May 23, 2024

The Government of Québec is allocating $42.6M to the Université du Québec to increase collaboration between educational institutions and arts and digital creativity businesses. The funding will support the creation of new spaces dedicated to learning, experimentation, design, creation, and research in digital arts and creativity. This funding will allow businesses, students, professors, researchers, and creators from different postsecondary institutions and departments to collaborate in rented space at Îlot Balmoral. Participating schools include the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi’s École des arts numériques, de l’animation et du design; the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue’s Unité d’enseignement et de recherche en création et nouveaux médias; and the digital arts programming of Collège Bois-de-Boulogne, Collège Dawson, Cégep de Matane, Cégep Limoilou, and Cégep de Vieux Montréal.

Financial Times has released its Business school rankings for Executive Education Open 2024. The rankings evaluate open enrolment programs on factors such as participant quality, teaching, and skills gained; as well as data on female and international participants, growth, international location, partner schools, and faculty diversity. Evaluations are based on alumni survey responses and information provided by institutions. Eighty postsecondary institutions appeared in the rankings. Four institutions from Canada appeared in the list, including Western University: Ivey (#21), York University: Schulich (#27), HEC Montreal (#29), and the University of Saskatchewan: Edwards (#76).

Six Nations Polytechnic has received $2.8M from the Government of Canada to enhance the energy efficiency and accessibility of its campus. This project includes replacing the current geothermal heating system, recladding the exterior façade, installing high-efficiency boilers, and adding concrete ramps to entries and exits. This funding was provided through the federal Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) program. “The upgrades to SNP’s Six Nations Campus, made possible by the GICB program, will significantly contribute to campus sustainability while supporting our commitment to providing a welcoming, accessible and healthy learning environment,” said SNP President Rebecca Jamieson.

The Government of British Columbia has promised to roll out new postsecondary overdose prevention actions for Fall 2024. BC Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills Lisa Beare brought together 25 public postsecondary institutions to discuss how to better prevent overdoses on campus. Work will be done in collaboration with the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions and the BC Centre for Disease Control, and Beare said that it “will include distribution and standards for training for naloxone, including nasal naloxone.” The overdose prevention actions come in response to calls for change from the parents of Sidney McIntyre-Starko, a University of Victoria student who passed away earlier this year after ingesting fentanyl in a dorm room.

In a recent opinion article for The Conversation, Geoff Callaghan (University of Windsor) discusses how the student encampments on university campuses across the country have raised more general questions about the right to protest. Callaghan argues that the current debate about these encampments has less to do with whether citizens have the right to protest, but rather more to do with the appropriate locations for protests and the length of time they should be allowed to continue. The author discusses state intervention, concluding with an assertion that “unless and until the encampments become an unreasonably severe disruption to the enjoyment of university spaces by members of [their] communities, there is no time-related argument that supports state intervention.”

Trent University’s Board of Governors recently approved a proposal to make the institution’s Molecules, Cells & Systems (MCS) Group an official research centre. The MCS Research Centre will provide a hub for interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation, bringing together scholars across departments to apply the molecules-to-systems approach to their research. The centre will also aim to attract funding, enhance faculty and graduate student recruitment, and facilitate collaborations. “The elevation of the MCS Research Group into a Centre marks a significant milestone for Trent University,” said MCS Research Centre Director Dr Robert Huber. “It demonstrates our commitment to pioneering a holistic approach in the life sciences that bridges molecular components and complex biological systems.”

The University of Lethbridge and the University of Calgary have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish the new Rural Medical Education Program Training Centre in Lethbridge. Under this MOU, the two universities will move forward to create a framework for the medical program and start work on an agreement facilitating its joint delivery. “Through this partnership we will see local students recruited and trained across southern Alberta, greatly increasing the probability they will continue to practice in these underserved communities for years to come,” said ULethbridge Provost and Vice-President (Academic) Dr Michelle Helstein.

Ontario Tech University has reached an agreement with protesters to end an on-campus encampment. While a statement from the university said that it “is not aware of investments in any companies that are benefiting” from the conflict in Gaza, it will establish a Presidential Advisory Committee to explore the development of responsible investment practices and will publish a report outlining its investments and financial holdings. Students and faculty who participated in the protest will be protected from “academic and/or employment-based retaliation.” Ontario Tech will also fund three scholarships for undergraduate Palestinian students who have been displaced by the war.

Cégep de Chicoutimi recently announced the addition of a new student residence building. The cégep is renting the former Sœurs du Bon-Pasteur building–located only steps away from Cégep de Chicoutimi–which will be converted into affordable student housing. Fifty new beds will be made available for students by the Fall and another 50 will be gradually added throughout the next year. Chicoutimi General Director André Gobeil said that the residence will offer students affordable housing and that living and studying on a campus rich in history will add to the student experience.

Protestors have set up encampments at the University of Guelph and Memorial University. At UoGuelph, protesters are calling on the university to provide information about its endowment portfolio. A statement from UoGuelph said that the university has received and is reviewing a divestment submission. Tents were set up on Memorial’s campus by a student group expressing its solidarity with Palestine to bring awareness to the conflict in Gaza and to pressure university staff to adhere to a meeting scheduled for later this month. Memorial President Dr Neil Bose reminded community members that protests must be conducted within the university’s policies, codes of conduct, and the law.