January 30, 2023

Universities Canada, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce have launched the Talent for Canada campaign. The campaign calls on the federal government to increase its support for talent development and retention. In particular, the campaign encourages Canada to renew research funding and increase the number and value of Canadian Graduate Scholarships. “To achieve economic prosperity now and into the future, we need renewed support for Canada’s most talented people at home, and we also need to attract top talent internationally,” said Universities Canada President Paul Davidson.

The Government of Quebec and Government of Alberta are both exploring how they can address critical labour shortages. AB has provided $1M to Northwestern Polytechnic, the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary, and the University of Lethbridge to explore whether physician training centres in Lethbridge and Grande Prairie could address regional doctor shortages. Currently, the two medical schools in AB are located at UAlberta and UCalgary. Meanwhile, QC is looking to create a 30-credit fast-track program for teacher certification to address a provincial teacher shortage. McGill University integrated studies in education chair Lisa Starr commented that while it is important to address the teacher shortage, it is important to ensure that prospective teachers are not rushed through the program and sent into the classroom underprepared.

In a recent article for The Conversation, University of Regina Professor Marc Spooner argues that Canada must consider the effects of attempting to repurpose and reprogram universities to serve labour market needs. Spooner writes that trying to “turn universities and colleges into lesser and more convoluted versions of one another” will narrow the scope of universities and have long-term consequences. Universities are teaching, research, and service institutions that foster research and knowledge, he writes, but students view their purpose differently depending on the cost of their education. Spooner argues that conceptions of higher education should not be pitted against each other and that universities should not be a site for “politicking.” “We urgently need to ask ourselves what kind of society we hope to maintain, foster and create and link that to how universities can best serve that society,” writes Spooner.

Lakehead University has unveiled the new Anishnaabemowin name of the Indigenous Law and Justice Institute – Mino-Waabandan Inaakonigewinan – as well as the institute’s new logo. The Thunderbird logo was designed by Anishinaabe artist Ryan Pooman and the new name was bestowed by Elder Ron Linklater during a naming ceremony. “Mino-waabandan Inaakonigewinan,’ or ‘seeing the law in a good way,’ is something we strive for daily through our law program and the Institute’s activities,” said Robin Sutherland, Director of Indigenous Relations at Lakehead’s Bora Laskin Faculty of Law. “The Thunderbird image also relates to seeing law in a good way and reflects our location in Thunder Bay, especially with Fort William First Nation being our closest neighbour and home to Anemki Wajiw, or Thunder Mountain.”

Camosun College has announced that it will soon be opening a new outpatient training ultrasound clinic called Campus Ultrasound. Working with Island Health, Camosun’s clinic will provide important health care services while students get hands-on training administering ultrasound scans. The clinic includes two general ultrasound rooms and two echocardiogram rooms, where students will have access to advanced simulation tools and experienced sonographers and radiologists. Government of British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix said that this is the first time this model has been used in Canada. “I think it would be a model, in the health sciences in particular, for what we do in the years going forward,” said Dix.

Lethbridge College and Thompson Rivers University are each providing high school students from their regions with the opportunity to gain new experiences. Lethbridge has launched the Introduction to the Trades Dual Credit Pathway Program, through which students from six southern Alberta school district can learn about 12 trades and earn credits toward their high school diploma and postsecondary education. Students learn through asynchronous and in-person learning, as well as hands-on experiences during eight college visits. TRU has partnered with SHAD Canada to provide Grade 10 and 11 students with a summer enrichment program focused on STEAM. Students will work in small groups to design a solution to a real-world problem and will gain a hands-on understanding of the area’s history.

Cape Breton University Faculty Association (CBUFA) members went on strike on Friday. CTV News reports that wages are a key issue for CBUFA members: Cape Breton University has reportedly offered members an 8% increase over three years, but members are asking for a 14% increase over two years. International students at the university shared with CTV that they are anxious about the strike impacting their studies. “We are just pressing both sides to come together to reach an agreement,” said CBU Student Union President Damanpreet Singh.

Assiniboine Community College and the Enterprise Machine Intelligence Learning Initiative (EMILI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will see them working together to address agricultural sector labour shortages. The five-year MOU covers projects that will advance the adoption of intelligent technologies and programming to train Manitobans in digital agriculture skills. “This partnership will help provide experiential learning opportunities for students using emerging technologies, and will help ensure that graduates obtain skills in areas like data analysis, robotics and automation,” said ACC’s Russ Edwards School of Agriculture and Environment Dean Tim Hore. “This partnership and the expanded programming proposed as part of our Prairie Innovation Centre will help fill this need.”

An international ransomware group has reportedly claimed responsibility for the recent cyberattack at Okanagan College. Threat Analyst Brett Callow shared a screenshot on Twitter of a Vice Society post on the dark web that includes a blurred picture of the college and a threat to release 850 GB of confidential data to its website. “The RCMP, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia, and the Canadian Centre for Cyber-Security have all been notified, and we continue to follow their guidance,” reads a statement from Okanagan.

In an advice column for Chronicle of Higher Ed, Rebecca Schuman addresses how to realistically set goals for an academic writing task. Schuman writes that unrealistic goals are often created when a writer does not want to face the actual number of hours that it will take to finish the work. The author shares a formula that academics can tailor to their own writing situations to determine a reasonable estimate for how long a project will take to finish, and advises multiplying this number by a factor of 1.75 to “account for magical thinking.” Schuman writes that using this formula will result in a timeline that is based on an academic’s actual work habits and available time, rather than one that is based on wishful thinking.