A new survey of 2,700 international students names Canada as the best country for studying abroad for the second consecutive year. While other countries like Australia, the United Kingdom, and the USA are typically thought of as leading places to earn an international education, overseas learners chose Canada once again.
Culture
Taste of India
Enjoy an evening with an Indian buffet dinner and dance.
Why “Autonomy” in Higher Education is a Socially Exclusive Enterprise
Fragmentation of knowledge will lead to the fragmentation of society itself.
Oxford Uni Press are looking for ‘Hindi Word of the Year’
Source: Study International
Are you a Hindi afficionado? If yes, and you have a love for the Hindi language there is a task ahead.
Changing Higher Education to Achieve Social Inclusion
Source: University World News
Higher education can be used for the social and economic mobility of underprivileged sections. This is achieved usually by providing admission to a set of students from these sections in universities and other institutes of higher education through the reservation of a quota of seats.
Indian Student’s Shoes Will Stun You
Source: Study International
After 17 failed prototypes, a viable version was finally born.
Gender Equality Charter May Head To India
Source: Times Higher Education
Universities in India should introduce a charter mark for gender equality that originated in the UK to help boost the number of women working in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.
For Indians, Trump’s America is a Land of Lost Opportunity
Source: New York Times
Young Indians who have aspired to study, live and work in the United States are looking elsewhere.
Canada: “A Place of Stability, of Openness, of Inclusiveness”
Source: Times Higher Education via Academica
Canada’s decision to welcome thousands of Syrian refugees “stands out as an important symbol” of the country’s “openness and eagerness to attract newcomers,” says University of Toronto President Meric Gertler in an interview with Times Higher Education. Gertler highlights a number of significant steps Canada has taken to be open compared to the isolationist tendencies of Brexit and the Donald Trump presidential campaign. These include Canada’s efforts to attract 450,000 international students by 2022, its amendments to its citizenship process for international students, and its increased investment in research and scientific infrastructure. “Canada has certainly emerged as a place of stability, of openness, of inclusiveness,” says Gertler. “I think we’re doing many things right now that will position us as a stark alternative to things that are happening in other countries, including the UK and the US.”
International Students Praise Canada’s Openness & Affordable Fees
Source: The PIE News
Competitive fees and attractive post-study work options are some of Canada’s most magnetic features drawing international students to its shores. Word of mouth recommendations, however, remain powerful influences when students are choosing a study destination.
For the complete post, please visit The PIE News.
Program to Help International Students Engage with Montreal
Source: Journal de Montreal via Academica
Several thousand international students will have newfound access to free cultural activities through a new “passport” program spurred by the city’s universities. The International Student MTL Passport program aims to encourage Montreal’s 28,000 international university students to enjoy the “cultural wealth of the city” by distributing maps and providing the students with free access sites such as the Biodôme, the Botanical Garden, the Insectarium, and the Planetarium. They will also be offered credits to participate in a number of other events at reduced cost. “We want to decompartmentalize the students, get them out of their campuses,” said Nadine Gelly, general manager of the cultural promotion organization La Vitrine, which helped launch the project.
Culturally Competent Advising Requires a Holistic Approach
Source: Inside Higher Education via Academica
“To be better advisers, we need to consider the cultural baggage a student brings to a conversation when discussing their major,” writes June Y Chu for Inside Higher Ed. Chu illuminates the ways that culturally competent advising must grow to better serve a diverse student body. This approach uses a holistic approach that goes beyond telling a student to pursue the subject they love, and takes into account issues such as family conflicts and responsibilities. Chu further adds that “the question for advisers is how our own cultural values influence our advising and potentially devalue the cultural history a student brings into our office.”
Canada & India – Embracing Diversity
By Ms. Roohi Ahmed, President, India Canada Friendship Circle
The India Canada Friendship Circle (ICFC) launched its 2016-2017 lecture series this fall with a presentation by Mr. Chandra Arya, Member of Parliament and Chair of the Canada-India Parliamentary Friendship Group. Mr. Arya spoke about the role of MPs in fostering closer ties between the Parliaments of Canada and other countries as a means of promoting bilateral and multilateral relations. Parliamentary friendship groups do not have budgets or administrative support and are formed on a cross-party basis as well as a member’s interest in a specific country. Parliamentary friendship associations, on the other hand, have formal budgets and administrative support from the Parliament of Canada and are actively engaged with their international counterparts. Mr. Arya and his fellow MPs who have an interest in India hope to elevate the status of the Canada-India Parliamentary Friendship Group to an association, and they also wish to help move forward talks on the Canada-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in order to increase trade between the two countries. Mr. Arya also noted that MPs who happen to have a large concentration of Indo-Canadians in their constituencies had joined the Canada-India Parliamentary Friendship Group to learn more about India.
ICFC members suggested that the Canada-India Parliamentary Friendship Group study the issue of immigration and integration, as some members felt not all Indo-Canadians were socially integrated. Some found it fascinating that we had Hockey Night in Canada in Punjabi, and that Asian television programs seem to have become a favourite pastime while Asian language print media cover local news. While these reflect the hallmarks of Canadian multiculturalism, Mr. Arya felt that this was also an inter-generational issue, pointing out that first-generation migrants in some communities may not be so integrated, but their children are.
Mr. Arya also agreed with his audience on the importance of finding the right balance between cultural diversity and integration. He highlighted the added value of leveraging Indian diaspora strengths and shared his own personal experience as testimony to the openness of Canadian society towards giving immigrants a chance to become positive, contributing members to the economy and community. He brought to Canada his skills as an engineer and business executive, and in turn learned new ways which he felt enriched his life. For example, Mr. Arya appreciated the culture of “volunteerism” in Canada, which influenced his path to politics. The audience concluded that the Canadian experiment with immigration and multiculturalism is not yet complete and still evolving, and that the Canadian model of socio-economic integration is on the right track relative to the US and Europe.
The next ICFC lecture will be held in collaboration with The College of the Humanities, Carleton University featuring the articulate speaker Dr. Geeti Sen, Cultural Historian, Professor, Author and Art Critic who is travelling to Canada from New Delhi. She will demonstrate through visual images and text how 20th century Indian nationalism was driven as much by politicians as it was by painters, poets and patriots.
More details are available at the following website: http://www.icfc.ws
Fanshawe College Opens English Language Centre
Source: Fanshawe College via Academica
Fanshawe College has officially opened its new English Language Institute, a centre that will gather together the college’s various English as a Second Language initiatives and become home to the college’s new flagship program, English for Academic Purposes. The college reports that this full-time, intensive program will help international and domestic students prepare for further academic study, and will also be recognized by Western University and its affiliated colleges. “Through the English Language Institute, Fanshawe will continue to offer enhanced English language training and support that empowers International students, newcomers to Canada, and non-English fluent students to succeed in post-secondary studies,” said Gary Lima, Senior Vice-President, Academic Services at Fanshawe.
UAlberta Students Hold Turban-Tying Event in Reaction to Posters
Source: Edmonton Journal via Academica
In response to the recently discovered and removed racist posters on campus, the Sikh Students’ Association and the World Sikh Organization of Canada held a turban-tying event called “Turban, eh?” in the University of Alberta Students’ Union building. The event invited any interested persons to have a turban tied on their heads, and provided the opportunity for participants to ask the volunteers questions. Faculty, staff, and students from UAlberta were joined by politicians and community members for the event. UAlberta President David Turpin commented that he was filled with pride at the event, stating that “it really is an opportunity to stand up and say what it means to be Canadian.”
Synergy Conference 2016
Our 10th annual Canada-India: A Synergy in Education conference will took place on September 23 from 1 – 5pm at the Ontario Investment & Trade Centre. Scroll through the presentation below for a brief recap.
CIEC would like to thank all Synergy 2016 speakers and attendees for helping to make this year’s event yet another success. We hope the conference provided you with the chance to network with like-minded individuals while furthering the discussion of programs and policies in education that have been hailed as priorities.
Canada Student Visa Policy Changes Worry NS Language Schools
A recent change to international student visa requirements has caused concern among Nova Scotia’s English language schools, reports CBC. Introduced in July, the new legislative changes require international students in Canada to obtain a second visa before moving from secondary to postsecondary school. “What happened before the changes is students could apply for language training and university training and receive one study permit to cover the whole of the time that they were going to be in Canada,” says Sheila Nunn, president of East Coast School of Languages in Halifax. “This gave them the confidence that they knew that they would go on to the university, they didn’t have to apply for any other paperwork.” Nunn adds that the new regulations might jeopardize pathways programs currently established at NS universities.
International Medical Residents Struggle with Culture Shock
Source: National Post via Academica
Graduates of foreign medical schools often face a significant clash of cultures when they pursue two-year family medicine residencies in Canada, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Alberta and University of Calgary. The report notes that while Canada relies heavily on international medical graduates, many of these graduates may struggle with unfamiliar cultural experiences, such as being taught by female instructors, working with the mentally ill, and having difficulty with the nuances of English. “In some countries, males look after males and females look after females,” said Olga Szafran, associate research director in the University of Alberta’s family-medicine department and the study’s lead author, “but we can’t be selective in the kind of patients that our physicians end up treating.”
College Faculty Adapting Their Teaching for Foreign Students
Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education via Academica
As postsecondary institutions become increasingly internationalized, colleges are noticing that their faculty members must also adapt to meet the cultural and pedagogical needs of their new classrooms, writes Karin Fischer for the Chronicle of Higher Education. The article discusses a number of faculty methods for better reaching international students, such as posting lecture slides online, ending lectures early to allow for questions, and providing translations of classroom slides or syllabi. “There are many different ways that students learn, no matter where they are from,” says Association of International Education Administrators Executive Director Darla Deardorff, who adds that “changing our strategies doesn’t mean we are … making our courses any less rigorous.”
Reverse Culture Shock Common in International Exchanges, but Not Often Discussed
Source: University Affairs via Academica
Writing in University Affairs, Concordia University student Pierre-Alexandre Bolduc recounts how his return to Montreal after two semesters abroad was “as much of an experience and adaptation as going abroad.” Reverse culture shock is a common, but unexpected and under-discussed sensation of “re-culturing” one’s self to a place, according to Concordia Psychology Lecturer Dorothea Bye. She believes that exchange students need to “talk to people who have gone through the same things as they did,” and Concordia International is considering offering resources specifically to returning exchange students. Concordia sends between 350 and 400 students on international exchange every year.
Students and Parents Differ in Their Views on PSE, Jobs
A recent poll has revealed the differences between parents and students in their perception of why students attend PSE. Students were significantly more likely than their parents to report that one of their motivations in attending PSE was to satisfy their parents. In terms of career, parents were more likely than students to believe that finding a meaningful and fulfilling job would make their children happy. While attending PSE “to maximize the chances of having a career that [they] will be happy with” was the most influential factor for both groups, parents were significantly more likely to cite this reason than students.
Why Indians Study Abroad
Source: Education Times
With a topic inspired by almost 10 years spent working within the Indian community in Australia and living in India, Nonie Tuxen’s thesis explores the growth of the ‘new’ Indian middle class and their desire for overseas education.
On her choice of topic, she says: “During my undergraduate, I worked part-time in an Indian restaurant and got a first-hand experience of Indian students’ dreams and aspirations to study overseas. Also, my parents had come to India for their honeymoon so I was quite interested about the country. I visited India many times over the years and witnessed the change in the country’s upwardly mobile middle class and their fascination for overseas education.”
Tuxen says that countries should understand the value of studying abroad for international students and allow work rights for at least two to three years. “My research indicates that gaining professional exposure in an international setting is a key factor in determining what and where young Indians choose to study.”
To read the full article, visit the Education Times.
More Than Half of International Students Have no Canadian Friends
Source: Times Higher Education via Academica
According to Janine Knight-Grofe from the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE), 56% of international students in Canada said they have no Canadian friends. “We are missing out on one of the strategic advantages of international education, one that we as international educators frequently tout,” Knight-Grofe said at last week’s annual conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. One-third of international students said they found it difficult to meet Canadian students and half experienced challenges meeting Canadians off campus. The issue is particularly acute for students from the Middle East and North Africa: only 28% of these students had any Canadian friends.
Premier Kathleen Wynne Announces Mission to India
Source: Ontario News Release
Premier Kathleen Wynne will lead a mission to India in early 2016 to foster more opportunities for trade and investment and promote Ontario’s expertise in sustainable development.
A main component of the trip will be a business delegation that will visit New Delhi and Mumbai — India’s governing and economic centres — as well as Hyderabad and Chandigarh. Premier Wynne will meet with government and industry decision-makers to discuss how Ontario’s expertise makes the province an attractive partner as India works toward achieving its sustainable development goals. She will also highlight the province’s position as the North American leader in attracting foreign capital investment. The mission is expected to result in several new agreements that will create jobs and boost the provincial economy.
As part of the trip, Premier Wynne will also meet with cultural leaders to reinforce Ontario’s commitment to fostering stronger ties with India.
Providing more opportunities for Ontario companies to compete internationally is part of the government’s economic plan. The four-part plan is building Ontario up by investing in people’s talents and skills, making the largest investment in public infrastructure in the province’s history, creating a dynamic, innovative environment where business thrives, and building a secure retirement savings plan.
Synergy 2015
Synergy Education Conference: Academia Meets Industry & The Role India Can Play
POST EVENT REPORT
October 30, 2015 • Hilton Garden Inn (Toronto Airport West) • 1870 Matheson Blvd • Mississauga, ON • L4W 0B3
CIEC would like to thank all Synergy 2015 Presenters and Participants for helping to make this year’s event yet another success. CIEC was proud to host Synergy 2015 which explored the academia-industry partnerships and whether they are a myth or reality in the Canada-India context. This year’s exciting agenda featured distinguished speakers, key academics and Provincial/Federal representatives such as India’s Consul General Hon. Akhilesh Mishra, President of the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) Sanjay Makkar, Chair of the Canada India Business Council Yezdi Pavri more.
We hope Synergy 2015 provided you with valuable networking opportunities and served as a platform for discussion of emerging issues and areas of possible co-operation as well as governments’ programs & policies in education that have been hailed as a priority. We are happy to share the very informative Powerpoint presentations accompanying this year’s sessions. Please click here to view our Youtube playlist of all presentations or view our photos on Google+.
Hon. Pierre S. Pettigrew offered the Opening Address which highlighted the role of the middle class in economic growth and offered insights into the present and future of Canada-India education relations. Hon. Akhilesh Mishra, India’s Consul General gave a moving presentation titled ‘Canada & India: How our paths intersect’ and Prof. Balbir Sahni, Professor Emeritus, Economics, Concordia University, offered the Inaugural Address ‘ACADEMIA-INDUSTRY LINKAGES: a Myth or Reality? – Canada-India Context’. Yezdi Pavri, Chair, Canada-India Business Council (CIBC) presented the keynote address ‘Academia & Industry: linkages and role India can play’ with Q&A, which highlighted CIBC’s as well as the the corporate role in establishing industry-academic linkages and promoting Canadian education in India.
Thanks @CanadaIndiaEdu for inviting me to speak on opportunities for Canada in tech & vocational education in India. pic.twitter.com/W4oSJXDovW
— Akhilesh Mishra (@AkhileshIFS) October 31, 2015
Dr. Ragini Bilolikar, Academic Advisor – India, Canada India Education Council prepared a synopsis of the ‘The National Skills Development Council (NSDC). Veenaa Kumari, Research Scholar, shared tips on talent supply chain management and Dr. Peter Geller, Vice Provost & AVP, University of Fraser Valley shared insights on UFV’s successful & unique India initiative during his presentation ‘Ten Years of the University of the Fraser Valley’s Campus in Chandigarh: Moving Beyond Challenge to Success’. Vijendra “VJ” Gairola, CIEC’s Senior Strategic Advisor & Sheila Embleton, Professor of Linguistics, York University hosted a roundtable discussion with Synergy participants on the skills shortage in India as well as the current state and future trends of academic-industry linkages. Synergy Sponsor Hanson International Academy also made a very informative presentation on the role Hybrid Institutions can play in the Canada-India education corridor and offered keen advice on pursuing the right type of partnership for each institution.
Hanson was thrilled to sponsor #Synergy2015. We learned so much! Till next year @CanadaIndiaEdu ! pic.twitter.com/cSVJvUx8EJ
— Hanson International (@HansonInt) November 5, 2015
CIEC thanks our sponsors for making Synergy 2015 possible:
Gold Sponsor: Hanson International Academy
Interested in becoming a Synergy 2015 Sponsor?
Learn more about the benefits of Synergy Sponsorship.
New Prime Minister of India Gives Hope to Hindi Translators
Contributed by: Ravi Kumar (Founder) of Hindi Center
With a new government in place in India, Hindi seems to be bouncing back with a bang. Not only in India but in the world at large. The international business community has read the writing on the wall. If the world wants to do business with India, business community need to communicate with the new prime minister Mr. Narendra Modi in Hindi. Modi is market friendly and has acquired a solid reputation as a tough man and a quick decision maker. It is not surprising that 19th June newspapers have carried a news that the Indian Home ministry has asked government offices to give preference to Hindi. These are the signs of changing times. More is likely to come soon.
For the complete article, visit HindiCenter.com
Universities Should Make Better Use of Campus Radio
Source: University Affairs via Academica
An article in University Affairs suggests that some Canadian universities may not be taking full advantage of their campus radio stations. Benjamin Miller argues that radio can offer universities strategic and pedagogic benefits, being an especially useful tool for appealing to new immigrants and international students. Many campus stations broadcast content that is in neither French nor English, quickly reaching a diverse audience. Universities can also use their radio stations to develop their campus identity, interacting with their communities and providing a platform to share the work of different departments. Professors, for instance, might broadcast course-related podcasts or develop class projects that incorporate radio as a multimedia element. “Campus radio is a strategic asset for reaching out to thousands of potential students across Canada. It is a wonderful part of university life, and universities can only benefit by using it better,” writes Miller.
CIEC and Stephen Harper Attend the 14th National Diwali Celebration in Toronto
On October 18, 2014, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, along with Husain F. Neemuchwala (CIEC – CEO) & Kalpa Pathak (CIEC – Director of Public Affairs & Member Services) took part in the 14th National Diwali Celebration at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton, Canada.
View photos from the 14th National Diwali Celebration on our Google+ page
Synergy 2014: Post Event Report
November 17, 2014 • Westin Ottawa
On November 17, 2014 CIEC hosted the ‘Canada-India: Synergy in Education’ Conference 2014 in Ottawa. This year’s event took place before CBIE’s annual conference and explored the convergence of sports and entertainment in the education sector.. asking the question: Is India the next frontier? View event photos
- Discussed sports management, sports marketing, sports scholarships, talent acquisition, scouting and related topics…
- Exchanged ideas & experiences, explore opportunities, pitfalls & challenges, highlight your sports / entertainment programs, network with stakeholders active in both markets and create valuable connections…
With sessions by CBIE and DFATD, augmented by multiple workshop-style sessions led by the Hon. Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport), this was a must-attend event for those active or interested in examining India as a possible frontier in this corridor. Hon. Bal Gosal outlined the $200 million set aside by the federal government for sports, including the athlete assistance program. He also discussed trade between Canada & India and projected that once the new trade agreements are in place trade between these nations will triple to $15 billion annually.
Patrick Brown, MP and Co-Chair of the Canada India Parliamentary Association presented on Ottawa’s role in this growing sector. He discussed India’s booming population, counting 500 million young people, and expressed his hopes that we see an influx of these young people coming into Canada. Jennifer Humphries, CBIE presented the details on CBIE’s plan for the future.Attendees also heard ex- NHL’er Doug Smith lend his expertise and a decade of high performance playing at the elite level. He discussed sport
s injuries as well as athletic programming & how it can benefit academic institutiions. Doug Smith also shared stories of his fascinating life, recovery, and the impact of trauma and injury on sports performance. He also described how behavior drives culture in sports.
Dr. Brian Mcpherson, with 30 years experience in leading government relations, sport marketing and innovative initiatives, described Commonwealth Games Canada and its 3 programs
Participants of Synergy 2014 explored this exciting new frontier and mingled with sports and entertainment figures & key stakeholders in this thought-provoking Conference.
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View Synergy 2014 photos.
View previous presentations & photos or view all past events.
Useful links regarding obtaining a VISA
Agenda
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Conferences, such as this one, are crucial to Canada-India relations, because they allow for growth and promoting knowledge between the two countries….’
– Hon. Deepak Obhrai, P.C., M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and for International Human Rights
Events such as this remind us that when many come together for a single cause, much can be accomplished. Prime Minister Harper said: “There is s tremendous amount of potential in our relationship with India. We share a history of cooperation in the Commonwealth and the United Nations, as well as a shared commitment to pluralism, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Our goal is to build a stronger, more dynamic partnership based on shared commercial, political and regional interests.” As Minister for Multiculturalism, I would like to thank the members of the Canada India Education Council for your ongoing work in support of cooperation between Canada and India in the field of education. – Hon. Jason Kenney, PC, MP Minister of Employment and Social Development & Minister for Multiculturalism
The ‘Business of Education’ Dinner in Vancouver, BC
Post-Event Report
Friday, June 6, 2014, Vancouver, BC | Fairmont Waterfront Hotel
CIEC’s Canada West Chapter’s must-attend, landmark event featured a “who’s who” of education including illustrious speakers such as Hon. Minister Amrik Virk, BC Minister of Advanced Education, Hon. Minister Peter Fassbender, BC Minister of Education, Hon. Deepak Obhrai, MP & Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 5 University Presidents…and over 200 participants.
To view photos of the event, please visit Event Photos.
To view testimonials of Hon. Jason Kenney, PC, MP Minister of Employment and Social Development & Minister for Multiculturalism as well as Christy Clark, Premier, British Columbia, please visit Testimonials.
Event participants:
- Exchanged ideas via a focused networking event
- Learned about BC’s new Education Quality Assurance (EQA) standards
- Explored opportunities and build a collaborative approach. Share experiences and avoid potential pitfalls
- Highlighted your initiatives to peers and receive effective marketing tips and benefit from existing synergies
- Examined the confluence of ‘business’ with education. How do we measure our ‘ROI’ ? (Scroll down for Event Agenda)
Learn about Sponsorship Benefits
View Speaker Profiles
View Event Photos
Event Agenda
CIEC Presents… The ‘Business of Education’ Dinner in Vancouver, BC
On June 6, CIEC will host a landmark dinner event in Vancouver, BC at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. CIEC’s Canada West Chapter’s must-attend event will feature a “who’s who” of education including illustrious speakers such as:
- Hon. Minister Amrik Virk, BC Minister of Advanced Education
- Hon. Minister Peter Fassbender, BC Minister of Education
- Hon. Alice Wong, Minister of State for Seniors
- Devinder Shory, MP Calgary Northeast
- Hon. Pierre S. Pettigrew, PC, Chair, Canada India Education Council
- Prof. Niloufer Adil, CIEC’s Academic Advisor & Past Secretary-India’s University Grants Commission (UGC)
- Dr. Alan Davis, President-Kwantlen Polytechnic University
- Dr. Robert Kuhn, President & Chancellor, Trinity Western University
- Prof. Andrew Petter, President- Simon Fraser University
- Dr. Lane Trotter, President & CEO, Langara College
Learn about BC’s new education quality assurance standards (EQA) and examine the confluence of ‘business’ with education. How do we measure ‘ROI’? BC is committed to increasing international students by 50% by 2016.
Register or view Agenda / Speaker Profiles / Sponsorship Options
Governor General to Undertake State Visit to the Republic of India
Source: Consulate General of Canada News Release | February 19, 2014
OTTAWA—At the request of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, Their Excellencies the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, and Mrs. Sharon Johnston will conduct a State visit to the Republic of India, from February 22 to March 2, 2014.
“Sharon and I are looking forward to our State visit to India, which will be centred on the themes of innovation, entrepreneurship and education, with a special focus on the contributions of women and girls,” His Excellency said. “This visit is a reflection of the importance Canada attaches to its relationship with India. Both of our countries are committed to strengthening our partnership and co-operation. The Canada-India economic relationship is strong and holds tremendous potential for broader and expanded collaboration. During our time spent in New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai, we will meet with government officials, representatives from the business and education sectors, and those from non-governmental organizations with the aim of advancing our economic, academic and cultural ties with our Indian counterparts.”
His Excellency will be joined by parliamentarians and an accompanying delegation of Canadians who will enhance business, academic, cultural and people-to-people ties with their Indian counterparts. These exchanges will further develop the wide-ranging and multi-faceted relationship with India, a major economic player and priority market for Canada, and will provide greater impetus to bilateral initiatives in various sectors, particularly in strategies promoting innovation, entrepreneurship and education.
State Visit to India: New Delhi (February 22 to 25)
In the capital city of New Delhi, Their Excellencies will be officially welcomed by the President and Prime Minister of India during a welcoming ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan, the Presidential Palace. To underscore the important friendship and co-operation between both countries, and on behalf of the people of Canada, Their Excellencies will present an inuksuk to the people of India.
During this visit, His Excellency will meet with Canadian and Indian business leaders to discuss our nations’ economic relationship at a business meeting with the Chambers of Commerce hosted by the Government of India, and at the Canada-India CEO Forum. The Governor General will also discuss the role of innovation in addressing global health challenges during the Grand Challenges Global Health Innovation Roundtable, organized by Grand Challenges Canada.
Her Excellency will discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by women researchers supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and also by women entrepreneurs. She will also visit non-governmental organizations (NGOs) providing education to underprivileged children, and free services to children diagnosed with cancer.
State Visit to India – Bangalore (February 26 and 27)
In Bangalore, Their Excellencies will meet with the Governor of Karnataka. They will visit the All India Coordinated Small Millets Improvement Project—created by IDRC and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) at the University of Agricultural Sciences, in Bangalore—as well as inaugurate the new consulate general, which will oversee Canada’s expanded presence in South India.
His Excellency will discuss the importance of skills development in further building connections between Canadian and Indian institutions during a panel discussion, and participate in a Canada-India discussion on innovation hosted by the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada and the National Innovation Council of India.
Her Excellency will visit NGOs dedicated to helping children with HIV and to supporting Indian women entrepreneurs.
State Visit to India – Mumbai (February 27 to March 2)
While in Mumbai, Their Excellencies will meet with the Governor of Maharashtra, and pay their respects at a memorial to the 32 victims of the November 2008 terrorist attack on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. During a visit to Dharavi, one of the largest slums in Asia, Their Excellencies will see, first-hand, examples of India’s deep-seated entrepreneurship and various micro-businesses. They will also discuss the future of audiovisual co-production between Canada and India at Film City, one of the largest shooting locations in India.
In addition, His Excellency will have the opportunity to open the stock market at the Bombay Stock Exchange, and witness the inauguration of BIL-Ryerson DMZ India Ltd., an incubation centre for entrepreneurs supported in partnership with the Bombay Stock Exchange Institute, Ryerson University and Simon Fraser University. He will also address innovators and entrepreneurs at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay; business leaders at the Indo-Canadian Business Chamber Annual Convention; and the heads of various educational institutions to exchange views on skills development and the future of education in India.
Her Excellency will meet with women leaders from the private and public sectors, civil society and academia on the status of women in India, and visit a strategic philanthropy NGO co-founded and co-managed by an Indo-Canadian. She will also meet with social workers and volunteers who prevent second-generation trafficking among the children of sex workers in Asia’s largest and oldest red-light district.
Visits abroad by a governor general play an important role in Canada’s relations with other countries. They are highly valuable as they help broaden bilateral relations and exchanges among peoples.
Members of the public can follow the Governor General’s State visit to the Republic of India online at www.gg.ca, where speeches, photos and videos will be posted.
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The detailed itinerary and a list of accompanying delegates will be published at a later date.
Media information:
Marie-Ève Létourneau Rideau Hall Press Office 613-998-0287 [email protected]
Translating Culture vs. Cultural Translation
Source: Hindi Center
Contact: Ravi Kumar, President – Indian Translators Association, 613-707-1349; [email protected]
Harish Trivedi, Professor at University of Delhi, highly appreciates the fact that over last two or three decades, translation and translation studies have become a more visible, more prolific and more respectable activity than ever before.
Trivedi further links this discipline with post-colonial studies that emerged as an area of studies just a few years before translation studies and both of them have become interactive to each through a series of books in this direction, eg. Siting Translation: History, Poststructuralism and the Colonial Context (1992) by Tejaswini Niranjana, The Poetics of Imperialism: Translation and Colonization from The Tempest to Tarzan (1997) by Eric Cheyfitz, Translation and Empire: Postcolonial Theories Explained (1997) by Douglas Robinson, and Postcolonial Translation: Theory and Practice (1999), a collection of essays edited by Susan Bassnett and Harish Trivedi etc.
Before new development took place, translation remained confined to two different subjects or discipline: linguistics and comparative literature, and remained restricted to substitution of a text in one language for a text in another. But shortly after, it began to be noticed that literary texts were constituted not primarily of language but in fact of culture, language being in effect a vehicle of culture.
Trivedi recognizes that interaction of language with culture helped translation studies expand its horizons and revitalize the discipline. This helped liberate it from the completely mechanical tool of analysis available in linguistics. The words which proved intractable are often described as being culture specific. For example, words like kurta, dhoti, roti, loochi, dharma, karma, or maya etc. began to be treated as specific cultural elements very different from their corresponding western near equivalence shirt, trouser, bread, religion, deeds both past and present, or illusion respectively. Slowly not only some words were taken as culture specific but indeed the whole language became specific to the particular culture it belonged to.
Trivedi refers to Susan Bassnett and Andre Lefevere who added cultural dimension to translation studies through their title, ‘the cultural turn in translation studies’ in their book – Translation History and Culture (1990). Trivedi further explains, it was Susan Bassnett who declared death of comparative literature in wake of gaining popularity of post–colonial literature.
Trivedi is concerned with the fact that in parallel there has been growth of Culture Studies – from Eurocentric beginning to International stature- which is like translation studies is interdisciplinary in nature, but of them have failed to interact properly. Susan Bassnett did propose a four point agenda: the way in which different culture construct their images of writers and texts, a tracking of the ways in which text become cultural capital across culture boundaries, and an exploration of the politics of translation, especially of what Lawerence Venuti has called, “ethnocentric violence of translation”, and pooling of the resources.
Trivedi is disappointed with the fact that the cultural turn in translation and culture studies have not come to terms together, maybe because of the fact that translation deals at least between two languages whereas culture studies deals only in one language mainly English. Hence it remains an unfulfilled desire.
Trivedi further moves on to yet another discipline called, “Cultural Translation”. This may not be confused with old fashioned sense of translation that involves domestication of text from source to target language. This sort of cultural translation is yet to find its entry in the encyclopedia and anthologies of translation studies, and that this sort of Cultural translation is a dangerous trend that promotes monolingualism, monoculturalism and wants to convert multicultural and diversified world to a monolithic world.
Trivedi sites some examples of this postcolonial and postmodernist discourse and refers to Homi Bhabha who promotes this trend. Trivedi is critical of Bhabha who in his book, “The Location of Culture (1994)” discusses Salman Rushdie’s novel “Satanic Verses” as an example of cultural translation, inspite of the fact that this mentioned book was written originally in English and read in that language only (not in any other translation). Trivedi called it representation of postcolonial diaspora, and what Bhaba is talking is “Transnational as Translational”. Trivedi rejects this concept and suggests for use of another word in place of translation. It is not translation, it is a process of human migrancy.
Trivedi further sites examples of Hanif Kureishi, a writer born in England with one British and one Indian/Pakistani parents. He has nothing to do with immigrant population as he is by birth British, but he writes on new British immigrant’s communities because he is being paid for it. Thus Trivedi rejects Bhabha’s claim that cultural translation is the need of immigrant population, and asserts that such works are hegemonic western demand and necessity.
Trivedi further sites examples of Jhumpa Lahiri, who was born of Bengali parents in London, grew in America to become an American citizen at age of 18. She has written fiction not about Indians in America, but also some stories about Indians still living in India. She has been criticized for having reflected erroneous and defective understanding of India. She admits that her knowledge of India is limited- the same way- all translations are defective, thus her representation of India is her translation of India. She further elaborates that almost all her characters are translators, insofar as they must make sense to the foreign to survive.
Trivedi is very much worried about use of the word translation with cultural translation as it dilutes the discipline of translation studies. Therefore, he calls for use of other words like migrancy, exile or diaspora with culture to describe such phenomenon, but not the “Translation”.
Trivedi is worried over Susan Bassnett’s statement on Edwin Gentzler’s book, “Contemporary Translation Theories” where she says, “… the book is not only a critical survey but effectively also a translation, it transforms a whole range of complex theoretical material into accessible language”. Trivedi puts his concern by saying, “it is the same language English, in which such theoretical complexity and such accessibility both exist”.
Thus we notice that Trivedi ‘s concern on dilution of the word ‘translation’ with monolingual cultural interpretation of migrant population is quite genuine, and that a careful approach is needed to tackle such dilution process that aims to bury multilingualism, multiculturalism and diversity of culture in name of cultural translation.
Conference “Access to Rights and Resources: Challenges of Contemporary India” at University of Montreal
The University of Montreal will be hosting a Conference titled “Access to rights and resources : challenges of contemporary India” to be held at the Symposium Research Center, Carrefour des Arts and Sciences University of Montreal February 7, 2014 .
The conference will be organized around three round tables whose themes are 1) access to the justice system , the recognition of rights and gender; 2 ) Sustainable development, environment , socio-economic inequalities ; 3) open discussion on the upcoming elections in India.
On Thursday, February 6 in the evening, there will also be a keynote address delivered by Mrs. Mira Kamdar World Policy Institute entitled “India 21ie Century.” Ms. Kamdar is associate expert at the Asia Society in New York and professor specializing on India at Science Po Paris .
You can find more information on our website at www.cerium.ca/prias
Ottawa Aims to Double Number of Foreign Students
Program to be announced Wednesday will target countries with a fast-growing middle class…
Source: Peter O’Neil and Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun | Jan 14, 2014. Photo: Ajay Patel works at attracting foreign students to Langara College (CIEC Member). Photo by Wayne Leidenfrost, Vancouver Sun
OTTAWA — The Harper government will outline plans Wednesday to double the number of international students in Canada by targeting China and other fast-growing countries, The Sun has learned. It is the latest step in the federal strategy to make economic development the heart of Canada’s foreign policy.
More diplomatic, visa-processing and marketing resources will be shifted to China, Vietnam, India, Brazil, Mexico and the Middle East/North Africa region (including Turkey), in order to help recruit the world’s best and brightest, Trade Minister Ed Fast is to announce in Toronto.
The goal is to boost the number of international students and academic researchers to more than 450,000 by 2022, which translates into a huge cash injection for universities due in part to the higher tuitions paid by non-Canadians.
That will be done “without displacing Canadian students,” Fast is to tell an audience at Ryerson University, according to a partial transcript of his prepared statement.
Canadian full-time undergraduates paid on average $5,772 this year in tuition, or 3.3 per cent higher than 2012-13, according to Statistics Canada. Internationals paid more than triple that, and the average $19,514 tuition they paid was 6.8 per cent higher than the previous year.
The federal strategy is to boost the number of Canadian jobs “sustained” by international students by 86,500, or double the current number, according to Ottawa’s calculations.
“International education is a key driver of jobs and prosperity in every region of Canada,” Fast, the MP for Abbotsford, is to say.
Canada is in a “fiercely competitive” battle with other countries, especially the U.S., Britain and Australia, for international students.
The strategy will “help us advance Canada’s commercial interests in priority markets around the world and ensure that we maximize the people-to-people ties that help Canadian workers, businesses and world-class educational institutions achieve real success in the largest, most dynamic and fastest-growing economies in the world.”
The strategy includes $13 million over two years for Mitacs, a Vancouver-based national not-for-profit company that helps Canadian university students obtain placements in academic institutions in China, Brazil, India, Mexico, Turkey and Vietnam.
Another $5 million a year, committed in the 2013 federal budget, will fund a “branding and marketing” campaign that will promote Canada as a destination for students seeking a high-quality education at a relatively low cost.
That’s necessary, according to research, because foreigners typically first choose a country they want to study and potentially live in before they select a particular institution.
A 2012 study estimated that international students spent $8 billion a year on tuition, accommodation and discretionary spending — an amount greater than the total annual overseas sales of Canadian aircraft. Ontario and B.C. get two-thirds of all international students in Canada.
Sandra Schinnerl, director of Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s (CIEC Academic Member) Office of International Students and Scholars, said they’d love to see more support from the provincial and federal governments, noting “they’ve always pushed back” for years.
Canada is ranked about fifth in the world as an international education destination, and it’s critical that Canada ups its game to keep or improve this rank, Schinnerl added, especially as countries such as Singapore and Malaysia jump into the fray. Russia may also become a competitive force for international education if it re-invests in its post-secondary infrastructure.
“From Canada’s perspective and B.C.’s perspective, we hope to have more international students than our share traditionally,” Schinnerl said. “Canada is now paying more attention and the government is putting more resources into raising the profile of the country as a destination.
“The resources at the national and provincial government levels are modest but they are more than they’ve ever been.”
The report follows the recommendation of a separate 2012 report submitted by a panel headed by University of Western Ontario (CIEC Academic Member) President Amit Chakma, a native of Bangladesh who obtained two graduate degrees in chemical engineering at the University of B.C. before obtaining positions at the University of Calgary, the University of Regina (CIEC Academic Member), and the University of Waterloo.
The panel also included Don Wright, then president of the B.C. Institute of Technology, and Lorna Smith, director of international education at Calgary’s Mount Royal University.
The advisory report said adding more international students will boost innovation in Canada, make Canadian students “citizens of the world,” create international alumni networks that will facilitate trade and investment, and help ease Canadian skilled labour shortages.
“The more the merrier,” said Ajay Patel, dean of international education at Langara College (CIEC Academic Member). “They add a richness not only to our classrooms but our culture and help Canadians have a better idea of what the world is like.”
Patel maintains international students not only offer a different perspective of the world, but many will contribute to the society here, or provide important connections when they return to their home countries.
“What we’re seeing is more and more students are becoming mobile; they want to travel and get an education abroad. Part of it is because the globe is getting smaller. Canada is definitely a destination of choice and Vancouver has a soft spot in that.”
Many of B.C.’s universities and colleges — including Langara, Kwantlen Polytechnic University and Simon Fraser University (CIEC Academic Members) — tend to draw most of their international students from Asia, predominantly China, but also from Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea.
Langara, Kwantlen and the University of B.C. are also a big draw for scholarship students from places like Brazil and Saudi Arabia.
But most say they are also eyeing other parts of the world, mainly the countries with a fast-growing middle class that the Harper government has targeted.
Langara, for instance, is focusing its latest recruitment drive on India, while Kwantlen has set its sights on Kazakhstan, Colombia, Nigeria and Vietnam or “anywhere there’s an increasing middle class” to add to its 18,000-student population, said Sandra Schinnerl, director of Kwantlen’s Office of International Students and Scholars.
“We’re less interested in the numbers than we are in the mix,” Schinnerl said. “You wouldn’t want all international students coming from the same country.”
Aaron Andersen, UBC’s regional recruitment director, agreed, noting UBC does not have one single country that represents more than 30 per cent of its 9,000 international students.
The university is working in about 60 countries, including Brazil, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
UBC is planning a recruitment trip to Mexico, which he said is a fantastic partner and offers strong economic, cultural and tourism opportunities. “It’s international but it’s still close,” Andersen said.
The report praised the B.C. government’s “leadership role,” noting the province’s own strategy to sharply increase international student intake.
In the past 10 years alone, Canadian colleges and universities have more than doubled their cohort of foreign students to 225,000 in 2011. B.C. campuses get almost three out of 10 of that total.
According to the B.C. Council for International Education, there were more than 100,000 international students in B.C. in 2011-12, injecting more than $2 billion into the economy — up 17 per cent from 2010, according to a recent report by Roslyn Kunin and Associates, Inc.
Andersen noted international students also enhance UBC’s reputation, not just abroad but in North America. Both UBC and SFU say the U.S. is one of its most important sources for international students and offers “fantastic business opportunities for Canada.”
SFU, for instance, is seeing rapid growth among international students from the American west coast, mainly because it is an NCAA sports school, said Bing Lee, SFU’s assistant director of new student enrolment and transition. He said SFU is also looking to recruit more students from Africa.
“It adds to the dynamic of being an undergrad,” Lee said. “It opens our eyes, having that experience working with undergraduate students from other parts of the world.”
The Harper government has drawn both praise and criticism for realigning Canada’s foreign policy to put a greater emphasis on trade, investment and recruiting skilled workers who can add to Canadian productivity.
One of the more controversial moves was to make the old Canadian International Development Agency a part of the expanded department of foreign affairs, trade and development. Aid officials have been directed to put more emphasis on aid projects that support Canadian investments abroad, especially in the huge mining industry.
Critics have argued that the moves have de-emphasized human rights and alleviating poverty.
Dinner Roundtable Discussion: ‘Canada-India Economic Relations: CEPA and Beyond’
Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI) and Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) with support of Dr. Asha Seth, Senator, are organizing a Dinner Roundtable Discussion
on “Canada-India Economic Relations: CEPA and Beyond” which would take place in Parliament Hill (Room 237- C Centre Block), Ottawa on Tuesday November 19, 2013 from 6.30 PM to 8.30 P.M.
a) Education, skill development and vocational training
b) Innovation, science and technology, and sustainable development
c) Investment
In addition, there will be an exchange of views on:
- The need for a cohesive and coordinated approach at the national level involving representatives from government, industry/private sector, and academia;
- The increasingly important role of Canadian provinces and Indian states as emerging players for strengthening Canada-India partnership;
- The critical role of synergistic actions by Indo-Canadians, other bridge-builders and stakeholders for building comprehensive economic partnerships
Please contact [email protected] for more information.
“Saving Brains” of Kids: Grand Challenges Canada Funds Project in India and Worldwide
Source: Government of Canada | Grand Challenges Canada, funded by the Government of Canada, today extended a total of CDN $10.1 million (INR 60 crore) to 14 bold, creative projects aimed at improving the early brain development of kids in low-resource countries.
Seed grants of CDN $270,000 (INR 1.6 crore) each are given to seven organizations overseas — in India, Vietnam (2 grants), Bangladesh, Kenya, Zambia and Peru. And three seed grants are given to Canadian organizations: the Hospital for Sick Kids, Toronto (two grants), and the University Health Network, Toronto.
Projects in Jamaica, Colombia, Bangladesh and Indonesia are scale-up award nominees (board-approved grants up to CDN $2 million, pending successful contract negotiations).
All 14 projects will be implemented in developing countries: five in Africa, six in Asia and three in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“Impoverished brains result in impoverished countries,” says Dr. Peter A. Singer, CEO of Grand Challenges Canada. “For a wide range of sad, all-too-familiar and preventable reasons, an estimated 200 million children under 5 years old in the world’s 112 low- and middle-income countries will fail to reach their brain’s full development potential.”
“These projects illustrate well the success of our search for ‘bold ideas with big impact, pioneering new approaches worldwide to maximize the number of kids in low-resource countries who achieve and contribute to their fullest capabilities,” Dr. Singer added.
The seed fund grant in India went to designing iron-fortified biscuits to reduce maternal and child anemia. After extensive consumer research, the nutrition team led by Dr A.V. Kurpad and the project collaborators, Violet Health Inc have developed several prototypes specifically designed with the tastes and preferences of pregnant women in India,” says project leader Dr. Pratibha Dwarkanath of St John’s Research Institute, unit of CBCI Society for Medical Education.
“We estimate our solution to be more cost-effective than the iron pill, while reaching more anemic women and their children”
“After proof of concept, we anticipate a scaled trial in Karnataka within three years and reducing anemia in women and infants.”
Says Mrs. Laureen Harper, honorary chairperson of the program: “The Grand Challenges Canada Saving Brains program is designed to help millions of children in developing countries who fail to reach their full development potential due to such factors as malnutrition, infection, birth complications, or a lack of nurturing and stimulation at an early age.”
Says the Honourable Christian Paradis, Canadian Minister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie: “Our Government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Harper, is committed to advancing the health of the world’s most vulnerable mothers, newborns and children. We are proud to partner with Grand Challenges Canada to find innovative solutions to the most pressing global health challenges. The Saving Brains program is just one example of how innovation can help improve the lives of children in their earliest days. ”
Seed grant award to India
Iron-fortified biscuits to reduce maternal and child anemia
St John’s Research Institute, Unit of CBCI Society for Medical Education, Bangalore, (India)
Anemia — a low level of red blood cells causing a body’s reduced capacity to carry oxygen — results from micronutrient deficiencies, most often iron.
India has one of the highest rates of anemia globally: over 79% of children aged 6 to 8 months and 58% of the 26 million pregnant women each year. Some 17 million of these women have access to iron pills yet 11 million do not take them for the recommended time (adherence rate: 35%). Why? The pill is big and tastes metallic.
Yet iron deficiency anemia dramatically affects the health of a pregnant woman and her unborn baby, increasing risks of death and sickness during childbirth, including haemorrhage and low-birth weight. Long-term, iron deficiency anemia delays psychomotor development and impairs cognitive development in infants, preschool and school-aged children around the world.
Moreover, researchers say, the effects of anemia are, “not likely to be corrected by subsequent iron therapy… anemic children will have impaired performance in tests of language skills, motor skills, and coordination, reportedly equivalent to a 5 to 10 point deficit in IQ.”
Part of the answer may be an iron-fortified biscuit for use by pregnant women, indistinguishable in taste from popular Indian biscuits.
Coupled with marketing, project leaders say their new biscuit is more likely to be used by previously non-adherent pregnant women, and increase iron stores in newborns, “which translates to more sustainable and protected early brain development.”
Project collaborators include Violet Health, Inc., NY, and the Indian Institute of Management, India Bangalore.
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Background
* * * * *
Saving Brains
The Grand Challenges Canada Saving Brains Program promotes fulfillment of human capital potential by focusing on interventions that nurture brain development in the first 1,000 days of life. The goal of the Saving Brains program is to unlock the potential of children by developing and scaling up products, services and policies that protect and nurture early brain development in an equitable and sustainable manner. Almost CDN $30 million (180 crore INR) has been committed to date. In addition to projects, the Saving Brains program is investing in an authoritative quantification of the economic impact and true costs of poverty-related risk factors for cognitive and human capital development.
Grand Challenges Canada invites global, regional and corporate partners committed to enabling innovation for early brain development to join us in Saving Brains.
Please visit grandchallenges.ca and look for us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.
About Grand Challenges Canada
Grand Challenges Canada is dedicated to supporting bold ideas with big impact in global health. We are funded by the Government of Canada through the Development Innovation Fund announced in the 2008 Federal Budget. We fund innovators in low and middle income countries and Canada. Grand Challenges Canada works with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and other global health foundations and organizations to find sustainable long-term solutions through integrated innovation – bold ideas which integrate science, technology, social and business innovation. Grand Challenges Canada is hosted at the Sandra Rotman Centre.
About Canada’s International Development Research Centre
The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) supports research in developing countries to promote growth and development. IDRC also encourages sharing this knowledge with policymakers, other researchers and communities around the world. The result is innovative, lasting local solutions that aim to bring choice and change to those who need it most.
As the Government of Canada’s lead on the Development Innovation Fund, IDRC draws on decades of experience managing publicly funded research projects to administer the Development Innovation Fund. IDRC also ensures that developing country researchers and concerns are front and centre in this exciting new initiative.
About Canadian Institutes of Health Research
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada’s health research investment agency. CIHR’s mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 14,100 health researchers and trainees across Canada.
CIHR will be responsible for the administration of international peer review, according to international standards of excellence. The results of CIHR-led peer reviews will guide the awarding of grants by Grand Challenges Canada from the Development Innovation Fund.
About the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
The mandate of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada is to manage Canada’s diplomatic and consular relations, to encourage the country’s international trade, and to lead Canada’s international development and humanitarian assistance.
About Sandra Rotman Centre
The Sandra Rotman Centre is based at University Health Network and University of Toronto. We develop innovative global health solutions and help bring them to scale where they are most urgently needed. The Sandra Rotman Centre hosts Grand Challenges Canada.
Foreign varsities get independent access to India
Source: Live Mint and the Wall Street Journal
Foreign universities can now set up campuses and offer degrees in India without having a local partner.
New Delhi: The government has decided to allow foreign universities to operate independently in India, set up campuses and offer degrees without having a local partner—a move that finally opens the gates for foreign educational institutions seeking to establish a presence in the country.
To foreign universities, the move presents an opportunity to tap a country with a population of 1.2 billion. To Indians (at least those who can afford it), it is an opportunity to receive quality education without leaving India (and without paying in dollars). And to India, it could mean significant foreign direct investment.
The department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) and the department of economic affairs (DEA) have agreed to allow overseas universities to operate as so-called Section 25 or non-profit companies under the newly passed Companies Act, the human resource development (HRD) ministry said on Tuesday.
Companies registered under Section 25 of India’s Companies Act cannot distribute profit or dividends to members, which means that the foreign universities cannot repatriate money—a constraint that was criticised by at least one expert.
Several foreign universities have been keen to enter India to tap a higher educational market that is worth Rs.46,200 crore and expanding by 18% every year, according to 40 million by 2020, a report from audit and consulting firm EY. They have been constrained by the need to do so through partnerships.
The Foreign Education Providers’ Bill is still awaiting parliamentary approval. Tuesday’s announcement, which is effectively an executive order, doesn’t need to be approved by Parliament and could see a rush of foreign universities to enter India.
“The ministry had sought comments and observations of the department of industrial policy and promotion and the department of economic affairs on the rules. Both DIPP and DEA have supported the proposal,” the HRD ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Ministry officials said that the details are being vetted by the law ministry and an official notification will be published soon.
With the powers vested in it through the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, the ministry will allow foreign universities to set up campuses in India and award foreign degrees. Currently, a foreign university needs to join hands with a local education provider to offer courses and the degrees are not considered foreign degrees.
Under the proposed rules, foreign universities can set up campuses in India once they have been notified as ‘foreign education provider’ by UGC. An educational institution wishing to operate in India needs to be in the top 400 in one of three global rankings: the UK-based Times Higher Education Ranking; Quacquarelli Symonds ranking published in UK again; and the China-based Shanghai Jiao Tong University rankings.
An HRD ministry official said that at least 20 foreign universities—mostly from US, followed by Australia and Canada—have expressed their desire to enter the market.
“Universities such as Duke University, California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and VirginiaTech are some of the names that have shown interest,” said the official, who asked not to be identified.
Mint could not independently verify this. In September 2012, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business’ deputy dean Robert H. Gertner told Mint that the school was exploring opportunities to open an executive education centre in India.
The degrees awarded by foreign universities in India will be considered foreign degrees and students holding these degrees need to get an equivalence certificate from the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), the HRD ministry said in its statement. These universities will also function under the UGC rules.
The profit motive
A foreign university cannot repatriate money that it makes in India. And any university seeking entry to India must be accredited by bodies in its home country. “Quality control is key and we will build the safeguard mechanism with each of the universities,” a second official in the HRD ministry said.
An expert was critical of these provisions. “On the one hand you are saying, we want top 400 institutes to come and on the other, you are not allowing them to repatriate surplus to the home campus. It’s a fundamental problem. I think there is still an inherent trust deficit between the government and the (foreign) educational institutes,” said Pramath Sinha, founding dean of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.
“They have to stop questioning everybody, at least the best of the institutes. This problem was there in the Bill and if they are retaining it in the executive order, it will be a huge drag,” added Sinha, who is setting up a liberal arts university, India’s first, in Haryana.
The two HRD ministry officials said enough changes have been made to make it attractive for foreign universities to enter India. The India campus will function as a branch campus of the parent, rather than as an independent campus. The universities will offer the same degree they are offering in their parent campus. And the ministry has reduced the deposit universities have to maintain with the ministry (and which they will forfeit in case of any violation) from Rs.50 crore to Rs.25 crore.
To be sure, it will not be easy for foreign universities to acquire land, especially in the context of India’s new land acquisition law. “We will not facilitate the university in getting land at a concession. Anyway, procuring land and other infrastructural facilities in India will be way cheaper than in developed countries,” said the first ministry official.
He added that there were still three things that would attract foreign universities to India: a huge education market and the young demography to grow that further; lower recruitment and research costs; and the opportunity to offer executive education programmes and consulting services to Indian companies.
The second official grandiosely described the ministry’s move as “liberalizing the higher education space the way India economy was liberalized between 1991 and 1993”.
Manish Sabharwal, the chief executive of staffing and training company TeamLease Services Pvt. Ltd, said that India remains an attractive destination for education. In many countries there are two problems, he added—demography and cost—but in India both the issues are in the right place. The problem, he said, is in the details.
Anton Muscatelli, vice-chancellor of the UK-based University of Glasgow, too stressed the importance of details. The Indian government’s willingness to allow universities to come into India should certainly boost the entry of foreign universities, but the details will be important, he said. His own university, he added, has several partnerships in India and will continue to work with strong Indian partners.
Once it is notified, the ministry’s order will render irrelevant the Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill 2010, a brainchild of former HRD minister Kapil Sibal, who is currently in charge of the telecom and law ministries.
Indian universities fail to make world’s top 200
Source: NDTV
London: US-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University today topped an authoritative list of the world’s top 200 university rankings that did not figure any educational institutions from India.
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, the country’s premier institution, comes in way down at No 222, dropping from 212 last year, in the ‘QS World University Rankings’ released today.
The list is dominated with US universities, with MIT grabbing the top slot and Harvard at No 2, pushing Britain’s Cambridge University to No 3.
As part of one of its most comprehensive global reviews, the 800-strong annual ranking includes 11 Indian institutions in all with the IITs leading the charge – IIT Bombay at 233, IIT Kanpur at 295, IIT Madras at 313 and IIT Kharagpur at 346.
“The stable performance of Indian institutions is a reflection on the country’s efforts to internationalise its higher education system. However, it’s clear that more efforts are needed in the area if the country’s institutions wish to feature more prominently at the top of global rankings,” said Ben Sowter, head of research at QS, a British firm specialising in education and study abroad.
“In a country where education is prized above all matters and competition for a coveted place at one of the country’s top institutions is high, students need a broader comparison of domestic universities. QS is currently working closely with Indian institutions in a pilot ranking project for the ‘BRICS’ nations, which is due to be launched later this year,” Sowter added.
The annual rankings take into account the subject range, research results and academic reputation offered by 3,000 institutions internationally.
In the list of the top 50 universities in Asia, IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay come in at 38 and 39 followed by IIT Kanpur at 51 and IIT Roorkee at 66.
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology tops the Asian rankings followed by a number of Chinese, Japanese and Korean institutions.
Will the foreign universities come to India?
Source: The Times of India
The delay in enacting the Foreign Universities bill has cost India dear. When it was mooted a few years ago, India was riding high on the growth curve. Markets were bouyant, and the size of the population made it an interesting place to invest. Wherever one went, the term ‘demographic dividend’ boomed through the loudspeakers. These were the youth who were trained in English, who had access to engineering degrees (others too, but engineering made the headlines) and would transform the nation. India was the leading light of the BRICS which were still the next big thing. All of this was very exciting to the education world – the demographics alone were enough – the millions who needed higher education before the dividends could be reaped – were a market.
It is not so now. The India story has paled, the market seems to have stalled. The demographic dividend is still expected if we manage to educate our young. But there are questions about viable models in higher education given the experience of the past few years. The executive order to allow foreign providers via their own campuses is welcome. Even if it comes late. The question is – will there be enough quality foreign universities who would want to open campuses in India? Now?
A few years ago, just as the bill was mooted, foreign universities were at the peak of their global aspirations. There was a buzz around campuses across the world as a transnational model of higher education was set to evolve. This was the era before MOOCs of course. But there were funds allocated and Delhi (and the states of course) jostled with Singapore and Dubai as a destination for campuses. Now, the experience of the Ivy league colleges in these campuses has taught them caution. Most of the funds have been allocated, others will proceed with caution based on their learnings. Delhi has missed the boat with many desirable providers of higher education.
Even if they do come to India, certain fundamental problems remain. Infrastructure. Especially soft infrastructure. Across the board the paucity of good faculty is acknowledged. Credentialing is no guarantee of quality. Nor is the number of research papers they have churned out. Credit and competence are not linked. Finding a good teacher and a good researcher from within the country is a an uphill task. Finding one from outside the country is even more difficult. It is not just the pay that is inadequate. There is no reason for anyone to take a paycut to come to India – there is little that Indian universities can offer to compensate for the paycuts. On the contrary, they need incentives to disrupt their families and the steady track of their their lives. Yes, personal living conditions count for a lot in most places in the world and moving in to cities with potholes in roads that need you to walk through garbage piles to reach ordinary shops is clearly not an incentive to disrupt lives. Will the best faculty want to move here given the current conditions? Let us think.
Another hurdle is the quality of research, laboratories and of course funding. The best faculty are those that can move a department out of mediocrity or build something new. There are very few of them who have these qualities but do not already have access to the best research and funding. It may be possible to woo the young bright sparks who show promise with new funding and equipment that the foreign investors will certainly bring. This is the only window of hope – a fast track for the bright young professors. The new order has been promulgated under the University Grants Commission. As details are awaited, the first question that arises is: Will the faculty recompense be constrained by UGC rules? Presidency University was just reported to have had some problems with paying their faculty. They were constrained by the rules and had to find workarounds to retain people. While a small proportion of PU faculty, it is clear that the issue exists and is at the heart of the debate on new universities, and that includes the foreign universities.
While the older bill languished, the executive order hoped to mitigate the damage done by the delay. Even as smaller and keener players teamed up with Indian partners to provide joint degrees (that were often not accepted by the Indian establishment), the older Ivy league colleges melted away. They were fine with limited collaborations with departments that clearly delineated their contribution and benefits. To be an entire university campus is a much larger investment. And as investors, despite the doors opening again, the repatriation of profits is still not allowed. Nor is the investment expected a small one.
It is clear that India wants to invite the best and wants them to commit to their investment in the country. This is a very good thing to want, but it may still be rather ambitious. The will has been shown, and the path paved via this new regulation. As we await details, as do the legal departments of interested foreign universities, the real question that needs to be asked is: Will India pass the due diligence tests of the global majors in higher education?
2nd Toronto International Students Festival 2013 on Sept. 28, 2013
2nd Toronto International Students Festival 2013
September 28, 2013; 1:00 – 6:00 PM
David Pecaut Square, 55 John Street, Toronto
The City of Toronto is partnering with academic institutions and the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities to enhance the positive experiences of international students who come here to study and live. To kick off this annual initiative, from August 15th to September 8th, the City of Toronto hosted its Airport Welcome Program for all International students newly arriving at TorontoPearsonInternationalAirport, providing them with all the information they needed to get settled in their new home.
The City is now preparing to celebrate those International Students who have chosen Toronto as their academic hub with its 2nd annual Toronto International Students Festival. With over 59,000 international students in Ontario, Toronto has emerged as the largest centre of foreign students in Canada.
Last year’s 1st Toronto International Students Festival 2012 had over 1,500 people attend at Nathan Philips Square. At this year’s festival close to 3,000 international students, their families and friends, civic leaders, senior officials and staff of the partner universities and colleges and representatives of some top countries, which are the source of most of Toronto’s international students, will be attending.
The Festival will feature speeches, cultural performances, award presentations, arts display, agency display booths and prizes. Event will be a prime networking spot for students from different countries, universities and colleges will find networking and integration opportunities among themselves and with business and community groups, employers, government and foreign government representatives. One the main events at this year’s festival: Eight students from Jamaica, Russia, India, United States, China, Ukraine and Mexico will receive Toronto Excellence Awards in the categories of community services, entrepreneurship, Academic excellence, sports, arts & culture, and student services.
Come out and join in on the celebrations:
v See diversity of nations on display (live performances, art & cultural exhibitions);
v Meet Excellence Award Winner International Students and learn about their unique contributions to communities and businesses;
v Meet representatives from universities and colleges from all over Ontario; foreign country representatives;
v See local and provincial agencies coming together to welcome and support international students from around the world
Purpose of this event is to:
v To celebrate international students and their achievements;
v To directly listen to the views of civic, academic and student leaders;
v To make international students feel welcome, supported and appreciated in Toronto;
v To expose students to diverse cultural and entertainment activities and motivate them to participate and develop fond memories; and
v To promote Toronto, Ontario and Canada as the global educational destinations.
Promotional video via Youtube link is: http://youtu.be/9DnVfTcX5To
More information about programs at: toronto.ca/international-students
For more information and to set up interviews:
Contact: Jagdish Yadav, Senior Advisor Education Sector, City of Toronto at: [email protected]
HRD minister Pallam Raju launces National Repository of Open Education Resources
Source: Times of India
NEW DELHI: The HRD minister M M Pallam Raju launched the National Repository of Open Education Resources (NROER) on Tuesday, on the occasion of the conference on ICT for School Education in New Delhi. Inaugurating the conference, he said that the school education has in the recent times witnessed immense growth.
Also present on the occasion was minister of state for HRD, Shashi Tharoor who said that his ministry is continuously working towards inclusiveness of education. In order to make education inclusive, the use of ICT would be quite beneficial. Although technology may not replace the teacher yet it will make teaching more attractive.
Elaborating on the initiative, Ashok Thakur, secretary for higher education said that ICT initiative is not just about promoting school but teachers as well as students also. He said that at present 400 universities and 20,000 colleges are being connected through ICT highways.
Over 200 delegates from the government, NGOs and the private sector are participating in this two-day conference. The conference brings together a variety of stakeholders- policy leaders, practitioners, researchers, implementation agencies and developers of content to examine the policy in the light of their insights and impressions, identifying gaps in the system and suggesting a roadmap for implementing the policy. It aims to evolve a roadmap for using ICT into schools and help teachers and children make best use of the opportunities that ICTs provide. Based on National Curriculum Framework, the ICT Curriculum for teachers and students intends to provide a holistic introduction to ICT in education. The National Repository is a collaborative platform, which proposes to bring together the best of digital resources for different subjects domains, across different stages of the school system and in different languages.
Some of the issues to be taken by the conference are ICT for education: Exploring the potential; implementing the national policy on ICT for school education in India: Challenges and Issues; Showcasing ICT practices – Going Beyond computer Literacy; showcasing ICT practices – learning from state/ BOOT partners/NGO Experience; e-Governance Mission Mode programme in school education. This Conference is being organized by MHRD and NCERT.
Top Canadian Universities to Tour India
Source: Government of Canada
Indian students contribute to depth of education experience on Canadian campuses
Nine elite Canadian universities are coming to India from August 19th to August 31st, 2013 to meet with top Indian students and discuss Canada as a premier destination for higher education. The delegation is led by Robert Finlayson of Carleton University in Ottawa and Michelle Beaton of Ryerson University in Toronto. The tour, organized by the Canadian Higher Education Committee (CHEC), under the aegis of the Council of International Schools (CIS), is in its ninth year and will include stops in Mumbai, New Delhi, Dehradun, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
The tour is of special interest to Standard XI and Standard XII students who exhibit strong academic standing, school guidance counselors and parents. The tour schedule will include a combination of visits to select school and information fairs.
“India is a key undergraduate student market for Canadian universities,” said Robert Finlayson of Carleton University and Tour Director. “Indian students are sought for their academic strength and their rich contribution to student life on Canadian university campuses. Each year we are seeing more Indian students choosing Canada as their first choice for study – as evidenced by the success of this tour. Indian students are drawn to our universities’ common attributes of international reputation for academic excellence, state of the art resources, and safe campuses in welcoming locations,” Finlayson said.
List of participating universities in 2013:
University of British Columbia, Carleton University, Concordia University, Guelph University, McGill University, Queens University, Ryerson University, University of Toronto, York University.
Why Canada?
Canadian universities are engaged internationally as leaders in education through teaching, research and partnerships. Undergraduate education in Canada is a hybrid of US and UK styles offering breadth of program options, flexibility in choice and a degree that is ultimately recognized world-wide.
Indian students choose Canada because a strong education and a positive international experience is the foundation for their exciting and successful futures. The quality, affordability and renowned research opportunities are key factors in this decision. University campuses across Canada offer multicultural environments, beautiful spaces and friendly people. As a leader in business, political diplomacy, arts and culture and technology, Canada’s education system is at the core of its success and its graduates are players on the world stage.
Council of International Schools Backgrounder:
The Council of International Schools (CIS) is a non-profit, international educational organization that facilitates links between institutions of higher education and secondary schools to increase their visibility with school leavers and the school guidance community. The 40+ CIS Canadian higher education member universities’ interests are supported through the efforts of the eight person team of member volunteers that comprise the Canadian Higher Education Committee (CHEC). The Committee’s goal is to facilitate the exchange of information about Canadian higher education between international schools and the CIS Canadian higher education membership through various activities such as recruitment tours, like the 2013 India tour.
The most (and least) educated parts of Canada
Source: Maclean’s
Post-secondary completion rates vary widely by region.
On average, roughly half of all Canadians between the ages of 25 and 64 have attended college or university, but education levels are not even across all provinces. Here are the percentages of each region’s population with college or university education as reported by Statistics Canada:
1. Ontario 56.0
2. Yukon 49.0
3. Prince Edward Island 47.0
3. British Columbia 47.0
5. Nova Scotia 46.0
5. New Brunswick 46.0
5. Quebec 46.0
5. Alberta 46.0
9. Manitoba 44.0
9. Northwest Territories 44.0
11. Newfoundland 37.0
11. Saskatchewan 37.0
13. Nunavut 28.0
Fanshawe College makes conditional offer to buy Market Tower in downtown London
Source: London Free Press
For decades, Dundas and Richmond streets was the go-to crossroads of London.
In recent years, it’s become a place many try to avoid.
Now Dundas-Richmond is set for its biggest boost yet, this one a potential watershed for the core, with Fanshawe College offering to buy the Market Tower building as part of its ambitious downtown campus expansion.
The purchase, if and when it’s finalized, could mark a massive transformation for the core.
“This is a premier location,” Howard Rundle, Fanshawe’s soon-to-retire president, said Sunday outside Market Tower. “It’s right at the very heart of London.”
The fact it’s a perceived trouble spot isn’t lost on the 71-year-old, either: “We’ll make a big change.”
Yes, it’s quite likely they will — not that they haven’t already.
It was early 2010 when London city hall offered as much as $20 million to persuade Fanshawe to buy downtown buildings and create a significant campus in the core, far from the east-end compound where most of its 18,000 full-time students are educated.
The first part of that plan will open this fall, when the Centre for Digital and Performance Arts — housed in a renovated building just a few doors west of Dundas-Richmond — opens to an estimated 400 students.
With about $10 million left from city hall’s stake, Fanshawe has now put in a conditional offer on the Shmuel Farhi-owned Market Tower, whose tenants are now mostly city hall workers, including the Ontario Works operations.
Some observers have said London’s troubled downtown is a myth — that’s it’s actually relatively healthy but for the Dundas-Richmond woes. Hundreds more Fanshawe students would change its face dramatically.
But this move wouldn’t just be remarkable — perhaps even historic — for downtown London.
It’s also a watershed for Fanshawe, the little college that could.
After years of being ignored (even sometimes mocked) in London, where Western University was always the fair-haired child, Fanshawe has earned respect as a quality post-secondary institution.
By moving downtown, it’s further weaving itself into London’s identity in a way, it’s worth noting, that apparently doesn’t interest Western.
After 41 years at Fanshawe, Rundle, who retires at month’s end, says that’s among the biggest changes he’s seen.
“When I came to London, Fanshawe was largely unknown,” said Rundle. “And this was a Western town. This is now a Western-Fanshawe town. Fanshawe has moved out of its shadow.”
Many at Fanshawe were initially resistant to a multi-building downtown campus akin to what Ryerson University has created in Toronto. It was Rundle who sold them on the concept, and now the interest is significant, he says.
“There are a number of programs that would prefer to be here rather than at the edge of the city,” he said. “Now people are lining up that would like to bring their programming here.”
The first building is set to open in October (about a month late). Rundle expects media and cultural programs — culinary arts courses are one possibility — to also operate at Market Tower.
Eventually, a downtown student residence may be built.
It’s one thing to put feet on downtown streets in the form of residential developments or offices.
But, as has been pointed out by Coun. Judy Bryant, whose ward includes downtown, there’s a unique energy around post-secondary students. They can represent something remarkable in a community.
For Rundle, whose 17-year tenure as president ends Aug. 31, he’s especially proud of helping create that kind of dynamic in downtown London.
“I’ve been in a number of cities with post-secondary (schools) in the core. It makes it very vibrant,” Rundle said. “There are some things I get personally invested in a bit. The downtown initiative is one of them.”
FANSHAWE’S CORE CONCEPT
- City has pledged $20 million to the plan; half spent on Fanshawe’s first downtown campus building on Dundas St. next to Market Lane (it opens this fall as the Centre for Digital and Performance Arts)
- The other $10 million will go to buy and renovate Market Tower, on which Fanshawe has made a conditional offer
- It’s expected the downtown campus expansion will cost about $45 million
- City staff now at Market Tower are likely bound for the Farhi-owned Bell building; plan to move the Ontario Works offices to sites across London unaffected
- Fanshawe expects eventually to have 1,000 students at the two core buildings
- President Howard Rundle predicts economic boost of $80 million a year for London
How long-term unemployment is affecting the job search
Source: The Globe And Mail
What is the only thing worse than unemployment? Long-term unemployment, apparently. If you lose your job, there are a bunch of hardships you are inevitably going to endure until you find a new one. If you do not find a new one in a hurry, you may face the additional hardship of not finding one for an increasingly long period of time. Employers, it seems, view people who have not held a job with an eye that increases in wariness in proportion to their joblessness.
The insights come from an upcoming paper by Swedish economists Stefan Eriksson and Dan-Olof Rooth, which is to be published in the American Economic Review and was quoted in a blog in this week’s Wall Street Journal. The economists used Swedish data on calls returned to job applicants, sorting job seekers by duration of unemployment. What they found was that being unemployed for a short period of time made no difference at all to job seekers’ prospects, but that being unemployed for longer did.
Actually, it made a difference for workers who were applying for jobs that did not require a college degree, who saw their returned calls decline by 20 per cent. Workers who were applying for jobs that did need more education did not see the same decline in response, although it is difficult to know why. The old rule of thumb is that for every $10,000 you earn, it takes a month to find a new job so perhaps those seeking more educated, higher-wage employees realize they are interviewing people in a more selective, slower job market. Perhaps, too, there is a realization that higher wage workers may have left their last positions with a hefty goodbye package and hence may not be in as much of a hurry as those with more modest skills.
At any rate, the study says little about who actually got hired, just who got in the door. As well, although the Swedish economists believe their research has implications for the U.S. as well as Sweden, it is not hard to believe that the latter is a kinder gentler place than the former, which has gone through a brutal recession. Even in (relatively) kinder and gentler Canada, it seems likely that those with a long period of unemployment on their resume are going to get a harder look than those who are fresh from previous employment, whatever their level of education.
The good news, if there is any good news in the context of unemployment, is that over this business cycle, long-term unemployment has been a considerably less severe problem in Canada than it is in the United States. According to Statistics Canada, as of June, 2013 (the last month for which Canadian data is available), the average duration of unemployment in Canada was 18.3 weeks. In contrast, the average duration of unemployment in the U.S. was 35.6 weeks. In the Canadian case, the figure has not changed too much from before the recession. In June, 2008, the average duration of unemployment in Canada was 13.9 weeks, suggesting a lengthening of about 50 per cent. In the U.S., the length of unemployment has effectively doubled. As of June, approximately 19.9 per cent of the unemployed in Canada were without work for 27 weeks or more, while in the U.S., the figure was 36.7 per cent.
The duration of unemployment is a key indicator to watch. There has been much ado about the improvement in the U.S. labour market, and it is certainly true that the unemployment rate has dipped sharply. As of July, the U.S. unemployment rate was 7.4 per cent, compared to 10 per cent at its peak in October, 2009. Still, over that same period, the duration of unemployment has increased by about 9 weeks, and is coming down very slowly (by about 4 weeks over the past two years). Until this indicator shows an improvement, it will be hard to say that the malaise in the U.S. labour market has lifted, and with it much of the concerns about the global economy that are keeping everybody’s interest rates, including Canada’s, on hold.
India on the brink of its own financial crisis
Source: The Guardian
In a reprise of the 1997-98 Asian crisis, India’s stock market is plunging, bond yields are nudging 10% and capital is flooding out of the country.
India’s financial woes are rapidly approaching the critical stage. The rupee has depreciated by 44% in the past two years and hit a record low against the US dollar on Monday. The stock market is plunging, bond yields are nudging 10% and capital is flooding out of the country.
In a sense, this is a classic case of deja vu, a revisiting of the Asian crisis of 1997-98 that acted as an unheeded warning sign of what was in store for the global economy a decade later. An emerging economy exhibiting strong growth attracts the attention of foreign investors. Inward investment comes in together with hot money flows that circumvent capital controls. Capital inflows push up the exchange rate, making imports cheaper and exports dearer. The trade deficit balloons, growth slows, deep-seated structural flaws become more prominent and the hot money leaves.
The trigger for the run on the rupee has been the news from Washington that the Federal Reserve is considering scaling back – “tapering” – its bond-buying stimulus programme from next month. This has consequences for all emerging market economies: firstly, there is the fear that a reduced stimulus will mean weaker growth in the US, with a knock-on impact on exports from the developing world. Secondly, high-yielding currencies such as the rupee have benefited from a search for yield on the part of global investors. If policy is going to be tightened in the US, then the dollar becomes more attractive and the rupee less so.
But while the Indonesian rupee and the South African rand are also feeling the heat, it is India – with its large trade and budget deficits – that looks like the accident most likely to happen. On past form, emerging market crises go through three stages: in stage one, policymakers do nothing in the hope that the problem goes away. In stage two, they cobble together some panic measures, normally involving half-baked capital controls and selling of dollars in an attempt to underpin their currencies. In stage three, they either come up with a workable plan themselves or call in the IMF. India is on the cusp of stage three.
How to help kids stay cool about back-to-school worries
Source: The Globe And Mail
After 23 years in private practice, children’s anxiety tops the list of concerns that parents approach me with. I’ve heard stories that range from children’s fear of dogs and refusing to stay in their beds alone at night to much more extreme worry.
In August, as students creep closer to accepting the inevitability that school is just around the corner, anticipatory back-to-school fretting kicks in.
Here’s how to identify your child’s anxiety and some strategies you can use to help maintain a sense of calm.
Grade 1: Butterflies
Grade 1 is both exciting and anxiety-provoking. Your child is likely standing tall knowing that he has joined ranks of the older kids. However, he may also be apprehensive about taking on more responsibility and spending recess on a different playground. He may describe his anxiety as “butterflies in my tummy.” He may not have much of an appetite in the days leading up to the start of school, may take a longer time falling asleep at night or become clingy. Rest assured that these feelings and behaviours are normal and it’s a good idea to tell him so. Share that even teachers feel nervous before school begins again. Go for a walk around the exterior of the school and spend some time in the new playground. If he’s especially worried about meeting his new teacher on the first day, call the school during the last week of summer holidays, when teachers are already back in their classrooms, to arrange a brief meeting between them.
Middle school: Jitters
Even though your child has by now developed a comfortable knowledge of the inner workings at her school, she may still experience anxiety as September approaches. She may have heard negative comments about her new teacher or may be uneasy because she won’t know who it will be until the first day of school. Remind her that just because her friend didn’t connect with that teacher, doesn’t mean that she won’t. Maybe share a time when you were biased toward someone before you met and then were pleasantly surprised when you got along really well. Remain positive and encouraging by sharing your confidence that they will work well together and that at the worst, you are always available to help brainstorm solutions to any bumps in the road.
Other than teacher worries, your child may be concerned about her reunion with former classmates, especially if they haven’t spent much time together during summer vacation. Anxiety is often expressed in the form of “what if…..?” questions such as “what if Angela and Samantha won’t let me play with them?” Reassure her that it’s normal to worry about this after being apart from her friends for so long. Suggest a play date so that they can reconnect and if she’s experiencing physical symptoms, let her know that an upset stomach and queasiness will ease once she settles back into the old familiar routine.
High school: Angst
Grade 9 is commonly the most anxiety provoking step up the academic ladder. Major Eighters become Minor Niners and drop to the bottom rung in a much larger pond. Many are stressed about adjusting to a new timetable, teachers, new students and navigating their way around the school without getting lost. Some may worry about increased peer pressure especially in regards to drugs and alcohol. Teens communicate less about their feelings. They may manifest their anxiety by retreating – spending more time on their computers (if that’s possible) or in bed sleeping. They might also become more irritable. If their behaviour appears more surly than usual, rather than taking the bait, approach gently with understanding and compassion. As always, timing is everything with teens so approach with caution in order to elicit the best response. Instead of asking him to turn off the television so that you can chat, which will likely get you nowhere, initiate a conversation while you’re walking the dog or when you’re in the car together. Rather than asking questions that require only a yes or no response such as “Are you feeling nervous?” say something like “I’ve noticed that you’re quieter than usual. I remember how unsettled I felt at the beginning of a new school year. What’s going on for you?”
Recently, my daughter, who too is worried about her transition to Grade 9 next month, shared with me how less frightening the roller coaster rides at Canada’s Wonderland are when you’re actually on them than when you’re watching from the sidelines. “I have no doubt that you’ll feel the same about high school,” I said. She reflected for a moment and responded with “I hate it when you’re right!”
Sara Dimerman is a psychologist, author and mom to two daughters. For more advice, connect at www.helpmesara or on Twitter @helpmesara.
University of Alberta eliminates 20 arts programs
Source: The Globe and Mail
The University of Alberta has taken the first steps toward closing 20 arts programs, suspending enrolment in a range of academic majors such as languages and music in an effort to cope with substantial budget shortfalls.
The programs were singled out among the faculty of arts for low demand, having had 10 or fewer students enrolled each fall from 2005 to 2012. The decision was circulated in an internal memo to department chairs on Friday, less than two weeks after the U of A offered a voluntary buyout package aimed at trimming its faculty ranks.
The suspended programs are among several money-saving measures hitting home at Alberta’s universities and colleges this fall, after the province cut university funding by 7 per cent in its March budget. Sparsely populated arts and language courses were among the first programs deemed expendable as the U of A tries to refocus funds on flagship disciplines, as has often been the case in other provinces facing funding woes. Similar reviews will likely be repeated in the U of A’s other faculties.
“We’ve all just been sharpened by the budget cuts that were delivered in March, and we’re trying to make sure that our house is in order,” said Heather Zwicker, the U of A’s vice-dean of arts.
All fifty students already enrolled across the 20 majors will be able to finish their programs, and many courses within the programs will still be offered, though some are expected to be axed. And the U of A is not the first Alberta school to contemplate closing programs – in April, Mount Royal University in Calgary announced it would suspend eight programs, including a theatre-arts diploma and a journalism certificate. The day after the provincial budget was revealed, U of A president Indira Samarasekera told The Globe and Mail she planned to use the cuts as a way of “reinvesting our resources in what we do best,” and if that meant closing some programs, “we will undertake to do that.” In a separate June interview, she also cautioned that the cuts would “hurt students in the long term.”
But Laura Beard, chair of the department of modern languages and cultural studies, which houses several of the suspended majors, expects the impact of halting some arts enrolments will be minimal for most students. “We still have 44 majors just within the [bachelor of arts degree], and arts actually offers 12 different degrees,” she said.
Some students are still feeling uneasy. Daniela Munoz, 23, is majoring in Latin American studies, one of the soon-to-be-suspended programs, and worries she may wind up with fewer courses to choose from and be forced to look to other departments for credits.
“I am paying tuition, and I feel like my program being cut is like telling me, well, we don’t value you as a student here,” Ms. Munoz said. “It’s sad, and it’s unfair.”
Alberta’s Advanced Education Minister, Thomas Lukaszuk, supported U of A’s decision. “Some argue that if you eliminate programs and you don’t offer everything to everybody, that somehow speaks to quality, and I disagree with that premise,” he said. “We don’t judge our universities simply by the number of courses they offer.”
Synergy 2013: seats filling fast
Registration is now open for our highly successful “Canada-India: A Synergy in Education” event, held since 2007. The Canada India Education Council (CIEC) is proud to host Synergy 2013 on Oct 3 & 4 at the Hilton Garden Inn near the Toronto Airport.
This year’s event will highlight education activities as well as provide networking opportunities for institutions and organizations interested in operating in either or both countries. With a focus on key academic areas of co-operation and on partnerships, Synergy 2013 will provide updates from India regarding the entry for foreign education providers (Bill 57) leading to many possible outcomes for Canadian education providers. Synergy 2013 will serve as a great way to hear about both governments’ programs and policies in education, which have been recognized as a signature priority. An interesting session will be conducted by the National Association of Career Colleges (NACC) who will discuss impending legislation and how it could transform ‘Internationalization’ efforts for private institutions. Synergy 2013 will also feature a round table discussion on the intersection of immigration & education in the Canada-India corridor and feature closing remarks by Hon. Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport) and a reception by the co-chairs of the Canada-India Parliamentary Association.
Highlights of this year’s sessions:
- Update on Canada India Higher Education cooperation & promotion of Canada as a study destination by Foreign Affairs & Int’l Trade (DFAIT)
- Update on the Ontario-Maharashtra-Goa (OMG) program & cross directional push for higher levels of collaboration in Research & Higher Education by Dr. Lalu Mansinha
- Updates from Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and the recently founded IC-IMPACT (announced by PM Stephen Harper in Nov 2012) will also be present and discuss opportunities for collaboration.
Join over a hundred academic experts from both countries as they discuss recent developments and hear illustrious speakers stimulate thought and demonstrate the opportunities of this dynamic and burgeoning education corridor.
For a detailed Agenda, click here. To Register, click here.
The seating capacity at Synergy 2013 is only 120 and registration is once again on a first come basis. CIEC has negotiated a special rate for delegates staying at the hotel, which will also provide complimentary airport transfers.
To take advantage of the discounted hotel rate, you must reserve your room by August 31st by clicking here.
For delegates arriving from India, CIEC is pleased to provide a 1 night FREE stay at the Hilton Garden Inn.
We look forward to seeing you at this year’s landmark event and in the meanwhile, have yourself a great summer!