December 10, 2025

The Government of Canada has announced the official launch of the Canada Global Impact+ Research Talent Initiative, a $1.7B suite of programs intended to attract international researchers to Canada. The Canada Impact+ Research Chairs program will help institutions attract world-leading researchers, while the Canada Impact+ Research Infrastructure Fund will support the development of research infrastructure that researchers need to achieve their goals. Two programs—the Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders program and Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards program—will target emerging talent with funds for attracting international early career researchers and scholarships and awards for those interested in priority research areas.

Several Québec universities have partnered with the recently-created Observatoire pour la culture indépendante et les festivals artistiques, a space for research, analysis, and reflection focused on Québec’s cultural sector. The Observatoire will include the École nationale d’administration publique, HEC Montréal, and Université du Québec à Montréal. These institutions will offer expertise in areas such as cultural policy, public governance, and organizational innovation, helping to provide a better understanding of how cultural events in QC are currently being transformed. This research will be used to inform decisions related to the distribution of public funds and the development of festivals.

The National Association of Career Colleges recently released the results of a study on career college graduate work outcomes. The survey found that 80% of employed career college graduates are working in jobs directly related to their program of study and that 60% of graduates were employed within three months of graduation. About one-third of graduates were hired by the organization where they completed an internship or practicum. “This research shows that our graduates are not only finding work quickly, but are entering sectors that desperately need skilled workers,” said NACC CEO Michael Sangster. Sangster called for the federal government to provide equitable access to federal student aid programs for career college students to help them prepare for the workforce.

Mount Royal University has announced that StartWork—a collaborative initiative involving the university, the Government of Alberta, and the Northpine Foundation—will be expanding thanks to new funds from its partners. The expansion will create space for up to 300 people, with plans to support a similar number of people in future contracts. The program offers refugees four career paths that they can pursue, each of which enables them to gain the certifications, skills, and confidence they need to transition into jobs. The program also offers access to courses that develop life skills in areas such as driving, language, and networking.

Brock University and Laurentian University have established new partnerships with postsecondary institutions in China. Brock recently signed an academic exchange agreement with Beijing Foreign Studies University and established a partnership between Brock’s Goodman School of Business and the Huazhong University of Science and Technology. The partnerships were signed as part of a broader series of engagements across China. Laurentian announced that it has established new agreements with the University of International Business and Economics. The agreement is expected to create new opportunities for graduate studies, two-way exchanges, joint research initiatives, and global engagement.

The University of Saskatchewan has announced that it will be retiring its Co-Curricular Record (CCR), which provided students with an official record of university-approved activities that they were involved in. In a notice on the institution’s website, USask said that it will continue the Undergraduate Research, Scholarly, and Undergraduate Works (uRSA) and the Student Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) programs in order to provide students with skills training and networking opportunities throughout the year. In an article for the student newspaper The Sheaf, Colton Danneberg explains that the CCR is being retired for a variety of reasons, including low student participation and low interest from employers. The CCR Working Group will be looking into other ways to track student competencies through curricular and co-curricular experiential learning.

At the Windsor Essex Chamber of Commerce’s annual general meeting, St Clair College President Mike Silvaggi and University of Windsor President JJ McMurty called for greater collaboration with local businesses to determine labour, training, and research needs. Both leaders emphasized that their institutions are ready to respond to the needs of industry and government, which would be uncovered through collaboration. “I really do believe that the next wave of innovation will come from this kind of shared, collaborative approach, and I think we’re uniquely positioned to do that here,” said McMurty. McMurty went on to say that the university is seeking financial support through an advancement campaign in the community.

In an opinion piece for the Edmonton Journal, University of Alberta President Bill Flanagan argues that international students are an asset to not only Alberta’s universities, but to the province’s broader economy. He begins by addressing the misconception that international students take spaces away from domestic students, saying that AB university domestic enrolment is determined by provincial funding regardless of international enrolment. International tuition acts as an additional method to strengthen AB’s education system, he adds, supplementing revenue with their higher tuition rates. He concludes by saying that international students contribute $2B annually to the AB economy, with many of those graduates going on to live in AB and work in key sectors.

Crandall University will be updating its biology and chemistry laboratories in the R B Eaton Life Sciences Centre in spring and summer 2026. Supported by an anonymous gift, the labs will receive new furniture, fixtures, and lab equipment. The renovations are anticipated to be complete by the beginning of the Fall semester. “[T]he rebuild of the biology and chemistry labs is the final project of a multi-year renewal plan for all facilities that were constructed when the University moved to the Gorge Road site in 1996,” said Crandall President Dr Bruce Fawcett. “With the completion of this project, all due campus maintenance will be eliminated.”

College of the Rockies is preparing to launch two new sustainability-focused micro-credentials as part of Colleges and Institutes Canada’s Upskilling for the Innovation Economy initiative. The micro-credential in Solar PV Systems and Installation prepares tradespeople to install solar photovoltaic systems and includes six weeks of hands-on learning. The 60-hour Greenhouse Practices micro-credential provides learners with the skills necessary to work in greenhouses. As the programs are part of the Upskilling for the Innovation Economy, eligible students will be able to access discounted tuition for the programs. Both programs begin in January.