March 1, 2024

Red Deer Polytechnic will create the Donald Family Institute for Healthtech Innovation, thanks to a $20M gift—the largest in RDP’s history—given by the Donald Family. The institute will bring together practitioners and interdisciplinary researchers to develop and deliver innovative healthcare education, training, and applied research. “On behalf of all of RDP’s students, staff and faculty, I would like to thank the Donald Family for their incredible generosity and support in helping us bring this important healthtech concept to life,” said RDP President Stuart Cullum. In recognition of the Donald Family’s longstanding partnership with RDP, College Boulevard will be renamed Donald Boulevard later this year.

The University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management will establish the David Feldman Centre for Real Estate and Urban Economics with a $15M gift from David and Angela Feldman. The centre will train students to become real estate professionals with in-depth knowledge about capital-intensive real estate projects. The funding will support research on real estate and urban economics, create two endowed chairs, provide new scholarships, and contribute toward community engagement activities. “The David Feldman Centre will be a game-changer for how we train people to think about real estate and shape the future of our city region,” said U of T VP Advancement David Palmer.

St Francis Xavier University has received a $14.5M gift to champion equity and establish new centres on campus. This is the university’s second gift from alumnus Jeannine Deveau, bringing her total contributions to StFX to more than $22M. With this funding, StFX will establish the Deveau Centre for Indigenous Governance and Social Justice, a space that will support scholars undertaking human rights research, advocacy work, and policy development. The gift will also contribute to the creation of the Black Student Success Centre, which will support Black students’ academic journeys by addressing barriers such as social isolation, anxiety, and stress.

In an article for the Globe and Mail, Caroline Alphonso profiles the Canada-wide struggle to recruit high school students into the skilled trades. Despite severe labour shortages, students are still hesitant to pursue a career in the skilled trades, an issue that Alphonso attributes to lingering stigmas that students and parents associate with the trades. However, the writer highlights that co-op placements, bootcamps, and “sampler” programs that expose students to a variety of trades have proven to be effective recruitment tools for the skilled trades. Alphonso concludes that exploration programs like these “may be the key to deepening understanding of the skilled trades for both students and their parents.”

Laurentian University is working to restore its systems after a cyberattack resulted in several of its systems going offline. The Sudbury Star reports that Laurentian is still trying to restore its Wi-Fi, email, and online teaching systems. Online student Kaitlyn Dickinson said she has been unable to access course materials since the cyberattack and is worried that students will not be able to catch up on their coursework. Fourth-year Laurentian student Mia Valllière expressed concerns about how the outage might impact students’ future success, as it has rendered research databases and scholarships unavailable. “We do deserve to be taken seriously as [graduate school] candidates who care about one another and about our education,” said Valllière.

Okanagan College has received $1M from Highstreet to support students in trades and apprenticeship programs. The donation will support two initiatives that will encourage students to pursue careers in skilled trades: It will create 13 “full ride” bursaries for entry-level students and support the CampOC’s Trades camps, which introduce students from Grades 4-9 to the trades. “Not only [is Highstreet] removing barriers for OC students, but they are championing the skilled trades and recognizing how these professions contribute in our communities,” said Okanagan President Dr Neil Fassina. “It is extremely affirming for our students to see a local business make an investment in trades as a career choice.”

Colleges Ontario has released its 2022-23 key performance indicators for the 24 public colleges. The provincial average for graduation rates was 65%, with the highest graduation rates were reported by Conestoga College (72.9%) and College Boréal (71.3%). On average, 76.8% of ON college graduates were satisfied or very satisfied with their education and 85.8% were employed. The highest satisfaction rates were reported by graduates of Boréal (87.3%) and La Cité Collegiale (85.5%), while the highest employment rates were seen at Northern College (84.4%) and St Lawrence College (93.2%). 91.8% of employers said they were very satisfied or satisfied with the graduates they employed; the employers of graduates of Boréal, Confederation College, Georgian College, Loyalist College, Mohawk College, Northern, and Sault College all reported 100% satisfaction.

Capilano University has introduced Chén̓chenstway, a living document that acts as a starting point for the university’s work towards reconciliation. The document outlines five primary areas of commitment: learners, employees, programming, culture, and knowledge. The guide provides direction on the incorporation of First Nations languages, cultures, and knowledge. It will also guide the university as it works with host nations and the Métis Nation of British Columbia to advance regional Indigenous education priorities and aligns its words and actions with goals and objectives developed by the Government of British Columbia Ministry of Post-Secondary and Future Skills.

Brandon University and the University of Alberta have announced updates on their software updates and transitions. As part of the RenewBU project, BrandonU has been overhauling its legacy software systems. It has halted its transition to the Anthology software package and will relaunch its search for a new software to support its student information, recruitment, and finance systems in the future. Meanwhile, UAlberta Provost and VP (Academic) Verna Yiu announced that the university has selected Canvas by Instructure as its next learning management system. The software will replace the Moodle (eClass) infrastructure.

eCampusOntario has launched the proof of principle for an AI-enabled tool called SkillsFinder.ai, which will help learners identify and address their skills gaps. The tool presents learners with personalized educational pathway recommendations and guides them in the search for a micro-credential that can fill these gaps. “By enabling people to test the new SkillsFinder.ai we will be able to learn how people interact with and use AI in supporting their personal educational journey,” said eCampusOntario CEO Robert Luke. “eCampusOntario is launching these tools to help learners find programs that support their career goals and help employers address upskilling needs in the workforce.” eCampusOntario will test the proof of principle over the next month.