August 16, 2024

The University of British Columbia has received $8.8M from the Government of Canada to drive innovation in life sciences and food processing. $5M will support the creation of the Biodevice Foundry, which will provide companies with lab space, specialized equipment, and training programs for product development and testing. The remaining $3.8M will fund the establishment of the Food and Beverage Innovation Centre, where academic experts and businesses will come together to boost the global competitiveness of BC’s food and beverage processors. “Both the Food and Beverage Innovation Centre and Biodevice Foundry will strengthen connections between university and industry partners, and build the talent and collaborations that are needed to develop globally competitive ‘made in BC’ products and technologies,” said UBC President Dr Benoit-Antoine Bacon.

The Government of Ontario and Government of Nova Scotia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to improve mobility for skilled tradespeople. The agreement will improve interprovincial mobility for skilled tradespeople so that they can gain certifications in ON and have their credentials recognized in NS, with the goal of improving ON’s labour supply and NS’s workforce. This agreement builds on an MOU that ON signed with the Government of Alberta last month; ON is also working with Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador on similar fronts.

Northwestern Polytechnic is celebrating 50 years of offering its animal health program with the announcement of the program’s new name: Veterinary Technology. The program’s new name will ensure that it aligns with the names of similar programs across Canada. “There’s definitely a sense of pride we feel in keeping this program relevant and responsive to our communities, 50 years after it started,” said NWP Veterinary Technology Program Chair Kristy Honing.

Lawyers representing both Vancouver Island University and the protesters that formed an encampment on the university’s campus met in British Columbia’s Supreme Court earlier this week. According to Burnaby Now, VIU asserts that it has suffered $870K in costs, which are expected to lead to layoffs and reduced services at VIU. The university additionally asserted that the encampment has prevented other members of VIU from using campus space. CBC reports that the camp leaders’ claims include that VIU is obscuring an attempt to restrict their freedoms. The camp is reportedly the last remaining pro-Palestinian encampment in British Columbia.

Instructors must teach students to transform the upsetting personal experiences they share in class into meaning, writes Deborah J Cohan (University of South Carolina Beaufort). The author recalls how in the past, students who shared their personal traumas in her classes did so to pursue resistance and healing. However, Cohan purports that today’s disclosures have a different social context, with students sometimes sharing brutal experiences with “steely cold reporting,” resulting in a loss of meaning. Cohen concludes that students must be supported in transforming these disclosures into meaning to move beyond paralysis. “[W]e as educators are responsible for not just holding space, but holding students accountable for what and how they share so that it is not gratuitous, but instead meaningful,” writes Cohan.

McMaster University has launched the CanEMERG website to help people navigate to mental health resources when they are faced with traumatic incidents such as wildfires and floods. The CanEMERG website includes information, toolkits, and other supports that help Canadians assess their current mental health and navigate to publicly available mental health resources that they can use to manage their responses to stress and trauma. “Most people aren’t trained on how to respond to a traumatic incident,” said McMaster Professor Margaret McKinnon. “What we’re trying to do here is help people understand what common responses to trauma looks like and how to deal with it.”

In a recent opinion piece for the Chronicle of Higher Ed, Marc Watkins (University of Mississippi) argues that postsecondary institutions should normalize disclosing when work has been produced using AI. The author emphasizes that while AI policies differ from institution to institution, AI disclosure should be a “bedrock principle” for any student, teacher, or administrator who uses generative AI. “We must start somewhere,” writes Watkins. “[A]nd I think we should begin by (a) requiring people to openly disclose their use of these tools, and (b) providing them with a consistent means of showing it.” The author concludes that this approach will help curb the uncritical adoption of AI and restore the trust between professors and students.

Recent updates have emerged regarding labour negotiations at both King’s University College and McGill University. At King’s, faculty recently voted 96% in favour of a potential strike, with 91% of members turning up to vote. The university and faculty have been in negotiations since April, focusing their discussions on fair compensation, job security, and academic freedom. At McGill, the law professor’s union has accused the university of undermining its right to strike. The McGill Professors of Law union has reportedly asked a Québec Superior Court Judge to overturn an arbitration order–requested by the university–preferring instead to continue negotiations while retaining its right to strike. In an emailed statement, McGill said it is committed to negotiating in good faith.

In the UK, Memorial University’s Harlow Campus has unveiled a new blue plaque on its main building—the Maltings—to recognize the campus founder and former Memorial president Lord Stephen Taylor. Blue plaques are affixed to buildings in the UK that have historic significance. “The founding of the Harlow Campus has had an indelible impact on Memorial, particularly on the more than 5,000 students who have studied at the campus in the last 55 years,” said Memorial President Dr Neil Bose. “I’m delighted to see Lord Taylor’s legacy that connects Memorial and Harlow recognized with a blue plaque.”

British Columbia Institute of Technology and OCAD University have launched new courses. BCIT has launched a 12-week Environmental and Climate News and Analysis course. This course covers topics such as the environmental and energy policy landscape in Canada; how to construct news stories for impact; and the development of messages around climate change, the environment, and sustainability. OCAD U has launched a four-week Introduction to the Landscape of Health Design in Canada course. The online course examines the role of design in Canada’s health care sector and will feature guest speakers from health-care industry innovators and leaders.