September 18, 2024

The federal Tri-agency recently awarded funding to researchers, projects, and infrastructure in the country through programs such as the College and Community Innovation (CCI) program, John R Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), and the SSHRC Knowledge Grants. The CCI program allocated $29.05M in funding for colleges, cégeps, and polytechnics through its Mobilize grants and the College and Community Social Innovation Fund. JELF awarded $86M to 316 research infrastructure projects at 47 institutions across the country. The SSHRC Insight Grants and SSHRC Insight Development Grants provided a combined $123.1M to scholars conducting long-term research initiatives or embarking on new research projects in the social sciences and humanities. These awards are part of a broader investment announced in Budget 2024, which also included scholarships and fellowships.

Government of Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner Ron Kruzeniski has published a report on his recent investigation into a University of Saskatchewan pharmacy student who inappropriately accessed the medical records of 114 people. The pharmacy owner reportedly dismissed the student upon discovering the situation and notified the Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC). While OIPC praised some actions taken by the involved parties—such as sending a joint notification letter to affected individuals—it found that the parties failed to investigate the root causes of the breaches. Among OIPC’s recommendations, USask was advised to amend its Student Placement Agreement to clarify its responsibilities and expectations and ensure it has no role in providing access to the personal information viewing software.

In an opinion piece for the Globe and Mail, Dr Paul Kershaw (University of British Columbia) urges advocacy groups and universities to make bolder demands of federal and provincial budgets. Kershaw highlights how students today face growing affordability crises, including challenges relating to housing, food insecurity, and rising debt. While acknowledging that being a student may never be “a rich period in one’s life,” he stresses that economic hardship should not be a prerequisite for a Canadian education. “To restore what has been lost, the university sector must increase its ambition to advocate on behalf of the students it serves,” concludes Kershaw. “This should start with the expectation that postsecondary education receive a larger share of new government spending relative to medical care and retirement income.”

The University of Toronto and University of Windsor are both encountering backlash from key stakeholders over their responses to the pro-Palestinian encampments established on their campuses this summer. At U of T, former medical school dean Arnold Aberman returned his honorary degree in protest of the university’s handling of the encampment, criticizing the “failure of the school to protect its Jewish and non-Jewish students.” At UWindsor, several donors have reportedly withdrawn their donations and pledges to the university in response to the agreements it signed with protesters. Among the donors, the Windsor Star reports that philanthropist Barry Zekelman has withdrawn a $1M gift and future support to the institution.

The École des sciences de la gestion (ESG) at the Université du Québec à Montréal has received dual international accreditation from the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the Business Graduates Association (BGA). These accreditations highlight ESG UQAM’s commitment to high academic standards, quality programming, and innovative approaches to teaching. With these accreditations, graduates of ESG UQAM’s MBA programs can join the AMBA membership network. Current students and alumni can also access the BGA individual members’ network. ESG UQAM Dean Komlan Sedzro noted that this recognition also affirms the institution’s dedication to sustainable development and positive societal transformation.

The Government of Québec is investing $13.5M in the relocation of the École nationale de l’humour (ENH). With this funding, ENH will purchase a building in Montréal’s Quartier Latin that is better suited to its current and future needs. The purchase will contribute to the revitalization of the Quartier Latin, as it includes plans to renovate the acquired building to preserve its heritage while meeting the technical standards required for training comedy creators. ENH directrice générale Louise Richer stated that the new space will allow the institution to innovate, diversify its approaches, and enrich the province’s cultural life.

Université de Saint-Boniface is launching two new psychology degree programs to better meet the professional aspirations of its student population. The first, the Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, is tailored to learners who plan to pursue psychology at the graduate level. The program will offer research-focused courses and laboratory work to expand students’ expertise in the field. The second, the Advanced Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, is designed for learners who are interested in pursuing careers in education, social work, counselling, or related disciplines. These new degree programs build on the success of USB’s existing major and minors in psychology, helping students to develop their skills and deepen their knowledge.

Projects at Lakehead University and the University of Saskatchewan have each received funding from the Government of Canada to enhance climate change education. Lakehead will receive $488K to strengthen climate change education in teacher training across the country. To accomplish this, Lakehead plans to launch initiatives such as a national roundtable, a national e-course for teachers in collaboration with Indigenous educators, and a webinar series. USask will receive $377K to create a Canadian directory of organizations involved in climate change education to improve the monitoring and evaluation of climate change communication efforts. This funding is part of the federal government’s recent $2.9M investment into eight projects across Canada to improve environmental education and climate literacy.

University Business writer Alcino Donadel explores three ways that postsecondary procurement offices are evolving. First, Donadel writes that procurement teams now face new compliance measures at the same time as students are increasingly seeking institutions with strong social justice stances. In light of this, procurement teams can track sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and social and governance metrics and use their findings to change their strategies. Second, procurement offices are adopting cutting-edge technology, using tools like AI to streamline processes that involve tedious tasks. Finally, Donadel notes that there is a surge of internships happening in procurement offices, as the intricacies of meeting these new demands is generating career interest among students in supply-chain studies.

Western University and the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences have launched a mathematics centre called the Fields-Western Collaboration Centre. The centre will offer a space for workshops, conferences, summer schools, and a new research hub called the Centre for Network Science. As a satellite campus for the Field Institute, the centre will bring together researchers from across southwestern Ontario and around the world and offer a place to discuss and apply mathematics research. “The excitement of doing mathematics in person with researchers around the world who are interested in the same thing is really valuable. We’re so excited to be able to bring that to Western’s campus,” said Western Dean of Science Matt Davison.