De-escalating robocops? York study imagines future of crisis response 

Robotic hand reaches for human hand

By Corey Allen, senior manager, research communications

Picture this: a 911 operator in your city receives a call from a person in mental distress and needs to send help.  

They could dispatch the police or an integrated unit of both police and mental health professionals. But instead, the operator sends a robot.  

This scenario may sound like science fiction, but it’s the kind of futuristic thinking that has researchers at York University considering all angles when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) and crisis response.   

Building more empathetic bots through interdisciplinary research  
Kathryn Pierce
Kathryn Pierce

In a paper published in Applied Sciences earlier this year, psychology PhD candidate Kathryn Pierce and her co-authors explore the potential role robots could play in crisis de-escalation, as well as the capabilities engineers would need to program them to be effective.    

The visionary paper is part of a larger project at the Lassonde School of Engineering that involves early-stage research to design and test robots to assist in security and police force tasks. The York engineers asked the psychology researchers to provide their social scientific lens to their forward-thinking work on humanizing machines.  

“De-escalation is not a well-researched topic and very little literature exists about what de-escalation really looks like moment by moment,” says Pierce, who is supervised by Dr. Debra Pepler, a renowned psychologist and Distinguished Research Professor in the Faculty of Health. “This makes it difficult to determine what kinds of behavioural changes are necessary in both responders and the person in crisis to lead to a more positive outcome.”   

No hard and fast rules for de-escalation, for both humans and robots  

With limited academic understanding of what really happens in human-to-human interactions during a crisis response, let alone robot-to-human, training a robot to calm a person down poses an incredibly tall task.  

Despite the challenge, Pierce and her co-authors were able to develop a preliminary model outlining the functions a robot should theoretically be able to perform for effective de-escalation. These functions are made up of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies that engineers would need to be mindful of when building a robot for such a task.    

Some of these strategies include a robot’s gaze – the way a machine and human look at one another – the speed in which they approach (slow and predictable), and the sound and tone of their voice (empathetic and warm).  

But, as the researchers point out, ultimately, robots cannot be “programmed in a fixed, algorithmic, rule-based manner” because there are no fixed rules for how people calm each other.   

“Even if there were algorithms governing human-to-human de-escalation, whether those would translate into an effective robot-to-human de-escalation is an empirical question,” they write.  

It is also difficult to determine whether people will react to robots emulating human behaviour the same way they would if it was an actual person. 

Advances in AI could add new layer of complication to the future of crisis response  

In recent years, the use and discussion of non-police crisis response services have garnered growing attention in various cities across North America, and elsewhere in the world.  

Advocates for replacing traditional law enforcement with social workers, nurses or mental health workers – or at least the integration of these professionals with police units – argue that this leads to better outcomes.  

Research published earlier this year showed that police responding to people in mental distress use less force if accompanied by a health-care provider. Another study found that community responses were more effective for crime prevention and cost savings.  

Introducing robots into the mix would add to the complexity of crisis response services design and reforms. And it could lead to a whole host of issues for engineers, social scientists and governments to grapple with in the future. 

The here and now 

For the time being, Pierce and her co-authors see a machine’s greatest potential in video recording. Robots would accompany human responders on calls to film the interaction. The footage could then be reviewed for responders to reflect on what went well and what to improve upon.  

Researchers could also use this data to train robots to de-escalate situations more like their human counterparts.    

Another use for AI surveillance the researchers theorize could be to have robots trained to identify individuals in public who are exhibiting warning signs of agitation, allowing for police or mental health professionals to intervene before a crisis point is ever reached.  

While a world in which a 911 operator dispatches an autonomous robot to a crisis call may be too hard to conceive, Pierce and her co-authors do see a more immediate, realistic line of inquiry for this emerging area of research.  

“I think what’s most practical would be to have engineers direct their focus on how robots can ultimately assist in de-escalation, rather than aiming for them to act independently,” says Pierce. “It’s a testament to the power and sophistication of the human mind that our emotions are hard to replicate. What our paper ultimately shows, or reaffirms, is that modern machines are still no match for human intricacies.”  

Background  

The paper, “Considerations for Developing Robot-Assisted Crisis De-Escalation Practice,” was co-authored by Pierce and Pepler, along with Michael Jenkin, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science in the Lassonde School of Engineering, and Stephanie Craig, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Guelph.  

The work was funded by the Canadian Innovation for Defence Excellence & Security Innovation Networks. 

Intellectual property services at York give startups innovation edge 

research patent innovation

By Diana Senwasane, student and community engagement coordinator, YSpace and VPRI 

For more than a decade, the IP Innovation Clinic at York University has been helping inventors and entrepreneurs protect and grow their wide-ranging business ventures.  

Based out of Osgoode Hall Law School, the first-of-its-kind and now largest intellectual property (IP) legal clinic in Canada has provided pro bono legal support to hundreds of community members.   

Recently, the clinic partnered with the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation (VPRI) to offer streamlined services and a more efficient pathway for faculty to bring their product or service to market.  

This new partnership enhances the clinic’s ongoing contributions to the business development of dozens of startups.  

Spotlighted below are three ventures that credit the clinic for helping them reach new levels of success.     

NURO 

Founded in 2017, NURO is a health-care technology company that uses neurotechnology to create a form of communication for incapacitated patients who suffer from conditions such as stroke, trauma and neurodegenerative diseases.  

NURO’s second patented technology, The PAD, used for the detection and continuous monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease.

When the startup was first established, founder and CEO Francois Gand was referred to the IP Innovation Clinic to protect his intellectual property.  

“This collaboration empowered us to assess and prioritize crucial aspects of our work with the aid of talented scholars, allowing for a much more intricate and in-depth organization of our IP portfolio,” says Gand.  

The clinic provided pro bono patent searching that helped NURO assess the relevant patent landscape related to its technologies and helped the company begin the patent application process, resulting in NURO securing a patent and its IP more broadly.  

Skygauge Robotics 

Skygauge Robotics was founded by a trio of then-students, now York alumni, including two who were featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list: Nikita Illiushkin (BBA ’16) and Linar Ismagilov (BA ’18). Their company uses drones to create a workforce in the sky.  

A Skyguage Robotics drone performing an inspection on a ship. 

The drones do physical work for remote inspection and maintenance and can be used for painting, pressure washing, cleaning and even ultrasonic testing, which is used when inspecting large infrastructure like ships, bridges and piping.  

The IP Innovation Clinic helped Skygauge Robotics secure their IP, which later contributed to them obtaining $3.3 million in funding led by BDC’s Industrial Innovation Venture Fund.  

“What really set us apart from other companies competing for funding was the fact that we had our technology patented,” says Illiushkin. “We credit the IP Innovation Clinic for their guidance and support in the IP process and the expertise of the supervising legal team who continue to advise us today.” 

Indigenous Friends Association 

The Indigenous-led, not-for-profit organization created by then-student, now York alumnus Alejandro  Mayoral-Baños (PhD ’21) first began as an app to connect and support Indigenous youth. Mayoral-Baños turned to the IP Innovation Clinic to understand how to best protect his IP, develop essential contracts and become incorporated.  

Founder Alejandro Mayoral-Baños (top middle) posing with the Indigenous Friends Association board of directors.

The clinic was instrumental in helping evolve the app into other projects and gain access to more funding, notably a $210,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.  

“Working with the clinic was a transformative journey in turning vision into reality,” says Mayoral-Baños. “It enabled me to critically navigate the complexities of IP, leading to the creation of real-life solutions that have propelled the Indigenous Friends Association forward.” 

The Indigenous Friends Association now provides educational programs for Indigenous youth looking to enter the technology sector across the globe. 

The IP Innovation Clinic continues to offer tailored support for inventors and entrepreneurs looking to protect and commercialize their ideas.  

Backed by the expertise of the clinic and VPRI teams, these services give inventors and entrepreneurs the peace of mind that their intellectual property is protected. Clients can simplify a complicated process, avoid errors that can delay their journey to market, avoid costly lawyer or patent agent fees, and save valuable time.  

Services offered by the clinic can include: 

  • guidance on how to identify and protect assets, best practices and information surrounding freedom to operate; 
  • patent searches and prior art searches;  
  • trademark searches; 
  • IP Agreement review; and 
  • IP Application drafting and review. 

Those looking to bring their product or service to market or protect their idea can schedule free one-on-one consultations with the clinic by emailing ipinnovationclinic@osgoode.yorku.ca.

Canadian Writers in Person organizers share 2023 holiday reading list

young woman reads a book

Organizers of York University’s acclaimed Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series – humanities Professor Gail Vanstone and Department of English contract faculty member Dana Patrascu-Kingsley – offer their 2023 list of best books to read over the holiday break and beyond.

Vanstone and Patrascu-Kingsley organize the annual series that brings new and established Canadian authors to the York community (either in person or via Zoom) to deliver readings from their books. Canadian Writers in Person is a for-credit course offered in the Culture & Expression program in the Department of Humanities in York’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, but the associated lecture series is free and open to members of the York community and the public who are not enrolled in the course. The series continues Jan. 16, 2024 with a reading from David Huebert’s latest novel, Chemical Valley (Atlantic Books, 2021).

“When Dana and I put our heads together, we thought a good theme for this year might be ‘books that will expand your world,’ since poetry and fiction give us an opportunity to see, understand and feel the world from different perspectives,” said Vanstone. “In our list, we want to acknowledge the importance of voice and representation in each work for helping us think beyond ourselves.”

Here are their suggestions of recent Canadian books that will help “expand your world”:

And a special recommendation from York Professor Leslie Sanders, who is currently on sabbatical but is still associated with the Canadian Writers in Person course, is Drawing Down a Daughter by Claire Harris (in light of Goose Lane Editions’ recently announced Claire Harris Poetry Prize).

For more information about the lecture series, visit the event web page or email Vanstone at gailv@yorku.ca.

Graduate students see health equity in practice 

Black Creek Farm FEATURED image

By Elaine Smith 

While working toward a master’s degree in health equity, Erin Flanagan’s experiential education (EE) opportunity in the Human Rights & Health Equity graduate course offered by Jessica Vorstermans was a factor in her decision to pursue her passion for health policy and equity in the PhD program at York University. 

In addition to teaching relevant theory, Vorstermans, an assistant professor of critical disability studies, requires students in her course to engage with small organizations that are doing grassroots work. She also brings in speakers from such organizations to share their work experiences with the class.

Graduate students, professor and members of SweetGrass Roots Collective gathering sweet water at Black Creek Community Farm. L-R: Olivia, Jessica, Star, Kashfa, Sana and Jennifer
Graduate students, professor and members of SweetGrass Roots Collective gathering sweet water at Black Creek Community Farm. Pictured, left to right: Olivia, Jessica, Star, Kashfa, Sana and Jennifer.

“I want the students to engage with the people doing that work on the ground and understand what that looks like,” said Vorstermans. “We talk about community engagement in research and intersectionality, and I think it’s important for students to experience that and have time to think, reflect and debrief as part of their academic training, since they’ll likely be working in policy and different systems of care.  

“The idea is for them to be close to the people who are experiencing the policies, theories and concepts my students are learning about: those who experience inequity.” 

The organizations that provide Vorstermans’ students an opportunity for EE include: the Sweetgrass Roots Collective, an Indigenous collective that works to re-indigenize urban spaces, doing land- and place-based education, earthwork, arts and storytelling, to plant and steward land at Black Creek Community Farm, which is next door to York’s Keele Campus; Community Peacemaker Teams, an advocacy organization that describes itself as building partnerships to transform violence and aggression; and the Ocama Collective, “a community-directed group of birth workers of colour, living and working in Tkaronto [Toronto], who are dedicated to the reclamation of traditional and holistic childbearing and birthing practices amongst IBPIC folx” (sic).  

“Learning from people experientially is powerful,” said Vorstermans, and both Flanagan and recent student Humairaa Karodia agree.

Humairaa Karodia
Humairaa Karodia

“The group project was the highlight of the course, because it allowed me to immerse myself into the real world,” said Flanagan. “We were doing research with a purpose, so we could see it come to fruition, see the end result and see that it made an impact.” 

Flanagan and the four other students on her team worked with the Indigenous Wet’suwet’en people of British Columbia who have been protesting plans made by large corporations to build pipelines on their lands – projects that don’t have the tribe’s consent. 

“We worked as an ally to support the Indigenous community with their protest, document it and ensure it got proper coverage in the media,” said Flanagan. “We provided the story from the perspective of the Indigenous community and we helped gather information so we could support the protest, researching the amount of money the RCMP was spending on the protest, including blockades and arrests of Indigenous people. We tried to find numbers so we could provide a clear look at how much public money goes into this. 

“There were a lot of nuances, and we filed a freedom of information request, going through that whole process. We built skills around how to find information people try to conceal. It brought to light what is transparent and what is not.” 

Their experience also caused team members to consider their own privilege, something they all discussed. 

“We talked about how to form a genuine allyship and avoid tropes of the white saviour,” she said. “It helped us stay grounded. We were constantly asking questions, since we had no lived experience with the issue.”

Master’s student Erin Flanagan and her classmates at Black Creek Community Farm, visiting with the members of the SweetGrass Roots Collective.
Master’s student Erin Flanagan and her classmates at Black Creek Community Farm, visiting with the members of the SweetGrass Roots Collective.

Karodia, a master’s student in health policy and equity, chose to work with the Sweetgrass Roots Collective to harvest sweet water because she remembers childhood trips to maple syrup farms and was also eager to give back to the Indigenous community during a time of reconciliation. 

“This was deconstructing what I knew about maple syrup,” she said, referring to sweet water, also known as sap. “And after all the years of hurt inflicted on the Indigenous Peoples, they still welcome settlers with open arms, asking us to come learn from them and join them. Forming these spaces allows us to see the common ground we all hold. Under the scope of human rights, this type of bonding, trust, and collaboration humanizes one another and we begin to feel like we are one body and obliged to protect one another.” 

Karodia found many similarities between Indigenous Peoples and Muslims in Canada, including adherence to a lunar calendar and promoting gratitude and sustainable living. 

“The way they hold their natural spaces and respect every living creature is very similar to Islam, and the West has discriminated and looked down on Islam in the same way they have on Indigenous practices and beliefs,” she said. “When we talk about agency, we think about protests and demonstrations, but bringing awareness can also be through intimate spaces like this, about bolstering your community together. Even the smallest action, such as boiling sweet water and canning it so it can go to Indigenous people throughout the province, makes a difference.” 

After their EE opportunities, the teams each presented a concept they learned during their work and related it to their classroom learning. Their presentations fostered thought-provoking discussion that Flanagan found “very rewarding.” 

“This practical experience was so refreshing,” she said. “It was the first time I’d done research in a group setting and the team dynamic was really enjoyable. We build some concrete skills that we could put on a resume. It was great that Professor Vorstermans offered us this opportunity.” 

For her part, Vorstermans says students’ graduate work “focuses a lot on theory. When you put that together with work on the ground, you realize that things can be complicated and difficult.  

“As the students move into expert mode as researchers, they need to know that their learning should be directed by those experiencing harms, injustices and oppression,” she said. “Listening is an important skill.” 

Get ‘REDDI’ for 2024: sign up for workshops on systemic inequities

Equity, diversity, inclusion

York University community members are invited to register now for the Winter 2024 REDDI (Rights, Equity, Diversity, Decolonization & Inclusion) miniseries workshops, offered through the Centre for Human Rights, Equity & Inclusion.

Sessions begin on Jan. 8, 2024, and cover a wide range of topics to ensure University community members are prepared to address systemic inequities.

In furthering the goals of the York University Academic Plan and the DEDI (Decolonizing, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) Strategy, the REDDI certificate workshop sessions are designed to provide opportunities for community members to learn, reflect upon and discuss ways to contribute to an equitable academic environment.

Each session will run for approximately 90 minutes and will be offered virtually, to facilitate the attendance of participants on and off campus.

All students, staff and faculty are invited to attend REDDI workshops. Sessions cover topics including challenging ableism, addressing racism, dialogues across difference and more. The series also features French sessions on: creed-based harassment and discrimination, called “Créer et maintenir des espaces positifs;” anti-racism work, called “Reconnaître et aborder le racisme;” and allyship, called “Lutter contre la discrimination.”

Participants who complete three full-length core workshops will receive a REDDI series certificate. The Winter 2024 workshops are also an opportunity for participants to attend and add onto their requirements for the REDDI miniseries certificates.

REDDI miniseries workshops also offer certificates of completion. For certificates to be awarded following a miniseries, three miniseries workshops plus one full-length workshop must be attended.

To see the available workshops, and their descriptions, for the Winter 2024 term, visit the CHREI REDDI page.

Registration for these workshops is required and can be accessed through the YU Learn Learning Opportunities website. To learn more about York’s new DEDI Strategy, click here.

Bisexual women at greater risk for substance-use events

emergency room sign

New research out of York University shows that bisexual women face a higher risk of substance-related acute events than other sexual orientations and genders.

Disparities in alcohol- and substance-related hospitalizations and deaths across sexual orientations in Canada: a longitudinal study” uses Ontario health administrative data from 2009 to 2017 to quantify hospitalizations and deaths (acute events) related to alcohol, cannabis, opioids, narcotics, and illicit drugs across different sexual orientations and genders.

Authored by Gabriel John Dusing, Chungah Kim and Antony Chum of York University, along with Andrew Nielson of the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the study indicates that bisexual women faced 2.46 times higher risks of substance-related acute events compared to heterosexual women. For non-alcohol substance-related acute events, the risk was 2.67 times higher than it was for heterosexual women.

While substance-related acute events for heterosexual men and women were found to be 29 and 16 cases per 100,000 persons per year, this increased to 33 and 34 for gay men and lesbians, and up to 99 and 55 for bisexual men and women respectively.

However, after adjusting for sociodemographic differences, only bisexual women had a significantly higher risk compared to their heterosexual counterparts. The differences between heterosexual and bisexual men (or between heterosexual women and lesbians), could be explained by other factors such as income and education.

The paper continues to suggest that bisexual women’s elevated substance use may be associated with self-medication in response to unique stressors related to discrimination and isolation.

“The findings emphasize the need for enhanced education and training for health-care professionals to address the heightened substance use risk among lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals,” said Chum. “More funding and research is needed for targeted interventions focused on reducing substance use problems among bisexual individuals.”

By combining data from a population-representative survey and health administrative data, the study offers a unique contribution to research literature by sharing the first robust evidence of disparities in substance-use acute events across sexual orientations. It calls for “further evaluation of the effectiveness of tailored prevention and treatment programs, support groups, or public health campaigns designed to reach bisexual women and gay/bisexual men.”

Pest control treatments scheduled for Dec. 15 to 17

Keele campus pond

Pest control spray days at the Keele and Glendon campuses for Food Services-contracted cafeterias will begin on Friday, Dec. 15 at 5 p.m. and end on Sunday, Dec. 17 at 5 p.m.

Work is undertaken using accepted practices and approved materials by Professional PCO Services, which holds an Eco Green Ergonomic Extermination certificate from the Ministry of the Environment. A work permit has been submitted and approved by York University’s Health, Safety & Employee Well-Being office.

Monitoring and treatment of component applications will be carried out in the Food Services locations listed below:

  • Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence
  • Central Square complex
  • Centre for Film & Theatre
  • Curtis Lecture Hall
  • Glendon Campus
  • Glendon Centre of Excellence
  • Ignat Kaneff Building
  • Lassonde Building
  • Ross Building
  • Stong College
  • Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Building
  • William Small Centre
  • Winters College

For further information, contact John Leva, manager of grounds, fleet and waste management, Facilities Services, at jleva@yorku.ca; or Tom Watt, director of food services, Ancillary Services, at watttm@yorku.ca.

Lions hockey coach leads para athletes, advances inclusion in sport

Russ Herrington

Russ Herrington has coached and won at various levels of hockey for close to three decades, having spent the past six as head coach of the York University Lions men’s hockey team after serving as an assistant for two years.

Since joining the Lions staff, he’s taken on a new coaching challenge in the world of para hockey with the Canadian national team.

First invited to guest coach the team in 2016, Herrington continued to be called on to join the coaching staff and moved from video coach to the bench as an assistant coach in 2019, and then became head coach in September 2022.

Russ Herrington coaching the Canadian national para hockey team
Russ Herrington coaching the Canadian national para hockey team.

And, aside from a few minor differences – such as no backwards skating, bilateral skill sets (using both hands proportionately rather than one in the stand-up game) and the fact the players are on a sled – there aren’t many discrepancies from the traditional game to the para game.

“In terms of tactics and the approach, I don’t really treat these players any differently than the players at York,” said Herrington. “They’re high-performance athletes; they just sit in a sled rather than stand on their feet. So, other than a few minor tweaks in terms of defending the rush because they don’t skate backwards, it’s basically the same thing.”

The biggest difference, perhaps, lies in the path of Herrington’s para athletes as opposed to the ones he coaches with the Lions. From players with disabilities from birth to amputees to paralysis and more, the players’ journeys are inspiring and unique, with many being relatively new to the game.

“What it has taught me is the importance of simplicity, repetition and language,” Herrington said. “In hockey, quite often, you’re trying to be multifaceted, trying to be good at 10, 15, 20 different things. We had that approach, but we would become jacks of all trades and masters of none, so let’s simplify the game and streamline our focus and be pointed in our language. Let’s try and be brilliant at three things and then we can worry about trying to be brilliant at a fourth.”

While there have been great strides made in growing the game of hockey in certain areas, the para game has, in some sense, lagged behind, he said, stressing that while para athletes may do it differently, para hockey players are, indeed, hockey players.

“They’re as able as anybody else,” he said. “They’re fiercely independent, they don’t want pity, they don’t want sympathy; they want to be treated like everyone else, and that’s the way I approach it.”

Herrington also said he views the game through a much broader lens in terms of accessibility than he did before entering the para hockey world.

“I look at rinks completely differently now,” he said. “There are a lot of arenas I go in now and I’m like, ‘This is a great facility, but we couldn’t bring a para team here, and that’s a shame.’ So, it’s really opened my eyes in terms of the need to make things more accessible.”

Under Herrington’s leadership, the Lions have made it a priority to broaden their knowledge and understanding of a variety of social issues, including Black Lives Matter, Pride and Truth & Reconciliation.

They also recently held their second annual Colt’s Crusade game on Dec. 3 against the Western Mustangs, spotlighting seven-year-old para hockey player Colton Hagarty, whom Lion forward Michael Douglas met while serving the youngster and his family at a restaurant in Toronto. The Lions also co-ordinated an invitation to a national team camp in Elmira, Ont., where Hagarty was able to meet some of the athletes.

“A lot of the things we’ve done, especially coming out of the pandemic, have been collaborative ideas coming from our players,” Herrington said. “Michael came to me and said, ‘Hey, this is a kid that is trying to get into para sport; what can we do to get him involved?,’ so we were really glad to be able to celebrate Colt.”

The Lions head coach said that being leaders in social initiatives is a key component in the program’s mission of providing a transformational student-athlete experience on and off the ice.

“That’s one of the things I challenge our group to do, individually and collectively: to change the narrative around hockey,” he said. “As part of the CROSS (character, respect, optimism, sacrifice, self-care) acronym, we talk about character, and that to us is the understanding that the true essence of a person is in their actions, behaviours and choices, not what their external appearance looks like.

“We can’t change all of hockey culture; we can change our hockey culture and hope it starts to spread.… We need to be leaders in that space, and that’s a challenge I’m thankful our players are willing to take on.”

Herrington is currently with the Canadian para team coaching at the 2023 Para Hockey Cup in Quispamsis, N.B. The tournament began on Dec. 3 – International Day of Persons With Disabilities, an annual observance promoted by the United Nations since 1992. The Canadians have won the first two games of the preliminary round, beating China 4-1 and Czechia 3-0.

Community Safety Department collecting toy donations

wooden toys

York University’s Community Safety Department is participating in the Community Police Liaison Committee’s annual toy drive for children in the Jane and Finch area.

Donations will be taken to the Toronto Police Service (TPS) 31 Division, 40 Norfinch Dr., where TPS and the community will get together to wrap the gifts, then work with community groups in the Jane and Finch area of North York, Ont., to distribute gifts to families in need.

Toys will be collected until Sunday, Dec. 17 and can be dropped off at the Community Safety Centre in the William Small Centre at York University’s Keele Campus.

For more information, call 416-808-3130 or email 8955@tps.ca.

York University climbs in QS Sustainability Rankings

Aerial view of York Keele campus summer

York University continues to strengthen its momentum as a global leader in sustainability, climbing more than 100 spots in the latest QS Sustainability Rankings – which evaluate the social, environmental and governance impact of global institutions – to rank 118th out of over 1,400 universities.

In addition to its momentum in the overall rankings, York also achieved strong global placement in several significant categories, including ranking 14th in equality and 100th in governance.

“These rankings reflect York University’s steadfast commitment to creating a world that is equitable, just and sustainable,” says York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton. “The climate crisis is the most urgent priority we face on the planet, and failure to take action will have severe environmental, social and economic repercussions for us all. As a modern and progressive international university, York plays an important role in promoting the cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration needed to respond to global challenges through our purposeful research and teaching, our university-wide call to advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and through the bold initiatives we are taking to reduce emissions on our campuses.”

York’s placement in the QS Sustainability Rankings builds on the institution’s strong showings in other prestigious rankings throughout 2023.

In July, the University strengthened its global position as a leading research-intensive university by climbing more than 100 spots to 353rd in the world in the QS World University Rankings.

In March, the 2023 QS Subject Report Rankings found York ranked among the top 100 in the world in three subject areas: English language and literature, philosophy and, for the first time, performing arts

According to the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings in June, the University placed among the top 40 institutions advancing the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including ranking 21st in fighting poverty, 25th in reducing inequalities and 12th in building more sustainable cities and communities.   

York University recently committed further to becoming one of the most sustainable institutions in Canada, to develop a strategy with an aim to achieve net-zero emissions on Scope 1 and 2 emissions at York University and to significantly reduce Scope 3 emissions before 2040 – a decade sooner than its previous commitment. 

“As an internationally recognized leader in sustainability, York University has a responsibility to act on global challenges facing humanity, including ecological degradation, climate change and growing socio-economic inequality. The bold actions we are taking on our campuses, and in our local and global communities, will build on the strong foundation we have created and move us closer to our goal of becoming one of the most sustainable institutions in Canada,” Lenton said during a special announcement on Nov. 23.

Guided by a University Academic Plan and Sustainability Policy that seek to inspire and deliver positive change, York’s high-quality academic programming and research continue to position the institution as a leader in sustainability in post-secondary education in Canada and around the world.