August 23, 2023

The Government of Québec has invested $10.6M into research projects that address key social issues. The funding will be distributed to 39 projects that will be conducted at 20 organizations across the province. The majority of the funding has been awarded to researchers at several postsecondary institutions: Cégep de Drummondville, Cégep de Rivière-du-Loup, Cégep de Rosemont, Cégep de Victoriaville, Collège Dawson, Collège de Bois-de-Boulogne, HEC Montréal, Université de Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke, the Université du Québec network (ETS, UQAM, UQAR, UQAT, UQO, and UQTR), and Université Laval.

Genesis Flight College has partnered with Flair Airlines and Canadian Training Solutions (CTC) to offer a fast-track aviation program. In an effort to alleviate a projected pilot shortage, the program will train individuals with no prior aviation experience to become certified pilots within 18 months. Students accepted into the program will receive a conditional offer of employment from Flair Airlines, which will enable them to transition directly into the workforce following the completion of their program. The first cohort of 10 pilot trainees are expected to begin their studies in January 2024.

The University of Winnipeg Aboriginal Student Services Centre (ASSC) has gifted an Eagle Staff to UWinnipeg. The staff is unique to UWinnipeg and was developed from the Creator’s gifts: Tree, animal, and bird materials. “From this point forward, the UWinnipeg Eagle Staff will lead the way in UWinnipeg Indigenous celebrations and ceremonies,” said UWinnipeg ASSC Coordinator Tanis Kolisnyk. “It’s a sacred item, a conduit of prayer to the Creator. It’s a powerful symbol of the Creator’s relationship with Indigenous people of this land, where we learn together, study, work, and are in community with each other.” UWinnipeg ASSC also gifted star quilts this week to carpenter Brian Wait and painter April Keenan, who built a customized storage unit for the Staff.

In an editorial for the , Beckie Supiano documents the missed opportunities of office hours. She writes that students are often hesitant to attend office hours and therefore miss out on chances to connect with their instructors and learn more meaningfully. Drawing on instructor experiences, Supiano demonstrates that holding the office hours at a different location (e.g., closer to student residences) or moving office hours online can help to accommodate conflicts in students schedules. She also argues that instructors should highlight the value of these opportunities, emphasizing that they go beyond content clarification and can help to build interpersonal connections, identify career opportunities, and provide wider guidance on the postsecondary experience.

Collège d’Alma has publicly launched L’epé, a permanent project that aims to continuously improve the student experience. L’epé focuses on the entire continuum of the student experience, from orientation to graduation, with particular attention given to improving students’ “first” experiences with the college as they navigate registration, orientation, or first-year exams. The online landing page for the project also features a selection of videos that profile students and their study experiences. The project’s committee members–who represent different aspects of the student experience (e.g, teaching, sports, and communications)–will develop, implement, and continuously update action plans to improve the student experience.

Brock University has been selected to house the Ontario hub of the Canadian Behavioural Interventions and Trials Network Training Platform. This national initiative–headquartered at Concordia University–trains students and researchers on how to evaluate behaviour-change programs in healthcare. The focus of the Brock-based Ontario hub will be to connect students with stakeholders in the healthcare sector. It will also provide approximately scholarships to fund student internship opportunities. “We’re really excited to build capacity, provide additional networking opportunities for students with people who work in the field of behavioural medicine, and build those cross-Canada and cross-Ontario connections,” said ON hub chair and Brock Assistant Professor Sean Locke.

A new collaborative research study called “Indigenous Student Experiences Post TRC” will examine the experiences of Indigenous instructors and students who either teach or are enrolled in Indigenous Requirement Courses (IRCs). The project will be co-led by University of Toronto Assistant Professor Dr Jennifer Brant and University of Manitoba Associate Dean of Indigenous Education Dr Frank Deer and supported by researchers from Lakehead University and Simon Fraser University. Dr Brant explains that the project is set to fill gaps by “gathering educational narratives of Indigenous students” who are enrolled in IRCs across programs in Manitoba and northern Ontario. The project is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

In a recent article, Lilly Tozer discusses a recent report, which identifies sustainable practices that could help reduce the carbon footprint associated with health research. The report identified 146 sustainability initiatives–categorized into types that include staff networks, campaigns, measurement tools, and certification programs–that could help reduce health research energy use and waste. Most initiatives identified in the report were voluntary. The report found that sustainability initiatives are usually driven by individual scientists, but that these sustainable working practices still required coordination and resources. The report calls for institutions to provide better support for sustainability initiatives.

Cégep edouard-Montpetit has revealed its new logo and brand positioning . The new logo draws on the cégep’s historical coat of arms and the institution’s initials: E and M. It uses bright colours to refresh the institution’s brand as it moves forward, as well as the tagline “Cégep d’Avenir” (cégep of the future). The logo was chosen through a community consultation, throughout which staff members and students were able to select the logo they felt best represented them. The cégep will be rolling out its new brand imagery over the next few months.

A group of cleaning staff who work at Loyalist College have voted in favour of a strike. The staff, who are employed by Compass Group Canada and are members of the Service Employees Union Local 2, have not had a contract since the end of 2022. While negotiations have been in process since March 2023, union spokesperson Sharoni Mitra said that “the employer has failed to provide any monetary proposals and has delayed negotiations.” The cleaners are reportedly fully prepared to stop working and to take job action when the College reopens in September.