Top Ten
May 28, 2021
KPU partners with St George’s on medicine, veterinary medicine pathway program
Kwantlen Polytechnic University has partnered with St George’s University in Grenada, West Indies on a pathway program that will enable KPU Health Sciences graduates to pursue studies in medicine or veterinary medicine abroad. Students in the program can choose to spend a year at Northumbria University in the United Kingdom, and can pursue residencies across Canada and the United States. “This partnership will not only provide the opportunity for our health science students to achieve their goals to become doctors, but it will also make KPU an attractive destination for local and international students to more readily access a graduate-level education in medicine by beginning their educational journey at KPU,” said Carole St Laurent, associate vice president, KPU International. KPU (BC)
McGill announces building of BARN on Macdonald campus
McGill University has announced that its School of Architecture will be constructing the Building Architecture Research Node (BARN) on its Macdonald campus. The 18,000 square-foot facility will be built out of mass timber, and will house a cutting-edge design-build facility, research labs, offices, and McGill’s DeCarbonized Architecture and Building (DeCARB) research group. It will be a hub where researchers in a variety of industries, such as architecture, energy, forestry, and construction can come together to focus on sustainable design and ecological building processes. The BARN will be built through an $8M grant from the federal government, an $8M grant from the provincial government, and funds from industry partners and McGill. Montreal Gazette (QC)
Western Space receives grant for Moon research
Western University’s Institute for Earth and Space Exploration (Western Space) has announced that it will be receiving a five-year grant “in the multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars” from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The grant will enable Western Space to provide support for a CSA partnership with NASA that will see a micro-rover landed on the Moon. Western Space will be involved in researching the Moon’s geology and geophysics; researching the Moon’s ice; and developing approaches for geological investigation. “A major role for us is also to train the next generation of students at Western, and at these three other universities, in key research areas such as remote sensing, analogue research, and sample analysis,” said Gordon (Oz) Osinski, interim director of Western Space. Western (ON)
StatCan releases study on COVID-19’s gendered impacts on employment and education
A new Statistics Canada study on the COVID-19 pandemic’s gendered impacts on employment and education has shown that young women aged 17 to 24 responded to the pandemic by enrolling in postsecondary education at a higher rate than the previous year, while there was no increase for young men. The study found that this increase was only seen for Canadian-born women, while the proportion of young immigrant women attending postsecondary schools stayed the same. The study also found that employment for young women attending postsecondary schools dropped from 56% to 49%; the report says that these jobs typically would both fund studies and provide work experience for students. iPolitics | StatCan (National)
Eastern colleges announce new training programs
Eastern colleges have announced the addition of new training programs to meet market needs. Holland College is offering a free course that will allow participants to gain their Level 1 early childhood certification, which will qualify them to be added to Prince Edward Island’s list of in-demand substitute ECEs. College of the North Atlantic is launching the Enterprise Web Development program which will teach students skills related to website development to support online delivery of products and services. New Brunswick Community College has announced that it is launching several new programs within the next academic year, including Client Services and Sales, Supply Chain Management and Logistics, Information Technology: Business and Advanced Analytics, and Skilled Trades Techniques. CBC (Holland College) | CNA | NBCC (PEI | NL | NB)
DSU plans protest against in-person exams, Dawson threatens automatic fail for strike participants
The Montreal Gazette reports that Dawson College students are planning to protest against in-person exams by not attending their final exams, and that Dawson has threatened to automatically fail students who do not attend their exams because of the strike. The Dawson Student Union explained that the length of the strike depends on Dawson’s co-operation. “What is certain at this point is that unless and until all final exams are moved to an online format, Dawson students will refrain from attending their final exams during the examination period, which is currently scheduled to run from May 27 to June 4, 2021, inclusively,” read the statement. Dawson has noted that it has made accommodations for at-risk students and is using health authority guidance in planning the exams. Montreal Gazette (QC)
ApplyBoard partners with ETS and Pearson Education to simplify verification of test scores
ApplyBoard has forged partnerships with ETS and Pearson Education that will simplify the verification of English language test scores. ApplyProof will enable postsecondary institutions across Canada to verify Proof of English Language Proficiency by simply clicking a button when evaluating international student documentation. It will also allow students to access and share their own test results more easily. “Interoperability is what makes ApplyProof transformative,” said Iman Hassani, Head of ApplyProof. “We are thrilled to launch Proof of Language Proficiency in partnership with ETS and with Pearson respectively. This is a giant step forward to increase trust, efficiency, and transparency in our ecosystem.” ApplyBoard (National)
BCcampus launches OER Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Training Series
BCcampus has announced that it has launched an Open Educational Resources (OER) Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Training Series. The series is intended to support postsecondary institutions in training members in preventing and responding to sexualized violence on campus. The OER covers four focus areas: consent, response to disclosure, bystander intervention, and accountability and justice. Material is adaptable for a variety of audiences and formats, and facilitators can create a shorter version of the materials, lengthen it for more depth, or incorporate content into existing courses. Thompson Rivers University, the University of British Columbia Okanagan, and Simon Fraser University were involved in sharing training resources for evaluation and use by the project. BCcampus (BC)
Ryerson, Microsoft Canada collaborate on Microsoft Certification for Bootcamp participants
Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers School of Management has announced that it has collaborated with Microsoft Canada to allow Bootcamp participants to achieve Microsoft Certification. Students in select Bootcamps will be able to become Microsoft Certified after completing training in a variety of skills such as cloud, data, and AI, which will increase the value they bring to employers. “This collaboration with Microsoft Canada is a validation of the hard work of our faculty, staff and students to build this program, but also helps take the program to the next level,” said Dr Allen Goss, Associate Dean, Students at the Ted Rogers School. “Now our students will bring even more value to the workplace.” Ryerson (ON)
Supporting students in developing healthier post-COVID-19 lifestyles: Opinion
Some students have fallen into unhealthy lifestyles during the COVID-19 pandemic, and need support in getting back into a healthier lifestyle, writes Melissa Ezarik. The article offers seven actions that institutions can take to support students in achieving a healthier lifestyle post-COVID-19. Ezarik encourages institutions to create a wellness committee that will build and carry out a plan for well-being, develop tiered peer supports by training students who can help others with healthy habits, and continue offering popular health initiatives. The author also suggests that institutions find out what students need to develop healthier habits, incentivize healthy choices, incorporate an understanding of trauma, and prepare for long-term support. Inside Higher Ed (Editorial)
