February 22, 2024

Choosing “university” level courses in high school opens doors to every level of postsecondary education, write Kelly Gallagher-Mackay (Wilfrid Laurier University), Carl E James (York University), Christine Corso (University of Toronto), Gillian Parekh (YorkU), and Robert S Brown (YorkU). The authors conducted a study using data from the Toronto District School Board to better understand student pathways through high school “U” (university) or “C” (college) courses to postsecondary. The authors found that participation in at least one “U” course was strongly associated with applying to any type of postsecondary education. They noted that course choices in high school lead to long-term outcomes, which can either expand or limit postsecondary opportunities and contribute to lifetime inequalities.

Suncrest College will offer a Diagnostic Medical Sonography Advanced Diploma program in partnership with Red River College Polytechnic in Fall 2024. Currently, students must travel to Alberta to pursue sonography; by offering training closer to home, it is hoped that more graduates will be able to stay and work in Saskatchewan. Students in the 28-month program will learn how to conduct ultrasound examinations in areas such as obstetrics and gynecology, abdomen and superficial structures, and vascular sonographic studies. RRC Polytech will provide the program’s support and instruction, while Suncrest will offer hands-on learning in its imaging lab. Students will take part in clinical placements hospitals across Saskatchewan.

Laurentian University has experienced a cyber incident that has resulted in several of its services going offline. IT Services updates currently published on Laurentian’s homepage say that the university discovered the cyber incident on Sunday morning and has since been working toward reestablishing its services and investigating the incident and its impacts. While food services and other student services have remained open, the physical presence of myLaurentian Hub was closed on February 20th and 21st. Laurentian noted that it has reported the incident to law enforcement and will provide updates regarding privacy concerns as this information becomes available.

The University of Calgary and its Quantum City hub have partnered with PASQAL to advance quantum technologies and research. The collaboration will focus on growing the quantum ecosystem through supporting sustainable quantum technology development, promoting research, and creating a talent pipeline by supporting UCalgary’s faculty recruitment and connecting students with work opportunities in the industry. The partners will also work together on educational programs; workshops and training sessions; and bilateral exchanges between quantum ecosystems in France, Québec, and Alberta.

The Cégep de Victoriaville will centralize the activities of the École Nationale du Meuble et de l’Ébénisterie (ENME), closing the furniture and cabinet-making school’s Montreal campus in 2027. The cégep cited recruitment challenges and financial issues relating to equipment maintenance as the leading rationale behind this decision. Victoriaville clarified that students who are currently registered at ENME will be able to complete their courses and obtain their diplomas before the institution’s official closure. According to Radio Canada, many ENME teachers and students were “shocked” by the decision; the Centrale des syndicats du Québec has also reportedly expressed disappointment about potential ENME staff member job losses.

In a recent article in University Affairs, Letitia Henville and Erin K Maher provide advice for candidates who are crafting their “job talks” script during the academic hiring process. Henville and Maher discuss the difficulty of conveying academic expertise while still allowing for a broad listening audience to follow along with this high-stakes presentation. Among their recommendations, the authors advise that candidates look up their hiring department’s areas of expertise so that they know which terms they need to pause and explain. They also encourage candidates to use the first person to engage their listeners and provide reminders of their main takeaways throughout the presentation, even if this runs the risk of sounding “ungrammatical.”

The Université du Québec à Montréal has unveiled two new program offerings that will start in Fall 2024. The first program is a new general communications baccalaureate program, which will cover topics such as journalism, digital media, marketing communication, and languages and cultures. This program allows students to gain a comprehensive and interdisciplinary view of the communications field, while also providing them with options to specialize based on their interests. The second offering is a new concentration in computer science for students enrolled in the mathematics baccalaureate program. This training is aimed at learners who wish to better understand the links between mathematics, statistics, and computer science.

Dalhousie University has been designated a Fairtrade Campus. As an official Fairtrade institution, Dal has committed to offering ethically sourced coffee, tea, and chocolate in its meal halls, food establishments, and in catering services across all four of its campuses. “I am happy to be part of this change that will not only make the Dalhousie community more sustainable, but also the livelihoods of the international farmers and communities that are a vital part of the Fairtrade system,” said Dal Student Union Sustainability Office Operations Manager Cameron Perfitt. Efforts to achieve this designation were initially championed by the Dalhousie Fairtrade Campus Committee starting in 2020.

A recent report from Burning Glass Institute and Harvard Business School has found that employers’ hiring behaviour is lagging behind the creation of policy changes around skills-based hiring. The report authors explained that the skills-based hiring movement has gained momentum and interest, but they wanted to investigate whether this was reflected employers’ behaviour. The period from 2014 to 2023 reportedly saw a nearly fourfold increase in the share of workers in roles with no degree requirements, but almost all of this change was driven by one-third of the companies studied. 45% of companies made changes in name only, while 18% made short-term gains before backsliding and hiring an even smaller share of workers without degrees. “To hire for skills, firms will need to implement robust and intentional changes in their hiring practices — and change is hard,” reads the report.

Polytechnique Montréal and Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles have recently shared announcements about their work with international partners. Polytech MTL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet (Norway) to facilitate academic and research cooperation. The MOU especially focuses on the fields of science, technology, and engineering. Meanwhile, Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles shared that it will bring two of its training programs to Dakar, Senegal in the coming months: one on techniques in childhood education and the other on wind turbine maintenance. A total of 80 people will be trained in these programs over three years as part of an initiative to address labour shortages in the fields of education and wind power in Senegal and Québec.