David Phipps, director of York’s Office of Research Services, spent part of December in Edinburgh, Brighton and London exploring knowledge exchange and knowledge brokering in the UK, said The Guardian March 9, introducing the first in a series of four articles about knowledge mobilization by Phipps in The Guardian‘s Higher Education Network blog. University knowledge and talent have the potential to contribute to new approaches to wicked problems, but they cannot benefit society if social sciences and humanities scholars limit themselves to traditional academic paradigms of scholarly communication and dissemination, wrote Phipps. Since 2006, York University, Canada, has employed a knowledge-mobilization unit to broker relationships between university research and expertise (both faculty and graduate students) and non-academic partners. Read full story.
CIGI has no veto at York University
Patrick Monahan, York vice-president academic & provost, responded to a National Post story about an agreement between the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and York University to create 10 research chairs and 20 graduate scholarships over the next 10 years, in a letter to the editor published March 13. “The assertion that CIGI has any form of veto over faculty selection or curriculum is simply wrong,” Monahan wrote. Read full story.
Question everything: teaching evidence-based management
While questioning the decisions of those higher up the business food chain may seem toxic to one’s career goals, Professor Markus Biehl of York’s Schulich School of Business is convinced it makes for more calculated and beneficial leadership, reported The Globe and Mail March 13 in a story about evidence-based practice gaining momentum in business. “You can always find the right answer to a question,” said Biehl, “but the real question should be, ‘Is this the right question to ask?’” Read full story.
Canadian refugee decisions hinge on presiding judge, says report
Ottawa should rethink its plan to ban certain refugees from appeals in light of a new report that suggests asylum outcomes very much depend on which refugee judge presides on the case, reported the Toronto Star March 13, in a story about a study by Osgoode Professor Sean Rehaag. “The evidence suggests that who decides on these cases has a significant impact on the outcomes. The luck of the draw is still at work,” said Rehaag, who released the report Monday. Read full story.
Sector-specific MBA degrees part of growing trend
Pharmacist and Schulich student Dave Puri is part of a growing trend in which business students pursue specialty MBAs focused on a particular industry, such as health care, real estate and law, or themes such as international business, sustainability and entrepreneurship, reported The Globe and Mail March 13. That’s why he opted for a two-year master of business administration, with a concentration in health industry management, from the Schulich School of Business at York University. Read full story.
Management in session
To attract and retain the right talent for innovation, companies should review their internal hiring practices, reported the National Post March 13, in a story that cited comments by Eileen Fischer, chair in Entrepreneurship & Family Enterprise at York University’s Schulich School of Business. Mature companies, she says, are often conflicted in what they are looking for in a potential employee. “They may want people who are entrepreneurial, but the hiring system may be rewarding people who are not,” Fischer said. Read full story.
Annual Rouge Valley deer count aids in conservation
Third-year York University student Shenique Turner studies environmental science, and says she is involved in the Rouge Valley Conservation Centre’s annual deer count because of her passion for conserving the environment, reported TorontoObserver.ca March 12. “I really like being outdoors and I really like participating in events like these that actually help out with environmental protection,” Turner said. Read full story.