Organization: Universities Canada

Business and education leaders recommend work-integrated learning for skills development

Members of the Business/Higher Education Roundtable addressed an open letter to Finance Minister Bill Morneau, in which they assert that the best way to prepare Canadian youth for impending changes in the skills economy is through work-integrated learning (WIL) strategies. The letter reminds Morneau that in the 2018 federal budget, he highlighted the need to…

CSA’s first 100 days reveal overwhelming appetite from government for science advice

The honeymoon is over and the Chief Science Advisor is getting right down to business. But it was a jam-packed 100 days for Dr Mona Nemer, who was appointed last fall as Canada’s first chief science advisor (CSA) 10 years after the previous Conservative government eliminated the position and dismissed her predecessor, Dr Arthur Carty.

Universities Canada finds ally in public to support Naylor agenda

A recent survey of public perception about university research is overwhelming positive. So encouraging are the results that Universities Canada, which commissioned the survey, is hoping it can get the public to rally behind them to press the government for more funding for university research.

Universities Canada urges feds to adopt Naylor report recommendations

A pre-Budget submission from Universities Canada (UC) is urging the federal government to “lead in higher education, research and innovation … at a time of closing borders and closing minds” by implementing “all financial recommendations of the fundamental science review panel” headed by Dr David Naylor. UC is requesting that the government focus its “urgent…

R$ talks with Dr. Rebecca Keiser — NSF international chief pursues new collaborations with Canada

President Donald Trump intention to slash key areas of his government’s research spending is inadvertently providing an incentive for new research collaborations between the United States and Canada.
The president’s fiscal 2018 budget, unveiled earlier this year, proposed massive cuts for climate science, medical research and energy projects across government, including major granting organizations such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency. Despite a reprieve in early May when Congress voted to mostly maintain current budgets for the rest of 2017, it’s uncertain whether the axe can be avoided again in 2018.

Quantum computing, brain research top list for new US-Canada collaborations

President Donald Trump’s push for major cuts to research funding in the US are fueling even closer scientific ties between our two countries. Preliminary talks have begun between the US National Science Foundation and research funders in Canada to kickstart new research collaborations in quantum computing, the brain, biodiversity and the Arctic. Recent meetings held in both Ottawa and Washington are expected, as a first step, to result in a Dear Colleague letter from the NSF encouraging its researchers to identify opportunities for joint projects the rapidly evolving field of brain research.

New funding boosts Queen Elizabeth Scholars program

The Queen Elizabeth Scholars (QES) program has issued a call for new applicants of advanced scholars, fuelled by a $12.5 million expansion of the program. The new funding is being provided by the International Development Research Centre ($10 million) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ($2.5 million). The aim of the program is…