See article on entrepreneurship education featuring findings of The Entrepreneurship Movement and the University and discussing recent trends in Ontario.

Ontario postsecondary institutions experience shifting faculty demographics, patterns of academic work, performance expectations, and policy requirements. How have colleges and universities dealt with these changes? What role can the provincial government play to induce positive institutional responses? These questions were debated on Friday April 29 at OISE in the Symposium on the Changing Professoriate in Ontario Colleges and Universities. See full story…

CIHE Director Creso Sá and Emma Sabzalieva carried out a study funded by the MTCU on public policy and the attraction of international postsecondary students. The final report was released today.

The report examines the policy framework in the Anglophone jurisdictions that are the major destinations for international students, and how and why their policy frameworks evolved over the last fifteen years (2000-2015). Further, the report assesses Ontario’s competitiveness as a destination for international students in relation to other jurisdictions.

In Canada, international student numbers have risen dramatically by 226% since 2000. In Ontario the proportional increase of 265% is higher than the combined growth rate in England, Australia and the US (239%). However, this represents growth from a relatively small base, and there are several constraints in place to the attraction of international students that deserve attention. As MTCU embarks on crafting an international education strategy, the report makes several recommendations to enhancing Ontario’s competitiveness.

 

While OISE has had a higher education research and education function since 1977, many new opportunities through new hires, along with recent internal alliances with other related scholarly efforts, has led to the creation of the Centre for the Study of Canadian and International Higher Education (CIHE).

As the largest academic research and policy unit of its kind in Canada, the new centre will provide a focal point for external relationships with other Canadian and global colleagues and organizations and a point of contact for media. See full announcement here.

Dr. Merli Tamtik, a former member of the research team, has been appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba. She joined the Department of Educational Administration, Foundations and Psychology in January 2016.

Merli was a SSHRC Post Doctoral Fellow at York University for the past 2 years. She earned her MA and PhD degrees in Higher Education at OISE. In 2014, Merli received an Ontario Graduate Research Challenge Award from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities for her doctoral research on policy learning in the European Union.

The team wishes Merli all the best at Manitoba.

Creso Sá delivered an invited lecture at the International Seminar “Higher Education Policies in Developing Countries”, held at the Brazilian Academy of Sciences in Rio de Janeiro.

The event took place in September 21-22, and brought together an international group of scholars, policy makers, and government representatives. Professor Sá’s presentation was entitled, “Science, Technology, Globalization & Universities: Brazil in Global Perspective”.

Julieta Grieco has been awarded the Ontario Graduate Policy Research Challenge (OGPRC) by the MTCU for her policy brief “Fostering Ontario’s growth in international student mobility: targeting government sponsored international students”. Julieta’s brief draws from her study on Brazil’s Science Without Borders program at the University of Toronto. Julieta provided recommendations for the Ontario government on how to be successful in recruiting International students through targeting participants of Government-sponsored international scholarship programs.

The OGPRC targets high-quality graduate student research that is relevant to areas of post-secondary education, training and labour markets of Ontario.

Earlier last week, Creso Sá was awarded a research grant under the Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund (OHCRIF) program of Ontario’s Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities. This project will investigate the current policy environment shaping international student recruitment in Ontario, including an assessment of competing jurisdictions inside and outside Canada.

The OHCRIF is intended to support research projects that advance knowledge in higher education, labour and employment policy.

Research team member Helen Lasthiotakis has accepted the position of Executive Director, Strategic Partnerships and Office of the Vice-President, Research & Innovation (VPRI) at the University of Toronto, effective September 8, 2015.

As Executive Director, Strategic Partnerships and Office of the Vice-President, Research & Innovation, Helen has a leadership role in the oversight of strategic partnerships with external funding and advocacy organizations, coordination of activities with academic divisions and other central portfolios, provide oversight for strategic initiatives, awards and honors, global research partnerships, research information and analysis, preparation of major reports, and the management of the Office. She is a member of the Research Advisory Board.

Helen has held previous senior roles at U of T, including Assistant Dean and Director of the Office of the Dean in the Faculty of Arts & Science; Director, Academic Programs & Policy in the Office of the Vice-President and Provost; Science Coordinator for the Canada Ocean Drilling; and Program Manager for the Nortel Institute for Telecommunications in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. She also supported the University’s inaugural Senior Advisor to the President on Science Engagement. A double graduate of the University with a BSc and MSc from the Department of Geology at U of T, she is currently a PhD candidate with the Department of Leadership, Higher & Adult Education at OISE.

Creso Sá will serve as Director of the newly established Centre for the Study of Canadian and International Higher Education at OISE-University of Toronto. Standing on the shoulder’s of Canada’s premier graduate program in higher education, the Centre will be one of the largest academic research units in the field. Through its research and knowledge mobilization activities, the Centre will inform, inspire and influence policy debate and public discourse on the various aspects of higher education in Canada and internationally.

On June 5, 2015 an article on Canada’s Globe and Mail discussed the Thiel Fellowship, a program that offers highly talented youth $100,000 to leave higher education for a minimum of 2 years and focus on developing their dream start-up. Creso discussed findings of his recent book  The Entrepreneurship Movement and the University.

On June 1, 2015, Creso Sá presented at the annual conference of the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education (CSSHE). After being awarded the Research & Scholarship Award Professor Sá was invited to present on his recent work. The presentation focused on his latest book The Entrepreneurship Movement and The University.

The CSSHE is Canada’s forum for the promotion of research in the field of higher education. This year’s conference took place May 31 – June 2 in Ottawa, ON.

Team member Daniel Hamlin presented research done in collaboration with Creso Sá at this year’s American Educational Research Association (AERA) Conference that took place April 16-20 in Chicago, Illinois. The presentation entitled “Research Use in Government: The Role of Capacity, Relationships, and Leadership.” examines the use of research in the policymaking process.

The AERA Annual Meeting seeks to connect scholars of education, including all levels from early childhood to higher education. With over 2,600 sessions, this year’s meeting welcomed more than 14,000 people.

On Wednesday April 15, 2015  team member Andrew Kretz successfully defended his doctoral thesis entitled “Exploring the effects of postsecondary experiences on STEM majors’ attitude towards entrepreneurship.” This thesis was supervised by Creso Sá. The team is very proud of Andrew’s achievement and wishes him the best of luck in his future endeavours!

 

The Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education (CSSHE) has announced that Creso Sá will be this year’s recipient of the Research & Scholarship Award.

This award recognizes a practicing scholar on achievements and contributions to the scholarship on Canadian postsecondary education. The award will be officially conferred at the 2015 CSSHE Annual Conference taking place May 31 – June 2, in Ottawa.