June 13, 2024

The University of British Columbia’s Vancouver School of Economics will establish the James M and Cathleen D Stone Centre on Wealth and Income Inequality, thanks to a $5.4M gift from the James M and Cathleen D Stone Foundation. This centre will pursue research in wealth and income inequality by facilitating collaborations between local and global scholars, providing fellowships and grants, hosting speakers and events, and developing new datasets in collaboration with Statistics Canada. “We are pleased to be the home of the first Stone Centre in Canada, and to be among the distinguished group of institutions partnering with the Foundation,” said UBC President Dr Benoit-Antoine Bacon.

Concordia University has received a $5M gift from long-standing donor Christine Lengvari to advance nutrition and wellness research. This gift is part of the “Campaign for Concordia: Next-Gen Now” and will especially benefit the university’s School of Health. “This incredibly generous gift, announced as we kick off our 50th anniversary celebrations, will drive advances in nutrition and wellness science and lead to healthier communities,” said Concordia President Graham Carr. “By funding innovative research, this donation will foster new insights, enhance public-health strategies and ultimately improve society at large.”

The University of New Brunswick’s McKenna Institute has received $3.75M to boost research in digital agriculture. This investment was led by McCain Foods in partnership with ResearchNB, the Government of New Brunswick, and the McKenna Institute. It will support the creation of a digital model that simulates regenerative agriculture practices; establish a Chair in Digital Agriculture; and bolster research projects in agricultural science, regenerative agriculture, and smart farming practices. “This investment will strengthen our research in digital agriculture and support our commitment to sustainability by developing practical solutions for the environment and the agricultural community,” said UNB President Dr Paul J Mazerolle.

In an article for Maclean’s, Mohammad Khosravani voices his frustration with the search for work after completing an education in Canada. Khosravani shares that he moved from Iran to Thunder Bay to pursue a master’s degree in AI at Lakehead University and greatly valued that experience. However, he has struggled to find meaningful, steady work in Canada since his graduation. “I was offered a scholarship to get an education here, but now that I’m at the critical stage of launching my career, I can’t give back,” writes Khosravani. “I feel like I’ve been cut adrift.” Khosravani concludes that while he feels grateful and loyal to Canada and Lakehead, he cannot stay without a stable career and is now looking for opportunities outside of the country.

Negotiations continue between universities in several parts of Canada and the pro-Palestinian encampments set up on their campuses. McGill University has extended a new offer to protestors that includes a disclosure of investments, a mandate to support Palestinian scholarship, and an offer of disciplinary amnesty. CBC reports that the University of Waterloo has committed to being more transparent in its investments, a move that Occupy UWaterloo has received positively. Meanwhile, protestors at the University of Guelph reportedly rejected a proposal because it did not include a divestment commitment. The University of Manitoba also published its response to the concerns presented by the campus encampment’s student representatives; the response includes expanding opportunities for dialogue, supporting academics impacted by war, and improving investment transparency.

Lauren Coffey of Inside Higher Ed outlines Barnard College’s use of a pyramid framework to improve artificial intelligence (AI) literacy among faculty, staff, and students. The pyramid approach consists of four levels–Understand AI, Use and Apply AI, Analyze and Evaluate AI, and Create AI–that ensure community members develop a solid foundation before working with AI. Barnard is currently focused on helping students, staff, and faculty become comfortable with AI through initiatives such as workshops where they can learn about and test AI software. Coffey concludes by discussing the broader need for postsecondary institutions to implement a framework or policy for using AI.

Cégep de Rivière-du-Loup, Northwestern Polytechnic, and the University of Manitoba have announced updates to their programming. Cégep de Rivière-du-Loup’s continuing education department has created an online, asynchronous certificate program focused on music pedagogy. NWP has announced two new diploma pathways: University Arts or University Biological Sciences. “Students can now choose to complete a two-year diploma locally, or carry-on through NWP’s existing collaborative University Transfer (UT) program as they work towards an undergraduate degree with one of our partner post-secondaries,” explained NWP Provost and VP Academic Dr Terry Kowalchuk. UManitoba has revised its Master of Landscape Architecture program by streamlining its entry process, reducing elective credit hours, and improving and adding content to enhance the program’s structure and content.

Both Conestoga College and Wilfrid Laurier University are expanding their programming into Milton with new campuses in the area. Conestoga recently celebrated the official opening of its Milton-Parkhill campus, which offers programming in Applied Computer Science & IT, Business, Community Services, Creative Industries, and Engineering & Technology. WLU is preparing to open a campus in Milton this September, which will welcome students in computer science and psychology programs. This campus and its offerings will be designed for students who are interested in a commuter-style university experience. As a result, the Waterloo Region Record explains that engagement opportunities will be planned during regular school hours and required courses will be offered on certain days to accommodate commuters.

An article in Nature by Holly Else discusses how researchers in low-income countries may not be benefitting from the growing open-access movement as much as they should. Else summarises the results of a recent study that found that open-access papers generally garnered more citations than non-open-access ones did, therefore demonstrating a wider dissemination of findings. However, the study also found that researchers in low-income countries received “relatively few extra citations from making their papers open access,” identifying an inequitable distribution of benefits. Else argues that without addressing the more entrenched aspects of inequitable research systems on both a local and global scale, researchers in low-income countries may not receive the same intended advantages of open access publications.

Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business has signed a double-degree agreement with ESSEC Business School in France. Through this partnership, students in the Smith Bachelor of Commerce and ESSEC Global BBA programs will be able to split their studies between Queen’s campus in Kingston, Ontario and ESSEC’s campus in Cergy, France. Upon completion, participants will receive a degree from both business schools. This partnership aims to benefit undergraduate students at both institutions by providing them with an immersive cultural experience, expanding their career resources and networks, and providing them with a global business curriculum.