August 12, 2024

McGill University, Concordia University, and Université Laval are among those reviewing their planned capital projects after the Government of Québec reportedly changed the infrastructure development funding mechanism. According to a statement from McGill for the Montréal Gazette, universities in the province were recently notified that QC is implementing a yearly cap on the amounts of construction and renovation projects that it will fund. The projected cap is reportedly “much lower” than expected. As such, McGill is suspending new projects and all calls for tender for construction until further assessment. The Globe and Mail reports that ULaval is also considering suspending or postponing some its slated projects due to these provincial changes.

The Government of Canada has announced a $227.9M investment over five years to support official language minority communities. This funding—which will be provided through bilateral agreements with the provincial and territorial governments—includes the federal government’s Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028 investment. Minority language postsecondary institutions receive funds from the Action Plan with the goal of ensuring their long-term stability and supporting their efforts to foster a bilingual professional workforce.

In a recent opinion piece for University Affairs, Robert E Zee (University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies) discusses how the “teaching hospital” approach can help students in non-health programs to develop transferable skills. Zee describes how the Space Flight Laboratory has adopted the “teaching hospital” model of education, which comprises three key aspects: formal instruction, research, and real-world practice. In the first two, students widen their knowledge base with formal classroom instruction and research cutting-edge technologies. At SFL, the third aspect offers graduate students the opportunity to work under the guidance of spacecraft engineers and mentors to design, build, launch, and operate small satellites. Zee writes that this approach can be applied outside of a medical environment to produce a highly competent workforce.

The Government of Canada is investing $7.5M to support projects that raise awareness about zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), public charging and refuelling infrastructure, and clean fuels. The recipients of this funding include Dalhousie University, McMaster University, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and the University of Manitoba. Their respective projects cover a range of initiatives–including the development of an online knowledge hub and the deployment of a micro-credential program–with the overarching goal of using outreach, education, and capacity-building to increase ZEV adoption across Canada.

With the fall term rapidly approaching, several institutions have partnered with local organizations or reached out to their communities to find more housing options for their students. Algonquin College and Georgian College are working with SpacesShared to place students in homesharing arrangements with older adults in the surrounding community. Columbia College has partnered with GEC Housing to offer affordable off-campus accommodations in dorm-style apartments with the option of single or shared rooms. The University of Moncton issued a call directly to local landlords and homeowners to provide housing for the start of the school year.

Indigenous scholars from Dalhousie University and the University of the Fraser Valley are co-leading a project to develop an online platform that houses Indigenous terminology. The Respectful Terminology Platform Project (RTPP) will see the creation of a dynamic, multilingual platform that can be used in libraries, archives, museums, and information systems to address harmful, racist, stereotypical, and antiquated terminology. The project is co-led by Dal Assistant Professor Dr Stacy Allison-Cassin and UFV University Librarian Camille Callison and is funded by a $1.4M USD grant from the Mellon Foundation and supports from other organizations.

Northlands College is collaborating with Fond du Lac First Nation to expand educational opportunities for those living in the Fond du Lac community and broader region. Northlands will offer a variety of programs catering to the community’s educational and professional aspirations, including degree and diploma programs, adult essential skills programs, and flexible learning options. “This partnership reflects the college’s 2023-2028 strategic plan aimed to support the aspirational goals of Northern communities,” said Northlands President Karsten Henriksen.

North Island College will receive $1.2M from the Government of British Columbia over three years to implement a seaweed industry pilot project. Led by NIC’s Centre for Applied Research, Technology and Innovation, the project will see up to 80 learners take part in seven micro-credentials and hands-on field training starting this winter. The provincial funding will cover students’ tuition costs as well as a variety of other supports. Their training will focus on seaweed cultivation, processing, and marketing, and aims to promote economic resiliency for communities on northern Vancouver Island. “NIC is honoured to bring the burgeoning seaweed sector together to advance learning that elevates sustainable economic development in the blue economy,” said NIC President Lisa Domae.

Memorial University’s Department of Biology and the Environment Resources Management Association (ERMA) have received $1.2M from the Government of Canada to co-lead a project on Exploits River Atlantic salmon. This three-year project aims to increase the Atlantic salmon populations, especially in the Exploits River. Researchers will study the spawning areas and food resources of Atlantic salmon in Newfoundland and investigate the effectiveness of potential ecosystem restorations that could be applied to other watersheds. “[T]he Exploits has the most salmon, but it doesn’t have as many per average unit habitat,” said Memorial Professor Craig Purchase. “Part of this project is to investigate why.”

A recent journal article published in Higher Education discusses how the pandemic inspired a rethink of what is acceptable within the higher education work environment in the United Kingdom. The journal article explores four key themes: declining quality of academic management, the pandemic as a disruptive awakening, the erosion of values and meaning, and a sense of being “trapped” within academia. The study found that the pandemic intensified academics’ dissatisfaction with their work and initiated a process in which they reconsidered the systemic abuses that they had once accepted as normal and rethought their place in the higher education space.