January 9, 2023

The result of a moonshot research project completed at Ontario Tech University has been formally unveiled in Las Vegas. “Project Arrow” is an electric vehicle that showcases cutting-edge technology from 58 part suppliers in Canada. The technology used on the vehicle prototype is intended to demonstrate Ontario’s end-to-end automotive supply chain and capabilities. Ontario Tech professors, staff, and students collaborated with Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association partners on the project, which also made use of Ontario Tech resources such as the Climatic Aerodynamic Wind Tunnel. The car’s development was funded by the Government of Canada and Government of Ontario.

The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology has launched a series of 12-week applied industry bootcamps to create more accessible and collaborative pathways into the technology sector. The programs will help students and working professionals who are interested in entering Calgary’s tech sector to develop skills in areas such as product management and user experience design. “We consulted numerous companies and they consistently stressed the importance of increasing access and filling both the technical and interpersonal skills gaps needed to thrive in tech,” says SAIT Digital Programs Manager Lora Bucsis. “This flexible and collaborative delivery model will help us do just that, giving industry a much-needed talent boost in a short amount of time.”

Corner Brook’s Centre for Research and Innovation (CRI) has celebrated its official opening. The centre was created by Memorial University, the College of the North Atlantic, and Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Ltd who received $8.9M to renovate a former pulp and paper mill building to house the new centre. CRI will support research and development, business diversification, and Newfoundland and Labrador’s culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. “The centre’s foci – innovation, creativity, research and training – will continue to strengthen collaboration between industry, post-secondary institutions, government and community partners for the benefit of this province and beyond,” said Memorial President Dr Vianne Timmons.

Toronto Metropolitan University has joined Canada Plastics Pact (CPP) build toward a circular economy for plastics packaging in Canada. As an Implementation Partner, TMU will focus on accelerating the development of circulation innovations and solutions. “We are pleased to welcome more diverse stakeholders to feed into conversations around building and accelerating a circular plastics packaging economy in Canada,” said CPP Interim Managing Director Paul Shorthouse. “Together, we have the opportunity to rethink the way we design, use, and reuse plastics in order to create a sustainable future in which plastics become a resource for the circular economy.”

A recent study of 47,000 academics in Europe and the United States found that more than half of researchers have been involved in projects in the last three years that listed co-authors who did not meaningfully contribute to the work. The International Research Integrity Survey touched on eight questionable research practices (QRPs), including conducting research without adequate ethics approval, lack of supervision of junior colleagues, and inappropriate authorship. Inappropriate authorship was the most common QRP encountered, though about half of respondents also reported inadequate peer review and inadequate supervision activities. Dalmeet Singh Chawla of Nature discusses the regional differences noted in the research and some of the likely causes behind the authorship findings.

Professor and former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond is reportedly no longer employed at the University of British Columbia. CTV News reports that the university did not provide details on the change, but a statement from Turpel-Lafond noted that she had decided to retire. “I look forward to focusing on my health, family and spiritual journey. For me, this takes priority over any job, title, accolade or achievement,” she said in the statement. Kirk LaPointe, executive editor of Business in Vancouver, penned an editorial discussing the circumstances of the departure, which he says has raised more questions than it answered, as well as the implications for UBC’s brand following these events.

Lakeland College has purchased new land south of Vermilion and will be moving its bison herd to the site at the end of January. Lakeland’s new land includes eight contiguous quarters, handling facilities, outbuildings, fencing, and full services. The new space will give students the opportunity to gain experience in a commercial-sized mixed farm operation. “The addition of a bison herd to our agricultural sciences programming not only gives our students experiential learning opportunities with the bison, it expands our entire program, strengthening our ability to teach our students about sustainable range and forage management,” said Lakeland Dean of the School of Agricultural Sciences Geoff Brown. The purchase was made possible by a $4M gift in 2020 that was dedicated to the project.

A totem pole and outdoor signs at the Royal Roads University campus were vandalized over the holidays. Royal Roads says that “hateful comments” were left on signs and property around the campus over the winter break, and that the vandalism was reported to the West Shore RCMP and quickly removed by the university’s Operations team. “At Royal Roads, we stand against hate, denounce racism in all its ugly forms and have zero tolerance for disturbing incidents such as this,” read a statement from the university.

Northlands College has launched the “2023 Year of Transformation” with a new organizational structure. The transformation addresses recommendations from the college’s Fall 2022 Operational Review and aims to address a decline in enrolment and other issues. The changes include amending and creating new portfolios in areas such as health and wellness and flexible learning, which will lead to the introduction of new programming and the launch of the Northlands College Learning Hub, respectively. “We remain committed to fulfilling our purpose by transforming to meet the needs of learners, communities and our regions’ workforce and labour market needs” said Northlands President Karsten Henriksen.

Social science is being undermined by political bias that causes researchers to turn a blind eye to basic assumptions, writes Martyn Hammersley for Times Higher Ed. Hammersley asserts that work that goes against particular political assumptions is often ignored and dismissed, which he argues allows academics to take things for granted that should be questioned and further undermines research quality by encouraging “illegitimate attempts” to turn academic research into a vehicle for socio-political transformation. Hammersley writes that this practice also downplays the difficulty of bringing about socio-political change. “What is required by way of remedy is not “political balance,” writes Hammersley, “but, rather, that social science communities focus exclusively on what is supposed to be their unique, and far from easy, task: producing knowledge.”