Category: Uncategorised

By Fatema Hossain and Hiroyoshi Hiratsuka

The internationalization of higher education has become embedded in policy and institutional-level discourse not only in Canada but around the world. Many universities are formulating and implementing internationalization strategies with diverse aims ranging from enhancing institutional reputations and competitiveness, deeper engagement in cross-border services and trade, improving students’ preparedness for the global job market, and to support the diversification of their student and faculty body.

The University of Toronto is amongst the institutions embracing the discourse of internationalization, and at the first CIHE Speakers Series of 2017 on January 19, Dr. Edward (Ted) Sargent, Vice President, International shared his vision for formulating an internationalization strategy for the university.

After a formal welcome by OISE Dean Glen Jones, Dr. Sargent described what he and his office envision for the University of Toronto’s internationalization strategy, and provided a series of goals that he believes should be the university’s priorities. In his presentation, Dr. Sargent envisioned U of T’s research and teaching contributing to solving global issues, such as exploring new ways to generate and store energy from not only solar power but also from CO2.

He also envisions encouraging mobility through existing research and teaching partnerships. Dr. Sargent would like to expand opportunities for faculty and students to research and study outside of Canada in order to gain intercultural learning experiences. U of T’s internationalization strategy, he believes, will enhance the university’s global reputation and competitiveness for its research, education, and social services while meeting companies’ demand for a globally prepared workforce.

During the discussion that followed Dr. Sargent’s presentation, three interesting and important themes emerged.

Firstly, when Dr. Sargent spoke about increasing students’ and faculty members’ opportunities for cross-cultural experience across the campuses, we wondered whether the university is doing enough to leverage the current level of cultural diversity at U of T. Here, the distinction between ‘domestic’ and ‘international’ students can often feel artificial when many students have recently arrived in Canada but are divided on the basis of their current immigration status. With more than half of the population of Toronto being born outside of Canada, students who have been brought up locally are more likely to have a rich and varied cultural and ethnic background than the ‘domestic’ label implies.

Diversity does not just come from the university’s local community. Dr Sargent noted that U of T has received 70% more applicants from the US was linked implicitly to the university’s recruitment efforts. Yet there are broader factors at play, not least the current political situation in America. There are also economic considerations given the lower value of the Canadian dollar against its US counterpart, and cultural factors, with Canada often being viewed as a model for tolerance and inclusivity. For American students, Canada may represent an opportunity to study away from home but in a familiar environment.

Finally, Dr. Sargent opened up the possibilities of U of T cooperating with other universities in ways that could go well beyond department-to-department collaboration. These can often form the starting point for cooperation, such as in the example of mutual working between the Physics department and University of Tokyo. Rather than limiting the partnership, the suggestion was that deeper links be built with the partner university. The decentralized nature of the U of T does mean, however, that an important first step is to ascertain just what links are already in existence across the many parts of the university before seeking to build on these.

Look out for further opportunities to engage with U of T’s internationalization strategizing in the near future.

The Pathways to Education and Work Research Group oversees a research program that is proudly affiliated with the Centre for the Study of Canadian and International Higher Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.

The Centre supports and disseminates research on topics related to Canadian and international higher education and promotes community amongst scholars, graduate students, and others involved in the study of higher education.

For more information about the Pathways project, please click here.

Recently published, Dr. Moodie’s ‘Universities, Disruptive Technologies and Continuity in Higher Education’ book traces the significant shifts in university pedagogy, influenced by the advent and evolution of information technologies in universities. Through a historical approach, he identifies changes in universities’ students, libraries, curriculum, pedagogy, lectures, assessment, research, and the dissemination of these changes across the globe. His book provides insight on the effects of the current information revolution on universities, by placing a historical context through a critical examination of the effects of two previous information revolutions: Gutenberg’s invention and proof of printing in 1450 and the Scientific Revolution from the mid- fifteenth to the end of the seventeenth century.

http://link.springer.com/book/10.1057%2F978-1-137-54943-3

CIHE Director, Creso Sa, and PhD student, Emma Sabzalieva, have recently published an article with University World News entitled “How Brexit matters to higher education beyond Europe”. A link to the article can be found here: http://goo.gl/h8LJNk

The authors discuss some of the influences this decision will have on higher education within the British context and beyond, particularly its impact on Canada’s collaboration with scholars and researchers within the UK.

The Ontario Institution for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto invites applications for a postdoctoral position in student and labour market pathways in Canada. The candidate selected will work under the direction of CIHE’s Dr. Leesa Wheelahan in the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education. A link to the call for applications is here: http://tiny.cc/PostDoc

The aim is to support a highly promising scholar with a PhD in the field of higher education, social sciences, public policy and/or a related area. The term of appointment is two full years, full time. The commencement is negotiable, but preferably starting the end of July 2016 or soon after. Applications are open from 20 June and will close at the end of business on Friday 15 July.

For more information contact Leesa at leesa.wheelahan@utoronto.ca

Congratulations to CIHE’s Leesa Wheelahan, who has been named a featured author by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research for their VOCED database. The NCVER is a regional centre of excellence with UNESCO-UNEVOC.

The Symposium on the Changing Professoriate in Ontario Colleges and Universities is now online.

The event took place at OISE on April 29, 2016, and was co-organized by the Center for the Study of Canadian and International Higher Education (CIHE); the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities; and the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.

This event continued the efforts of CIHE faculty to engage with the policy community and to support and foster informed policy debate in higher education.

A link to this CIHE Blog post can be found here: http://tiny.cc/ChangProf

The Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences’ annual event took place at the University of Calgary this year. The Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education (CSSHE) held its annual conference during this event. The conference had a very high turnout and it generated a multitude of intriguing discourses.

CIHE was very well-represented at CSSHE, with over 20 total presenters offering their insights into the postsecondary sector across various contexts and streams. 5 faculty members presented their leading scholarship, while 16 graduate students and post-docs continued to demonstrate the leading research stemming from CIHE.

University of Toronto Vice-President and Provost, Professor Cheryl Regehr, has announced Professor Glen A. Jones, as the 10th head of the University’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) for a five-year term, beginning July 1, 2016.

For the complete story please use the following link: http://goo.gl/eZhAUF