sharing high-quality teaching and curriculum throughout the province,” said NAIT Vice-President Academic Sue Fitzsimmons. NAIT (AB)
Fleming College offers two free pre-apprenticeship programs
Fleming College has partnered with Community Resource Partnership to offer two free programs, Pre-apprenticeship Cook and Pre-apprenticeship Carpenter. A release states that both programs include an in-class component, job-readiness training, and secondary training for eight weeks. Students will then progress to primary training for 12 weeks and conclude with a paid work placement. Fleming adds that both programs include tuition, books, safety equipment, and trade-specific toolkits. Fleming (ON)
The sky’s the limit as Centennial opens new aerospace hub
Centennial College has officially unveiled its aerospace innovation hub. The Starreports that the $72M facility will accommodate 1,000 students while facilitating new collaborations between academia and industry. Ontario contributed $25.8M to the project, the federal government an additional $18.4M, and Bombardier donated a CRJ2000 plane to Centennial, adds The Star. “This donation represents much more than money,” said Fred Cromer, President of Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “It is intellectual capital, a wealth of knowledge, which will contribute to the development of the students’ sense of skills as they now have the possibility to get hands-on experience.” Star | Skies Magazine (ON)
