SSH News: Globe and Mail op-ed by Antonia Maioni, maximizing policy impact of research, student program choice, and other news

Blog
November 13, 2014

Globe and Mail op-ed by Antonia Maioni

A new op-ed by Federation President Antonia Maioni has appeared in The Globe and Mail. Maioni looks at the numbers of women in professional leadership positions and asks why women are underrepresented. Behind these numbers, suggests Maioni, is a larger picture of evolving notions of work-life balance spearheaded by women who are successfully negotiating a happy (and healthy) model of work.

Government of Canada invests $118m to support next generation of research talent

The Honourable Ed Holder, Minister of State (Science and Technology), announced an investment of $118 million to support Canada’s most promising scholars and students in the fields of the social sciences and humanities. This announcement includes funding for 183 SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships, 580 SSHRC Doctoral Fellowships, 430 Doctoral Scholarships and 1,286 Master’s Scholarships (SSHRC).

Policy impact of research

An article in The Guardian offers tips for maximizing the policy impact of scholarly research. The suggestions provided include collaborative projects involving researchers and policymakers, greater visibility of academics in policy circles, and communicating with policy think tanks.

Why students pick the programs they do

An article in Academica presents values, rather than money and job placement, as the main factor influencing program choices for students. This conclusion is based on the results of a sampling of 600 first-year students on the StudentVu panel. According to the results, students care about their careers but they are willing to take risks for a career that they are passionate about.

30 million in cuts for Quebec universities

Additional cuts have been imposed on colleges and universities in Quebec, amounting to $31.6m in the case of universities. The article in La Presse describes the total cuts, now exceeding $200m, as unprecedented in academia.

Other interesting news:

Access to information now beyond the reach of most Canadians (The Globe and Mail)

Sean Michaels awarded Giller Prize for his book ‘Us Conductors’ (The Globe and Mail)

Toronto Book Fair: Who needs bricks and mortar? (Maclean’s)

University rankings – a game of snakes and ladders (University Affairs)