With a controversial pick leading the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, don’t hold your breath on big ideas or transformative change for the sector. Read full text.

New premier bids to tie Ontario university funding to free speech. June 19, 2018, by Ellie Bothwell.

“Universities in Ontario could be the next higher education institutions to face punishment if they are deemed to fail to uphold free speech, after populist businessman Doug Ford was elected as premier of the Canadian province.” Read full article  [registration required]

In his latest column for University Affairs, Creso discusses the recent call for proposals from Employment and Social Development Canada to fund a Future Skills Centre. Read the full text.

Our research team is making several research presentations through the end of the summer, from Congress 2018 in Regina to CHER in Moscow in late August. Click here for more details.

Creso’s latest column in University Affairs: After five decades of telling ourselves the same story, can we start asking different questions about innovation?

When it comes to generating reports on science and innovation policy, Canada is undoubtedly a powerhouse. Earlier this month, the Council of Canadian Academies released Competing in a Global Innovation Economy: The Current State of R&D in Canada, the latest installment in this tradition. The report was competently written, although predictable in its main conclusions. Read full text

Creso’s latest University Affairs column considers why so much symbolic management takes place when universities are faced with thorny subjects. Read full text.

As part of Times Higher Education’s coverage of Canada’s 2018 federal budget, Creso was quoted on the significance of the funding announcements for academic research and universities. See full text.

Funding rises for fundamental science with be welcomed even if they fall short of some scholars’ expectations, says Creso Sá. Read full text.

Check the first post of Creso’s new Blog at University Affairs,  looking at what the recent superclusters announcement means for universities and academic research.

In a new op-ed for Times Higher Education, Creso discusses how the traditional division of research between “basic” and “applied” affects how we discuss current science policy in Canada. See full text

Growing social, economic, environmental and political challenges make scientific knowledge not only a critical need, but a path to a shared and brighter future for humanity. That was the message astronaut Julie Payette delivered at her installation this week as Canada’s 29th Governor General. Read full article.

Creso was quoted in the story With key tax credit under microscope, biotech firms say it should stay, be improved. The article discusses the SR&ED program from the perspective of biotech companies. Excerpt:

Creso Sá, a professor with the University of Toronto’s Centre for the Study of Canadian and International Higher Education, isn’t a fan of SR&ED, noting its size, complexity, and lack of measurable impact. He said comparable economies generally have a mix of direct and indirect support… [Read full article]

Emina Veletanlic presented the paper “Federal Funding Programs for University-Industry Partnerships in Canada: From Theory to Practice” at the 2017 CHER Conference.

The conference was held at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland, on Aug-28-30, 2017.

Creso wrote for University World News on his talk at the World Education Services and Boston College Center for International Higher Education Summer Seminar “International Education in a New Political Climate”, held on 22-23 June 2017 at Boston College.

Many believe that this is Canada’s moment – an opportunity to increase the inflow of international talent into Canadian higher education. Politics and economics have been part of this narrative.

Politically, the rise of neo-nationalist populism tied to xenophobic sentiment in the United States and the United Kingdom have cast Canada in a bright light. Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has vocally espoused Canada’s openness to the world, very publicly welcoming refugees since last year while the United States, the United Kingdom and parts of Europe recoiled from the influx of immigrants. Full article

Creso wrote an op-ed for Times Higher Education on Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer’s proposal to withold federal research funding from universities that do not support free speech on campus.

Canada’s opposition Conservative Party elected a new leader at the end of May. Andrew Scheer, a young career politician, has been consistently described as a friendlier version of Stephen Harper, the former prime minister whose fractious relationship with scientists, particularly over the environment, has been well documented.

But for all the moderation ascribed to him – understandable in the context of a party whose ranks include a couple of embarrassingly obvious Donald Trump impersonators – one of his policy positions is “no free speech on campus means no federal grants”. Read full text.