York co-sponsors transformational multi-sector conversation on Canada’s Asia-Pacific engagement

people sitting in a lecture hall

By Elaine Smith

York University President Rhonda Lenton this week attended the inaugural Canada-in-Asia Conference (CIAC) in Singapore, where she moderated a panel on higher education co-operation in the Asia-Pacific, engaged distinguished York alumni and met with senior government officials, university leaders and industry representatives from Canada and the region.

The first-ever CIAC was organized by the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada and Universities Canada. York University was an academic sponsor of the conference, attracting hundreds of industry captains, distinguished Canadian-university alumni, senior government officials from Canada and the region, as well as presidents of Canadian and regional universities and other Asia-Pacific thought leaders.

 (left to right): Julie Lafford (Assistant Vice President, Alumni Engagement), Rhonda Lenton (President and Vice-Chancellor), Sarah Bay-Cheng (Dean of AMPD) and Vinitha Gengatharan (Assistant Vice-President, Global Engagement & Partnerships)
(Left to right): Julie Lafford (assistant vice-president, Alumni Engagement), Rhonda Lenton (president and vice-chancellor), Sarah Bay-Cheng (dean of AMPD) and Vinitha Gengatharan (assistant vice-president, Global Engagement & Partnerships)

The conference brought together Canadian stakeholders and their network of alumni and partners to strategize about Canadian efforts to build stronger ties in a region that has over 65 per cent of the world’s population.  

It took place against the backdrop of the Canadian government’s commitment to invest billions of dollars towards growing Canada’s Asia-Pacific Engagement via ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Nations) and other regional partners.  

Conversations at the conference focused on geo-political trends, trade and investment, United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), higher education co-operation, talent flow and technology.  

“We are excited by our prime minister’s announcement that Canada is making a ‘generational-shift’ in investing in Asia, and how this enables conversations like the ones held at this conference. We are already seeing this pledge yield tangible results within months of his announcement through the inaugural Canada-in-Asia Conference and the Asia-Pacific Foundation’s plans for a regional office,” said Lenton. “The Canada-in-Asia Conference provides an unprecedented opportunity for us to work smarter and more effectively in the Asia-Pacific region by bringing Canadians and Canada’s friends in the region under one roof. Universities such as York University bring tremendous value to these conversations.”

Sharing the vision of York’s Global Engagement Strategy

On the sidelines of the conference, Lenton met with senior government officials, university leaders and industry representatives from Canada and the region. She also visited the National University of Singapore and Singapore Management University to meet with their presidents to discuss research, entrepreneurship, experiential learning and sustainability. During these conversations, Lenton shared York’s inaugural Global Engagement Strategy priorities and exchanged ideas about working together in the region.    

“As a York alumnus and Singapore’s representative in Canada, I am proud to see York’s new Global Engagement Strategy position the University in important national and multilateral conversations like the Canada-in-Asia Conference 2023,” said Chia-yi Chua, Singapore’s honorary consul-general in Toronto and York alumnus (Osgoode Hall Law, 1993). “I am confident it would serve York’s objectives to better engage the region, improve its visibility in the region, strengthen alumni relations and increase strategic partnerships.”

Connecting with alumni

Engaging alumni to strengthen Canada’s reach in the region was an integral part of CIAC.

Lenton hosted an “alumni and friends” reception during her visit, including a speech from Sara Wilshaw, Canada’s chief trade commissioner and alumna. High school counsellors, admitted degree-seeking students, York students in Singapore and Singaporean university students planning to travel to York were also invited to attend the reception.

Lenton and Sarah Bay-Cheng, dean of the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, connected with many distinguished York alumni during their visit at CIAC and other engagements, including: Hian Siang Chan and Paulina Lau, who supported the Paulina Lau Scholars Program; Venka Purushothaman, deputy president, La Salle College of the Arts; Cameron Mackay, high commissioner of Canada in India; and Navdeep Bains, CIBC vice-chair of Global Investment Banking and former minister of innovation, science, and economic Development.

Promoting Canada as a compelling partner in the Asia-Pacific

During the conference and surrounding events, Lenton discussed Canada’s value as a compelling partner, noting Canada’s ability to work across many cultures and peoples domestically and abroad, and its willingness to have difficult conversations on decolonization to redress historical wrongs.

Lenton also noted that Canadian universities are considered leaders in advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) according to Times Higher Education (THE). The ranking closely evaluates universities on how they advance UN SDGs in collaboration with local and global partners. York University was named in the world’s top 35 in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2022 for strengthening its impact on the UN SDGs.

President Rhonda Lenton leads delegation to Mexico

hands holding a globe

By Elaine Smith

York University President Rhonda Lenton recently participated in a keynote fireside chat on the importance of virtual internationalization, at the ninth International Conference on Educational Innovation (CIIE) in Mexico.

Lenton led the delegation that attended the conference, which was hosted by York’s partner, Tecnológico de Monterrey (TEC), in January. The delegation provided the opportunity to connect with alumni and strengthen York’s partnerships in the region.

“Sharing the Vision for Online Internationalization”

During the fireside chat, titled “Sharing the Vision for Online Internationalization,” facilitated by José Escamilla, associate director of the Institute for the Future of Education at Tecnológico de Monterrey, Lenton shared lessons York has learned about the future of higher education during these past few years. She discussed examples of pedagogical innovation including globally networked learning (GNL), online internationalization and new technologies that have been further spurred by the pandemic.

Rhonda Lenton
Rhonda Lenton

“York’s vision as a high-quality, internationally recognized research university has been part of the University’s identity since it was founded in 1959. Ensuring that our students graduate with the knowledge and skills they need for success and strengthening our impact on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by working across sectors with local and global partnerships are central tenets of our academic plan,” Lenton said.

“Online internationalization has been crucial in enhancing access and lowering barriers to global learning initiatives throughout the pandemic and beyond as more students are able to engage with peers at home and around the world. It facilitates the exchange of ideas and knowledge, incorporates new perspectives, widens access to global competencies and co-creates sustainable and inclusive solutions.”

The delegation’s visit came on the heels of the Three Amigos summit in Mexico between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, American President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and offered a perfect opportunity to strengthen the University’s ties with Mexico and partners in Latin America.

Globally networked learning

York has been a strong proponent of online educational innovation initiatives such as GNL, an approach to teaching, learning and research that enables students, faculty and non-academic researchers from different locations around the world to participate in, and collaborate on, knowledge-making processes and concrete research projects. 

To date, York faculty have implemented 25 projects between York and partners and engaged over 40 faculty members and more than 900 students from 15 countries.

James Simeon, an associate professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS), has been one of the most enthusiastic GNL adopters at York, and TEC has been a regular collaborator in his seven GNL projects, based on his courses International Refugee Protection Regime I and II.

“The GNL relationship between our colleagues at TEC and myself will strengthen and deepen since actually meeting for the very first time in person and presenting together on a panel at CIIE 2023,” said Simeon.

Connecting with alumni and building partnerships

The trip to Mexico also featured York’s first alumni gathering in Mexico City.

“Getting to reflect on how York U shaped my future and career with Dr. Lenton and other alumni was very special, especially given that it is thanks to a York International internship that I now live in Mexico City and work for the Howard G. Buffett Foundation,” said alumna Ana Vianei, who assists the organization’s goals to improve quality of life for marginalized populations across the world.

During the trip, York was able to deepen its relationships with its two Mexican partners, TEC and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). York delegates participated in the Hemispheric Universities Consortium (HUC) meeting that followed the conference; York was the only Canadian university to be a member.

“The visit has not only strengthened our partnerships with universities in Mexico, but reinforced York University’s commitment to advancing global engagement and to our cutting-edge work in GNL,” said Vinitha Gengatharan, assistant vice-president, global engagement and partnerships. “The conference itself has highlighted to us the world’s common interest in the future of education. It was not only high quality, but also accessible, flexible and underscored the importance of strengthening ties and sharing insights with our outstanding partners in Mexico and elsewhere.”

CIFAL rapid response training task force invites York faculty members

Group Of Students Meeting For Tutorial With Teacher

CIFAL York is working with Architects Without Borders (ASF) to mobilize a rapid response training task force to examine the situation in Turkey and Syria after the devastating Feb. 6 earthquake.

CIFAL and ASF will work together to identify immediate training needs for post-earthquake relief and the recovery/reconstruction phase. The rapid response training will focus on various aspects and target a range of audiences including the public, service providers and volunteers (architects, planners, engineers, designers, etc.) involved in post-disaster relief, recovery and reconstruction, particularly for the most vulnerable areas and groups.

CIFAL York is seeking assistance from York University faculty members. Those interested in joining the task force and being part of the training team should contact CIFAL York Director Ali Asgary at asgary@yorku.ca. Learn more about the opportunity here.

CIFAL centres provide innovative training throughout the world and serve as hubs for the exchange of knowledge among government officials, the private sector, academia and civil society. Learn more about CIFAL here.

York dancers demonstrate diversity of multicultural traditions at ‘Cardinal Points’ showcase

Figures dancing on stage in silhouette against sunset-coloured background

Cardinal Points – an annual showcase for the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design’s (AMPD) Department of Dance – is directed by Assistant Professor Susan Lee and celebrates dance creation with a focus on global collaboration. It runs Feb. 15 to 17.

Pamela Corales of Bayanihan dancing on stage with tambourines
Pamela Corales of Bayanihan

Guest artists Pamela Corales and Leo Lorilla, from Bayanihan, the National Dance Company of the Philippines, along with faculty members Patrick Alcedo, Modesto Amegago and Tracey Norman, and talented student choreographers, will present new works that feature the University’s own York Dance Ensemble (YDE).

This month, Corales and Lorilla will be artists-in-residence in the Department of Dance – an international partnership made possible through funding that the Philippine Studies Group (PHSG) at the York Centre for Asian Research received from the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto.

Their performance is the highlight of a two-week residency that includes a dance workshop for the Filipino community and York students as well as attending dance studio and studies courses at York. It is a marquee event in the series of lectures, film screenings and visits of scholars, artists and journalists from the Philippines that the PHSG is curating this year.

“It is incredibly exciting to have Pamela Corales and Leo Lorilla from the renowned Bayanihan Dance Company perform at Cardinal Points and for them to be artists-in-residence in our department,” says Alcedo, professor and Chair in the Department of Dance and a member of the PHSG.

Cardinal Points featured events

Leo Lorilla of Bayanihan playing a stringed instrument on stage
Leo Lorilla of Bayanihan

With Production Manager Jennifer Jimenez, Lee presents Cardinal Points as a part of AMPD’s “Year of the Arts” – a curated set of events, exhibitions, installations and performances to showcase leading research and creations in York’s artistic communities.

“The annual showcase juxtaposes the notions of identity and change, allowing us to explore our constantly evolving relationship with ourselves, each other and the world,” says Lee. “Through the works presented and the breadth of artists involved – both established and emerging, Canadian and international, Indigenous and settler – we reflect on how we orient ourselves internally, geographically, culturally and historically.”

Amegago’s reconstruction of three West African dances with live drummers, entitled “Performing Core Values through Atamga-Agbekor-Atsyiagbekor,” uses short choreographic narratives to represent the migration of the Ewe people in search of a new settlement. Seeking to define their homeland on their own terms, the dances portray solidarity, love, physical combat and reconciliation. Amegago’s adaptations speak to common experiences of separation, adversity and identity, culminating in an expression of our values of equity, diversity, inclusion and one love.

Fourth-year undergraduate student Kéïta Fournier-Pelletier’s “Pillar of Us” examines how queerness intersects with other foundational aspects of identity. “All humans crave belonging, no matter one’s sexuality. This piece explores different positive relationships one might experience from childhood to adulthood, rebelling as a means to find belonging and celebrating with your community,” says Fournier-Pelletier.

Fourth-year student and YDE member Blythe Russell’s “Respair” features dancers Rayn Cook-Thomas and Phoebe Harrington, who embody the anguish of juxtaposing opposites, such as frailty and strength, movement and stillness, and structure and chaos. “We came out of the process with a magnetic demonstration of swirling movement between two figures,” Russell explains.

Bayanihan, the National Dance Company of the Philippines, dancing with bamboo staves
Bayanihan, the National Dance Company of the Philippines

Dance studies PhD students Arpita Bajpeyi and Sebastián Oreamuno collaborated with visual arts PhD student Nava Waxman to create the intercultural and interdisciplinary work, “Copucha + Gup Shup.” This piece engages with cueca, Chile’s national dance; and kathak, a South Asian classical dance form. Together, the choreographers strive to honour both practices’ complex history, while examining and questioning their boundaries. Accompanied by York graduate Leonid Orlov on guitar, as well as vocalization and body percussion that highlight the shared 6/8 time signatures, the dancers bring cueca and kathak into thoughtful and joyous contemporary conversation. Another element of this creation are the projections by Waxman, created from long exposure photos of the dancers in movement, which offer context and insight into the colourful world of this piece.

Rounding out the show are works by Alcedo, Norman and Cook-Thomas. Alcedo’s offering, “Banga/Salidsid,” performed by dancers of the Culture Philippines of Ontario, is a reconstruction of a Philippine folk dance from the Cordillera Mountain Range. Norman’s “chorus of anguish” reckons with the impact on the planet’s decline and asks how we can move from individuality to collectively recalibrate our future. Cook-Thomas’s piece, “Ancestor 73,” dives into the world of southern resident orcas from the Pacific Northwest, bringing awareness to the pressing issue of animal extinction and its impacts on Indigenous communities.

Cardinal Points begins at 7:30 p.m. each night between Feb. 15 and 17 in York’s Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan Theatre. Tickets can be purchased at the AMPD online box office.

Paulina Lau Scholar reaches for Mars

MARS

By Elaine Smith

Rehan Rashid has set his sights on becoming an astronaut, and the Paulina Lau Scholars Program is helping to pave his way.

Rashid, a mechanical engineering student in York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering, became fascinated by the planets as a child and learned as much about them as possible.

Rehan Rashid
Rehan Rashid

Eventually, the Brooklyn-born, Toronto-raised son of immigrants from Pakistan soon began dreaming of working for the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and becoming the first astronaut to set foot on Mars.

“I’m 23 years old and the U.S. plans to land on Mars in the 2040s, so I’m the ideal age,” Rashid said. “I’ll try to keep my life on track and achieve my goal.”

His choice of mechanical engineering as a major was a deliberate step in his plan.

He has moved closer to his dream with two NASA internships in 2022 and another slated for summer 2023.

Rashid was working at his part-time IKEA job when he received an email informing him of his selection as 2022 paid summer intern at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. The Johnson Space Center is home to NASA mission control.

Excited about his first NASA internship, he yelled out the news while working at his part-time job and received an ovation from hundreds of IKEA customers.

In Houston, as a battery systems engineering intern at the NASA Johnson Space Center, Rashid worked on lithium-ion cell performance and safety testing.

He also took advantage of the opportunities his internship presented, meeting with nine astronauts, networking with NASA employees and touring various other departments, absorbing all the information and advice he could garner.

He followed up the paid summer internship with NASA with another one, a few months later, in Fall 2022. He worked at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia as a battery materials R&D chemist focusing on solid-state battery research and fabrication.

It was during this second internship that the Paulina Lau Scholars Program was a real benefit.

The program was established in 2022 by York alumni and life partners Hian Siang Chan and Paulina Lau, and their families. Through scholarships, the program supports student participation in diverse global learning opportunities.

Throughout his university career, Rashid juggled classes and part-time jobs to repay his OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program) funding and defray the cost of tuition. His course load is heavy when he is back at York; Rashid balances his desire to graduate on time with pursuing NASA opportunities, so he likes to get a head start on his coursework before he resumes classes.  

However, NASA internships require an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. commitment, so studying at night after a full, demanding work day seemed to be his only option. Fortunately, Rashid was named a Paulina Lau Scholar in time for his second NASA internship.

“The Paulina Lau Scholars Program significantly helped me to focus on studies for the upcoming academic semester during my Virginia internship at NASA by allowing me to quit my part-time job at a local Walmart that was a one-hour bike ride each way,” Rashid noted. “I strongly believe that the Paulina Lau Scholars Program allowed me to excel at NASA – a life changing opportunity. It has taken me closer to my dream of one day helping land the first human on Mars.”

NASA, Virginia
NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia, where Rehan Rashid worked as a battery materials R&D chemist focusing on solid-state battery research and fabrication

Rashid is eager for the upcoming summer internship with NASA, his third so far. In each of his previous internships, he has been the only student from a Canadian university in a group of 20-plus interns. It is something that makes him proud, but also gives him a sense of responsibility in representing an entire nation.

After the upcoming summer internship, Rashid has one more year of courses before earning his mechanical engineering degree. The next step in his plan is to earn an MSc from MIT or Stanford in mechanical or aerospace engineering before applying for admission to the 2040 astronaut corps at NASA. After talking to astronauts, he realizes “the odds are slim,” but he has a fallback plan: working at mission control or flight control for the Mars mission.

Meanwhile, Rashid is truly appreciative of the support he has received in working toward achieving his lifelong dream.

“I will never take the sole credit for obtaining these fiercely competitive internships at NASA,” Rashid wrote in an email. “I believe it is a team effort of everyone who had supported me, especially the school and donors who have provided me the opportunity to learn and grow from these experiences. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to the donors of the Paulina Lau Scholars Program, and York University who are helping mold the next generation of scientists and engineers who will change the world.”

About the Paulina Lau Scholars Program

The Paulina Lau Scholars Program, an endowed award, was created to benefit undergraduate and graduate students travelling overseas to engage in coursework, research or internships. Preference is given to students who demonstrate financial need and are in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Lassonde School of Engineering or the Faculty of Science. This scholarship program is established by York alums and life partners Hian Siang Chan and Paulina Lau and their family to inspire future generations of students to right the future. Find out more.

Declaration offers important consensus for reparations for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence

two people with their hands overlapping each other

York researchers release the “Kinshasa Declaration,” a collaboratively developed, survivor-centred document on the right to reparation and co-creation for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in conflict situations.

Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) Professors Anna M. Agathangelou and Annie Bunting co-led and co-organized an international conference in November 2021 that led to the recently completed survivor-centred Kinshasa Declaration.

Anna M. Agathangelou
Anna M. Agathangelou

The Kinshasa Declaration is an urgent call for survivor-centred participation in the articulation, co-creation and evaluation of sexual and gendered-based conflict-related transformative reparations, and toward peace and justice for women, men and children. The document outlines the right to reparation for survivors of conflict-related gender and sexual violence. The Declaration comes out of many years of collaboration with partners and the culminating meeting, It’s Time: Survivors’ Hearing on Transformative Reparations held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

“Survivors place emphasis in the declaration on the key issues of their dignity; their capacity and leadership and need to be involved as equal partners in creating programs; a broad definition of conflict-related sexual violence and victimization; children born of sexual violence and male survivors of sexual and gender-based violence; and intergenerational harm,” said Bunting, a professor in the Law & Society program.

Annie Bunting
Annie Bunting

As part of the Conjugal Slavery in War Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Partnership Grant (2015-22), housed at the Harriet Tubman Institute, the partnership grant project led by Bunting with Agathangelou and other researchers, partners in Africa worked with the research team and the Global Survivors Fund to identify key themes for the survivors’ hearing in Kinshasa. 

Researchers, experts, civil society organizations and survivor activists from 12 African countries contributed to the development of the Key Principles on reparations at the survivors’ hearing over several years with the support of SSHRC Partnership Grant at York University. Partner organizations, survivors, graduate students and the drafting committee worked together to articulate the most important issues for meaningful transformative reparations, developing a consensus document on reparations for conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence. The document was finalized through workshops in Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Uganda.

“The Kinshasa Declaration is a tremendous achievement among partners across more than a dozen countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and many other international actors to make concrete change for survivors of sexual violence. York researchers’ leadership on this document and on the partnership that underpins it is remarkable,” said York Vice-President Research and Innovation Amir Asif.

The survivors’ hearing and the process was funded through SSHRC, the Global Survivors Fund, the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation at York University, the Ford Foundation, the Global Fund for Women and the Government of Canada.

CIFAL York to bring youth leaders, changemakers together to create SDG action plans at Congress

social and environmental justice featured image

By Elaine Smith

Congress 2023, hosted by York University and the Federation for Humanities and Social Sciences, is coming to campus in May and CIFAL York is leading an event that will start new conversations on achieving social and environmental justice.

The event’s theme, Reckonings and Re-Imaginings, explores ways of changing belief systems and imagining a radically different world that is safe, equitable and sustainable for all. York will offer an intriguing mix of programming throughout, focused on the arts and on community engagement and connections – that’s where CIFAL York comes in.

The centre’s Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) committee is organizing a community connection dialogue, under the leadership of Idil Boran, professor and associate director of CIFAL York, and Julia Satov, global director of diversity and inclusion at Litera, who serves as co-Chair of the committee. The event will bring together professionals from various sectors and community youth voices representing the Humber River-Black Creek Youth Council, and other youth groups in the Greater Toronto Area.

Idil Boran
Idil Boran

The community dialogue is titled “Climate change is not the change we want! Community connection dialogue between changemakers and youth leaders for inclusive social transformation.” The event will allow participants to “debate and co-design radical collaboration to accelerate credible and impactful implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030,” said Boran. “Invited professionals who are changemakers in their areas of practice, will make brief statements about how they champion EDI and the positive change they catalyze within their organizations and communities. Youth leaders will respond and debate with changemakers to co-create action plans for improving and scaling up implementation of social and environmental justice.”

The event aims to create a space for changemakers and community youth voices to brainstorm solutions for action on pressing problems that are identified in the discussion and debate.

“The needs of societies have become a powerful catalyst, not only as protests in streets or in conversations by the company water cooler, but as a reckoning that has fundamentally impacted emergent and established economies, global relations, and human capital,’’ said Satov.

“This event is about mobilizing all actors in society for social transformation and leaving no one behind in efforts to advance the SDGs,” said Boran. “We want to celebrate community members and youth leaders as impactful participants toward a sustainable future that offers quality education (SDG 4); climate action (SDG 13); good health and well-being (SDG 3); the reduction of inequality (SDG 10); sustainable cities (SDG 11); catalyzing gender equality and women’s empowerment (SDG 5); the inclusion of LGBTQIA2S+, and partnerships to achieve these goals (SDG 17). We plan to produce output of knowledge mobilization that can be used by stakeholders to advance change.”

CIFAL York is part of a global network of training centres focussed on knowledge-sharing, training, and capacity-building for leaders. It is affiliated with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in partnership with York Region.

This event is one of more than 50 open programs being offered by York at Congress 2023, happening between May 27 and June 2.

Register here to attend or find out how you can volunteer in a variety of roles to support Congress.

Faculty invited to Globally Networked Learning info session

Globally Networked Learning GNL

The Globally Networked Learning (GNL) team at York University will host the first GNL information session on Monday, Feb. 6 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. The session is open to all York faculty members who are interested in innovative pedagogies that combine internationalization, experiential education and co-teaching a course with an international partner.

Session participants will learn how to integrate GNL-enhanced activities in their courses by developing new, or enhancing existing, partnerships through GNL. York GNL faculty course leaders will share their experiences, as well as student learning outcomes and feedback, and will provide information about GNL supports and resources available to York faculty members, including the GNL Award

The GNL approach engages faculty and students from different locations around the world to participate in collaborative class discussions, joint lectures, assignments and/or research projects through innovative pedagogies and the use of online communication and information technologies. In addition to innovative pedagogical approaches, GNL promotes and facilitates intercultural communication and global learning for both faculties and students. 

York University faculty members who will integrate GNL in their courses will have access to many supports, including York International, the Teaching Commons, University Information Technology (UIT) and the York Libraries along with resources from the partner university. To further encourage York faculty members to co-develop resources for their GNL course and support GNL initiatives, there is also an award of $1,000.

The GNL award application deadline for Fall 2023 and Winter 2024 terms is Feb. 28. The GNL award application is available online.

Find out more and register for the GNL faculty information session:

To learn more about GNL, visit the GNL website, access the Faculty Toolkit and the current GNL projects.

AIF funds a wide range of teaching and learning projects

Hand holding light bulb with illustration on blurred background

By Elaine Smith

Over the years, York University’s Academic Innovation Fund (AIF) has promoted an inspired shift in teaching, learning, the student experience and internationalization of the curriculum. With the deadline approaching for applications to this year’s AIF, here is an overview of some of the examples of the past projects that received funding.

Will Gage
Will Gage

For Will Gage, York University’s associate vice-president, teaching & learning, the start of the winter term is a sign that it’s time to remind faculty members to submit their applications for Academic Innovation Fund (AIF) grants. And what better way to do so than to share some examples of projects that received grants in the past?

“For more than a decade, the AIF has provided faculty with funding to pilot, develop and test their innovative curricular and pedagogical ideas,” said Gage. “We are proud of the diverse, useful, practical output that has resulted, many of which have been incorporated into the classroom or the student experience.”

For example, an AIF grant is supporting a project related to a topic that is crucial to the University Academic Plan: the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The ‘SDGs-in-the-Classroom” Curricular Innovation Hub is a pan-University, interdisciplinary, scaffolded strategy that aims to infuse the SDGs into more York classrooms more quickly.

Nitima Bhatia and Tracy Bhoola, members of the SDGs-in-the-Classroom Community of Practice, are working under the oversight of Sandra (Skerratt) Peniston, an assistant professor of nursing, to bring this effort to life, thanks to an AIF grant. They led the team that created an SDGs toolkit to make it simple to integrate the SDGs into courses on any subject.

“SDGs do touch on every single discipline, but many people may not realize that, so we want to spread the word across campus,” said Bhoola.

Added Bhatia, “The toolkit has launched, but we are adding resources every day, so it’s a living, breathing resource.”

In time, the toolkit will be located on the hub, which will be home to resources about SDGs, collaboration opportunities and videos created by SDG Curricular Champions. Bhatia and Bhoola are also involved in five workshops being held in conjunction with the Teaching Commons to train faculty to incorporate SDGs into their curricula, and they will be making presentations to the faculty councils about the accessibility and relevance of the tools.

“We really want to get the SDGs into York’s DNA,” said Bhoola.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals

Robin Sutherland-Harris, an educational developer at the Teaching Commons, has used an AIF grant to develop a speakers’ program for the community of practice that is dedicated to equity, diversity, decolonization and inclusion in teaching and learning. Sutherland-Harris, the project lead, works with co-leads Ameera Ali, another educational developer, and Jessica Vorstermans, an assistant professor of critical disability studies, health policy and equity, to line up speakers for their monthly meetings and set the group’s agenda.

“We launched the community of practice in Fall 2021,” said Sutherland-Harris. “It’s for anyone who deals with teaching and learning at York and we’re always accepting members. We started with 40 people and now have more than 70.

“During our first year, our monthly sessions largely featured members of our community sharing topics of interest or expertise. However, we felt that especially those who are less established or not in the tenure stream were devoting a significant chunk of work to preparing presentations. We wanted to have funding to help support and recognize their labour, and that got us talking about applying for an AIF grant.”

The team plans to apply for a second year of AIF funding to support their monthly lectures and plan for their upcoming May conference.

A partnership between the Schulich School of Business and YSpace is preserving guidance and insights gleaned from York and Schulich alumni in a video database that any faculty member can access. Based on lectures given by these visiting experts, The Entrepreneurial Mindset/Skillset eLearning and Video Database Initiative, offers faculty short clips on myriad topics, such as venture capital and protecting intellectual property, said Chris Carder, executive director of Schulich’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

“Normally, when professors want to use video content for a class, they need to go out and find relevant stories,” said Carder. “Often, however, they are coming from American sources. At Schulich there are so many interviews done and appearances made by York and Schulich alumni and we’re saving it all.

“This program wouldn’t be possible without the AIF grant. I’m grateful that York has such a program that encourages us to push the envelope.”

Another current project, EE With, Not In, focuses on experiential education (EE). Led by Natalie Coulter, director of the Institute for Digital Literacies, and Byron Gray, manager of the TD Community Engagement Centre, this collaborative project supports students in their EE experiences in the Jane and Finch community. It uses a reciprocal approach that is respectful of community knowledge and expertise in the community, rather than being grounded in assumptions and stigmatizations.

Meanwhile, the Collective Inclusive Pathways to Access (CIPA) project is working to increase the success of students with disabilities in work placements. Currently, their access is heavily reliant on an accommodations model predicated on disclosure of a medical diagnosis. Led by nursing professor Iris Epstein, the project will develop a CIPA resource for professionals and those responsible for creating accessible EE. 

The AIF fund allows faculty to exercise their pedagogical creativity. Don’t miss out on this year’s call for applications – check your Faculty’s fast-approaching deadline for submission.

International students studying at the Lassonde School of Engineering reconnect far from home

Featured image for YFile shows Lassonde_Ugandan Students_Ngasha-Reuel copy

By Elaine Smith

It’s a happy coincidence that Andrea Ngasha Tayebwa and Adren Reuel Singh, who graduated together from high school in Kampala, Uganda, find themselves at York University this year. Both are studying at the Lassonde School of Engineering.

Singh applied to York’s computer engineering program and planned to arrive for the fall 2021 semester, but York was still in pandemic lockdown and classes were online, so he did a semester remotely. When classes resumed in person during the winter of 2022, he encountered visa problems, so he didn’t arrive until fall 2022. Meanwhile, Tayebwa took a gap year after high school, applying to York for a President’s International Scholarship of Excellence. She received the scholarship and also arrived at the University in time for the fall 2022 semester.

Andrea Ngasha Tayebwa (left) with Adren Reuel Singh
Andrea Ngasha Tayebwa (left) with Adren Reuel Singh

“We had lost touch after graduation, so I expected Andrea to go to Montreal to study, since she has family there,” Singh said. “I texted her before I came to Canada and found out she was at York. She took me shopping and helped me settle in and we explored campus together. Now, we keep in touch and hang out when we have time.”

Tayebwa knew Singh was heading to York, but she hadn’t originally planned to come here, too.

“I read the Lassonde School of Engineering information and I was drawn to it,” she said. “I applied and got in. I came a week earlier than Reuel, and we helped each other settle in. It has been nice to have someone from close to home here.”

Both students were deliberate in their choice of Canada as the place to pursue a post-secondary education.

“I had come to Canada once and liked how different it was from back home,” Tayebwa said. “A lot of universities come to Kampala for university fairs and I was drawn to Canada. It is more diverse and more welcoming to international students than many countries, and it’s a safe place.

Singh said, “I found York on a list of the Top 10 universities in Canada. I was accepted at three of them and had to make a decision. I chose York because of Lassonde’s up-to-date curriculum. They are mindful of morals and ethics and I like that they feel the responsibility to train engineers the right way.”

Choosing computer engineering to pursue made sense to Singh, who has been programming since the age of 10 and is already a full stack developer who creates apps, websites and software. While in high school, he created an online voting system for school elections, PolliFy, which is still being used five years later. He has also created an app called Seizafe that analyzes YouTube videos to determine whether or not they might trigger an epileptic seizure and creates a warning for users. He was inspired to design the app, which is endorsed by the British Epilepsy Society, after a high school classmate suffered a fatal seizure during a debate team trip.

“I get emails thanking me, which is heartwarming,” Singh said. “I want people to benefit. I have a yearning to leave a mark in the world.”

For Tayebwa, the decision to become a civil engineer grew out of her interest in math and physics and her determination to do something for her country.

“Our infrastructure isn’t as developed as it is here,” she said. “It’s an area of study that I thought would be useful back home. Eventually, I want to return and help out.

“In the context of my course, I love how the engineering classes [at York] are up to date as current world issues are incorporated into the course and I love the emphasis on collaboration as well as experiential learning. I believe I’m picking up skills such as problem solving, leadership and creativity that will serve me well as I pursue civil engineering.” 

The students are taking classes together during the winter term, since all of the first-year engineering students take basic courses together. Singh took electives last semester in order to be in synch with the other engineers in his cohort.

“Lassonde is attracting talent from all over the world and currently has students from over 130 different countries,” said Jane Goodyer, dean of the Lassonde School of Engineering, after meeting the pair at the President’s International Student Reception, an event organized by York International. “But it’s a small world! We were talking and, when I discovered they were both from Uganda, I didn’t do the obvious and ask if they knew each other. Then, they told me they were from the same high school and the same graduating class, but didn’t realize they were both coming to York. What are the odds of coming all those thousands of kilometres and having someone from home there?”

The reception was also an opportunity for the university to celebrate international scholarship winners, like Tayebwa.

Woo Kim, director of international student and scholar services for York International, said, “Events like the President’s International Student Reception, gives York an opportunity to welcome international students and celebrate the richness and diversity they have to offer our University community.”

The scholarship is an honour that makes Tayebwa proud. “I knew I would hear in late March or early April,” she said. “Even though I felt qualified, I knew it was about luck to some extent, so I just prayed.”

The email informing her that she’d won a President’s International Scholarship arrived on April 1 and Tayebwa didn’t believe it.

“I thought it was probably some April Fool’s joke, but it said to check my online York account, and there was the letter, originally dated March 23. I called my mom and we celebrated.”

Now that they are in Toronto, Tayebwa and Singh are enjoying the campus, getting involved in extracurricular activities and making new friends. However, they plan to keep in close touch.

“Seeing Andrea feels like a piece of home,” Singh said.