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York U start-up rebounds to find success in face of COVID-19 pandemic

online learning
online learning

It’s not where they thought they’d be in the final months of 2020, but the team behind a York University start-up has found success in their redefined business model.

SV Robotics Academy’s CEO Mayu Ganesathas, a third-year mechanical engineering student at York University, COO Thip Balakrishnan, a York University space engineering graduate, and CTO Glenn Murphy, McGill University engineering graduate, were just beginning to see marked growth in their business when the global pandemic forced mass closures in the business sector.

The team launched SV Robotics Academy in the fall of 2018, using a small industrial office to provide a platform for children ages six to 18 to learn robotics through project-based curriculum and apply what they’ve learned in projects, competitions and idea-hackathons. In January 2019, the company was accepted into YSpace, York University’s incubator program, and helped it grow its annual recurring revenue from $60,000 to $250,000.

“SV’s students saw success and placed in the top five at Waterloo NASA Hackathon, Brampton Spark Hackathon and York University Hack,” said Ganesathas. “SV’s core belief, that student’s capabilities are greater than the traditional school system standards, was proving to be true.”

Looking forward, the company prepared for an exciting summer 2020 and planned to host summer camps with Yamaha Music School, University of Toronto, and Brampton Center For Entrepreneurship – but none of this would happen.

On March 12, SV Robotics Academy notified clients it would temporarily shut down due to new health and safety protocols outlined by the government in response to COVID-19. But as it became clear that pandemic response measures would continue long term, the team knew they had to reimagine their platform to continue to serve their clients.

“We felt that moving from an engaging and exciting SV classroom would be an ugly juxtaposition to the awkward and dull Zoom meeting,” said Murphy. “So, within a week, we released a beta for SV Robotics Online.”

The online experience was designed to award student engagement, offering points to those who posted projects or ideas, helped peers, and posted opinions and recommendations. Every six months, the top 10 students would be awarded exciting prizes, such as Airpods, Chromebooks or Amazon gift cards.

“We released the website to its existing clients and began running weekly classes and online hackathons,” said Murphy. “Since this was a drastic change from the original offering, the company offered this all for free from March to April.”

Despite financial struggles during those months, the SV Robotics team persisted and by the end of April, officially launched SV Robotics Online to the public. In June, the company saw 70 new students sign up for weekly lessons, and fast-forward to November, the website has 120 daily users. After a massive loss, the company rebounded to a stronger, more scalable position.

“Finding success in the pandemic was not simple, and the sacrifice that SV made was not a luxury that most startups have,” said Balakrishnan. “With a focus on the product and adapting to work from home, SV pivoted out of the freefall with some scars but is now more vital than ever.”

SV Robotics Academy Online will launch a new platform on Jan.1, 2021, and will be accepting bright and curious students from anywhere in North America. The company is also seeking instructors and success managers and suggests that York students passionate about teaching technology to younger students should send their resume to info@svrobotics.ca.

By Ashley Goodfellow Craig, deputy editor, YFile

New provincial COVID-19 measures – What Toronto in lockdown means for York University

Image: CDC
An image of the COVID-19 virus. Image: CDC

The following is an important message to students, faculty and staff from York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton:

La version française suit la version anglaise.

Dear York Community,

In an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, the provincial government has announced new restrictions that will come into effect for the City of Toronto and Region of Peel Monday, Nov. 23 at 12:01 a.m.

This communication outlines the impact of these measures on the currently approved on-campus activities at York University.

Most of our community will continue to operate online and remotely. Under the strict adherence to the provincial COVID19 response framework and University Health and Safety Guidelines, currently approved research and in-person activities can continue with a few exceptions listed below.

Anyone approved to be on campus for research, teaching or ongoing required activities continues to be approved until further notice for any time-sensitive activities that cannot be postponed. If you were scheduled to be on campus this week for approved activities, and if you require access that cannot reasonably be postponed, please come as planned.

Effective Monday, Nov. 23 12:01 am, the following changes are in effect:

  • Gatherings: Indoor private gatherings with people outside of a household is prohibited. An individual living alone can gather with one other individual in a similar situation. Outdoor gatherings will be limited to 10 people.
  • Fitness facilities: All indoor gyms are now closed until further notice.
  • Libraries:  Remain open for contactless curbside pick up (book lockers), access to photocopiers, and computers until further notice.
  • Study Spaces: Will close until further notice. Students with exceptional needs requiring study space are asked to contact askusyul@yorku.ca for assistance. Limited library staff will remain on site for book locker support, research appointments, digitization services and access arrangements for photocopiers and computers.
  • York Lanes: The post office, pharmacy, grocery store, bank, dental and medical clinics are permitted to continue operations in compliance with capacity restrictions.
  • Food services:  Service remains takeout only, and all seating in dining halls and other food service outlets remains closed.
  • Psychology Clinic: Continues to operate virtually with limited in-person psychological/ psychoeducational assessments only.

To help keep everyone safe, please postpone coming to campuses for non-required needs during this lockdown period. For those approved to be on campus, please continue to follow the university’s screening and health and safety protocols and:

  • Complete the COVID-19 Screening Checklist each time before attending York and do not come to campus if “yes” was answered to any of the screening questions.     
  • Wear a face covering in shared spaces and within buildings.
  • Practise physical distancing and hand hygiene.

The new restrictions and evolving health and safety directives present challenges for all of us in the York community.  Through your ongoing vigilance and support, we can all help keep each other safe. I am proud of all the efforts being made to rise to the enormous challenges this pandemic poses while continuing to provide an enriching learning experience for students and an atmosphere of support for our entire community.

We will continue to communicate government restrictions and public health guidelines as they evolve, and more details are made available. For the most current information, we encourage all community members to visit the YU Better Together website on a regular basis.

Yours sincerely,

Rhonda L. Lenton
President and Vice-Chancellor

Nouvelles mesures provinciales liées à la COVID-19 — Répercussions du confinement de Toronto sur l’Université York

Chère communauté de York,

Dans le but de freiner la propagation de la COVID-19, le gouvernement provincial a annoncé de nouvelles restrictions qui entreront en vigueur le lundi 23 novembre à 0 h 01 pour la ville de  Toronto et la région de Peel.  

La présente communication décrit l’impact de ces mesures sur les activités actuellement approuvées sur le campus de l’Université York.  

La majorité de notre communauté continuera ses activités en ligne et à distance. Les activités de recherche et en personne actuellement approuvées peuvent continuer — à quelques exceptions près, énumérées ci-dessous — en respectant strictement les directives provinciales du Cadre d’intervention pour la COVID-19 et les directives sur la santé et la sécurité de l’Université.   

Toute personne ayant l’autorisation d’être sur le campus à des fins de recherche, d’enseignement ou d’autres activités essentielles continuera d’en avoir l’autorisation jusqu’à nouvel ordre pour toutes les activités urgentes qui ne peuvent être reportées. Si vous deviez être sur le campus cette semaine pour des activités approuvées, et si vous avez besoin d’un accès qui ne peut raisonnablement pas être reporté, veuillez venir comme prévu.  

À compter du lundi 23 novembre à 0 h 01, les changements suivants entrent en vigueur : 

  • Rassemblements : Les rassemblements privés à l’intérieur avec des personnes ne faisant pas partie de votre ménage sont interdits. Les personnes qui vivent seules peuvent se réunir avec une seule autre personne dans la même situation. Les rassemblements à l’extérieur sont limités à un maximum de 10 personnes 
  • Centres de conditionnement physique : Fermeture de tous les gymnases intérieurs jusqu’à nouvel ordre. 
  • Bibliothèques : Elles restent ouvertes pour la collecte en bordure de trottoir sans contact (casiers de livres), l’accès aux photocopieuses et aux ordinateurs jusqu’à nouvel ordre. 
  • Espaces d’étude : Fermés jusqu’à nouvel ordre. Les étudiants ayant besoin d’un espace pour étudier doivent contacter askusyul@yorku.ca pour obtenir de l’aide. Un nombre limité de membres du personnel des bibliothèques restera sur place pour aider avec les casiers, les rendez-vous de recherche, les services de numérisation et l’accès aux photocopieurs et aux ordinateurs. 
  • York Lanes : Le bureau de poste, la pharmacie, l’épicerie, la banque, les cliniques dentaires et médicales poursuivent leurs activités avec des restrictions de capacité.  
  • Services alimentaires : Repas à emporter seulement; toutes les places assises dans les salles à manger et autres lieux de restauration restent fermées.  
  • Clinique de psychologie : Poursuite des activités virtuelles avec seulement un nombre limité d’évaluations psychologiques/psychopédagogiques en personne.  

Pour assurer la sécurité de tout le monde, veuillez éviter de venir sur le campus pour des besoins non essentiels durant ce confinement. Si vous faites partie des personnes ayant l’autorisation d’être sur le campus, veuillez continuer à suivre le protocole de dépistage et les directives sur la santé et la sécurité de l’Université et :  

  • Remplir le questionnaire de dépistage de la COVID-19 chaque fois que vous fréquentez l’Université York; ne venez pas sur le campus si vous répondez « oui » à l’une des questions de dépistage.  
  • Porter un couvre-visage dans les espaces partagés et dans les bâtiments. 
  • Pratiquer la distanciation physique et une bonne hygiène des mains.  

Les nouvelles restrictions et l’évolution des directives en matière de santé et de sécurité présentent des défis pour tous les membres de la communauté de York. Grâce à votre vigilance et à votre soutien constants, nous pouvons tous contribuer à assurer notre sécurité. Je suis fière de tous les efforts déployés pour relever les énormes défis que pose cette pandémie tout en continuant à offrir une expérience d’apprentissage enrichissante aux étudiants et une atmosphère de soutien à toute notre communauté.   

Nous continuerons à communiquer les restrictions gouvernementales et les lignes directrices en matière de santé publique et de plus amples détails seront fournis au fur et à mesure de l’évolution de la situation. Pour obtenir les informations les plus récentes, nous encourageons les membres de la communauté à visiter régulièrement le site YU Better Together. 

Veuillez agréer mes sincères salutations, 

Rhonda L. Lenton
Présidente et vice-chancelière  

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, Friday, Dec. 4

National Day of Remembrance FEATURED
National Day of Remembrance FEATURED

La version française suit la version anglaise.

Dear York Community,

This year marks the 31st anniversary of the Dec. 6, 1989 massacre of 14 women at École Polytechnique in Montreal – one of the deadliest shootings in Canadian history.

Each year, York University hosts a memorial ceremony to honour these victims. As we commemorate this national tragedy, we need to reflect on how violence against women and girls continues to plague our society.

With stay-at-home orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many women experiencing domestic violence find themselves shut in with their abusers in a phenomenon known as the shadow pandemic.

All gender-based violence has serious implications for those from marginalized communities including women and girls who are racialized, have a disability, are immigrants and refugees, queer, transgender and/or low income.

This year’s memorial ceremony will be held virtually:

Date: Friday, Dec. 4
Time:  11 to  11:45 a.m.
Livestream: https://thecentre.yorku.ca/national-day-of-remembrance-and-action-on-violence-against-women/ 

As part of the larger 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, there will also be a few other virtual events to inspire, remember the 14 women, and honour women who have lost their lives to violence.

The events include three workshops:

  • Nov. 25: REDI Workshop Series – Addressing and Responding to Sexual Harassment – presented by the Centre for Human Rights, Equity & Inclusion
  • Nov. 27: The Issues and Impacts of Misogynoir: Voices of Experience – hosted by the Centre for Sexual Violence Response, Support & Education in partnership with the Centre for Human Rights Equity and Inclusion
  • Nov. 30: Safety during COVID: Challenges and strategies around effective safety planning for those living with intimate partner violence during the pandemic – presented by Student Counselling, Health & Wellbeing

It is important to note that York’s Centre for Sexual Violence Response, Support & Education facilitates support, services and accommodations for those who have experienced sexual violence for all York students, staff and faculty. We encourage members of our community to reach out and seek support from The Centre.

As a York community of changemakers, we need to make a commitment to advocate, listen and support survivors and recognize that we all have a role to play in ending violence against women and girls.

Please learn more about the memorial ceremony and events by visiting the website.

Sincerely,

Debbie Hansen
Executive Director of Community Support and Services 

Joanie Cameron Pritchett
Director of Community Support and Services and the Centre for Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education

Chère communauté de York,

Cette année marque le 31e anniversaire de la tuerie de 14 femmes, le 6 décembre 1989, à l’École polytechnique de Montréal, l’une des fusillades les plus meurtrières de l’histoire canadienne.

Chaque année, l’université York organise une cérémonie commémorative pour rendre hommage à ces victimes. Alors que nous nous remémorons cette tragédie nationale, nous devons réfléchir à la manière dont la violence contre les femmes et les filles continue à sévir dans notre société.

En raison des consignes de confinement de la pandémie COVID-19, de nombreuses femmes victimes de violence domestique se retrouvent enfermées avec leurs agresseurs; ce phénomène est connu sous le nom de « pandémie fantôme ».

Toute violence sexiste a de graves implications pour les personnes issues de communautés marginalisées, y compris les femmes et les filles qui ont un handicap, sont racialisées, immigrantes et réfugiées, homosexuelles, transsexuelles et/ou à faibles revenus.

Cette année, la cérémonie commémorative se déroulera virtuellement :

Date : Vendredi 4 décembre
Time :  11 h à 11 h 45
Diffusion en continu : https : //thecentre.yorku.ca/national-day-of-remembrance-and-action-on-violence-against-women/ 

Dans le cadre des 16 journées d’activisme contre la violence sexiste, il y aura également plusieurs autres événements virtuels inspirants pour se souvenir de ces 14 femmes et pour honorer les femmes qui ont perdu la vie à cause de la violence.

Ces événements incluent trois ateliers :

  • 25 novembre : Série d’ateliers REDI – Addressing and Responding to Sexual Harassment – Présenté par le Centre des droits de la personne, de l’équité et de l’inclusion
  • 27 novembre : The Issues and Impacts of Misogynoir: Voices of Experience – Présenté par le Centre d’intervention, de soutien et d’éducation contre la violence sexuelle en collaboration avec le Centre des droits de la personne, de l’équité et de l’inclusion
  • 30 novembre : Safety during COVID: Challenges and strategies around effective safety planning for those living with intimate partner violence during the pandemic – Présenté par le Centre de counselling, de santé et de bien-être des étudiants

Il est important de noter que le Centre d’intervention, de soutien et d’éducation contre la violence sexuelle de York fournit un soutien, des services et un hébergement aux personnes qui ont subi des violences sexuelles, y compris tous les étudiants, le personnel et les professeurs de York. Nous encourageons les membres de notre communauté à contacter le Centre pour du soutien.

En tant que communauté d’artisans du changement de York, nous devons nous engager à défendre, à écouter et à soutenir les survivants et survivantes et reconnaître que nous avons tous un rôle à jouer pour mettre fin à la violence contre les femmes et les filles.

Pour en savoir plus sur la cérémonie commémorative et les événements, veuillez consulter le site Web du Centre.

Veuillez agréer mes sincères salutations,

Debbie L Hansen
Directrice principale, Soutien et services à la communauté 

Joanie Cameron Pritchett, Directrice, Soutien et des services à la communauté et Centre d’intervention, de soutien et d’éducation contre la violence sexuelle

 

Virtual Town Hall on Markham Centre Campus takes place this Wednesday, Nov. 25

Markham Centre Campus FEATURED image

The following is a message to the York University community from President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton:

I would like to remind you that we will be hosting a virtual town hall about our plans and latest updates for the Markham Centre Campus (MCC) this Wednesday, Nov. 25.

The MCC represents an exciting new chapter in York’s story, as it will provide us with unprecedented opportunities to both expand access to innovative programming and experiential education opportunities for thousands of students, and serve the diverse needs of our local and global communities. We encourage all interested students, staff and faculty to attend Wednesday’s town hall, and to submit questions in advance of the event using this form.

Date: Wednesday, Nov. 25
Time: 2 to 3:15 p.m.
Zoom Webinar: https://yorku.zoom.us/j/98271984911?pwd=SG5WRTlaQ1ozU2hOK2U0Vzk1NkJUUT09
Webinar ID: 982 7198 4911
Telephone Dial-In: (647) 374-4685
Password: 243293
Livestream: https://conversations.info.yorku.ca/first-page/webcast/

To help answer your questions, I will be joined by:

  • Lisa Philipps, vice-president academic and provost,
  • Carol McAulay, vice-president finance and administration,
  • Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation,
  • Sheila Cote-Meek, vice-president equity, people & culture,
  • Jeff O’Hagan, vice-president advancement, and
  • Lucy Fromowitz, vice-provost students.

If you have any accessibility needs, notes or comments, please let us know.

We will be hosting this Town Hall via the video conferencing platform Zoom Webinar. You can learn about downloading and using Zoom here. The Webinar will also be livestreamed on the Town Hall website.

If you have attended a past Town Hall, we would like your feedback through this short survey. If you were unable to attend previous town halls, you can access all of them here.

The latest community updates, resources and answers to frequently asked questions can always be found on our YU Better Together website.

I look forward to having a chance to speak with you all and answer your questions.

Sincerely, 

Rhonda L. Lenton 
President & Vice-Chancellor

Conversation communautaire virtuelle au sujet du campus Markham Centre le mercredi 25 novembre

J’aimerais vous rappeler que nous tiendrons une conversation communautaire virtuelle le mercredi 25 novembre sur nos plans et derniers développements relatifs au campus Markham Centre (CMC).

Le CMC représente un nouveau chapitre passionnant de l’histoire de York. Il nous offrira des opportunités sans précédent non seulement pour élargir l’accès à des programmes innovants et à des possibilités d’éducation expérientielle pour des milliers d’étudiants, mais aussi pour répondre aux besoins divers de nos communautés locales et mondiales. Nous encourageons tous les membres intéressés du corps étudiant, du personnel et du corps professoral à assister à la conversation communautaire et à soumettre leurs questions à l’avance à l’aide de ce formulaire.

Date : Mercredi 25 novembre 2020
Heure : 14 h à 15 h 15
Webinaire Zoom : https://yorku.zoom.us/j/98271984911?pwd=SG5WRTlaQ1ozU2hOK2U0Vzk1NkJUUT09
Code du webinaire : 982 7198 4911
Numéro de téléphone : (647) 374-4685
Mot de passe : 243293
Lien pour la diffusion en direct : https://conversations.info.yorku.ca/first-page/webcast/

Pour m’aider à répondre à vos questions, je serai accompagnée de :

  • Lisa Philipps, rectrice et vice-présidente aux affaires académiques,
  • Carol McAulay, vice-présidente aux finances et à l’administration,
  • Amir Asif, vice-président de la recherche et de l’innovation,
  • Sheila Cote-Meek, vice-présidente de l’équité, des personnes et de la culture,
  • Jeff O’Hagan, vice-président à la promotion, et
  • Lucy Fromowitz, vice-rectrice aux affaires étudiantes.

Si vous avez des besoins, des remarques ou des commentaires en matière d’accessibilité, veuillez nous le faire savoir.

Cette conversation communautaire aura lieu grâce à la plateforme de visioconférence Zoom Webinar. Vous pouvez télécharger Zoom et apprendre à vous servir ici. Le webinaire sera également diffusé en direct sur le site Web des conversations communautaires.

Si vous avez déjà assisté à une conversation communautaire, nous aimerions connaître votre opinion avec ce bref sondage. Si vous n’avez pas pu assister aux conversations précédentes, vous pouvez toutes les voir ici.

Vous trouverez les dernières mises à jour, ressources et réponses aux questions fréquemment posées sur notre site Web YU Better Together.

J’attends vos questions avec impatience.

Veuillez agréer mes sincères salutations, 

Rhonda L. Lenton
Présidente et vice-chancelière

 

York researchers create AI simulation app to help with logistics of mass vaccinations for COVID-19

Featured illustration of the novel coronavirus

Once a viable COVID-19 vaccination is ready, the logistics of how to vaccinate everyone becomes one of the next hurdles. Researchers at York University have developed a solution, an artificial intelligence drive-through mass vaccination simulation application that can help clinics and public health agencies plan for mass vaccinations ahead of time.

An example of the drive-through vaccine simulation app showing how 10 lanes could be configured
An example of the drive-through vaccine simulation app showing how 10 lanes could be configured

The drive-through simulation app and its artificial intelligence version, now available online, can be used to determine how to best immunize large numbers of people against SARS-CoV-2, rapidly and safely, once the vaccine has been produced and distributed. Drive-through facilities have been used for immunizations for other diseases and COVID-19 testing, but this tool allows for enhanced planning, design, operation, feasibility and effectiveness assessments.

Ali Asgary
Ali Asgary

The research team, led by Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies Associate Professor Ali Asgary, associate director of the Advanced Disaster, Emergency and Rapid Response Simulation (ADERSIM) in collaboration with the Laboratory for Applied and Industrial Mathematics (LIAM), led by Professor Jianhong Wu of the Faculty of Science, developed the tool. ADERSIM is comprised of collaborators across the University and with outside institutions to integrate mathematical modelling, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

“The success of vaccine development, production, and distribution will depend on timely and efficient dispensing. That will require extraordinary advance planning and preparation at different levels, locally, nationally and internationally,” says Asgary. “The development of simulation tools that build capacities and enable planning and preparation become essential.”

The tool can visually and numerically show the average processing and waiting times depending on the number of cars and people that would be using the drive-through. Users can also plug in different staff numbers, service lanes, time for screening, registration and immunization, as well as recovery times under various scenarios. It allows healthcare decision makers to plan efficient drive-through mass vaccination clinics ahead of time by setting input variables and seeing the results.

For example, if there are 10 open lanes with four staff at each station over three shifts with a fixed rate of five incoming cars per minute, the model showed a total of 1,771 cars with 5,330 passengers using the drive-through per day. The average time for each car to go through the drive-through was between 80 and 90 minutes.

“The kind of large-scale implementation needed for the COVID-19 vaccine could be one of the most challenging public health actions this decade with many local mass vaccination sites in each city, town and province,” says Asgary.

It’s also available for use globally. The model can help decision makers estimate how many drive-through facilities, among other vaccination methods, would be needed to achieve a certain number of immunizations in a specific period.

As not everyone will be able to use a drive-through centre, the team is also developing simulation tools and applications for walk-in vaccination clinics.

The paper, A drive-through simulation tool for mass vaccination during COVID-19 pandemic, is published in a special issue of the journal Healthcare – COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges Facing the Health System.

Welcome to the November 2020 issue of ‘Innovatus’

Innovatus featured image

Innovatus featured image

Welcome to the November 2020 issue of Innovatus, a special issue of YFile that is devoted to teaching and learning innovation at York University.

Will Gage
Will Gage

This issue of Innovatus focuses on teaching, learning and the student experience in the Faculty of Education. I am so pleased by the rich variety of stories offered in this issue because they showcase the expansive depth of the Faculty’s approach to the “act of education” to quote Interim Dean Sharon Murphy.

Education is universal and the Faculty’s work with refugees in the Dadaab Refugee Complex in Kenya, homeless youth and in re-envisioning early childhood education are displayed among the fine stories offered in this issue. As well, Dean Murphy’s letter is a testament to the Faculty’s commitment to excellence, and the story highlighting the innovation shown in moving the Faculty of Education’s Summer Institute online and transforming it to a year-long effort is amazing. Encore!

Thank you again for the many wonderful comments about our September and October issues. I value each of your responses. Please continue to contact me with your ideas, classroom innovations and thoughts about teaching, learning and the student experience.

As I close, the snow is starting to fly and with it, the holidays are approaching. I would like to take a moment to wish each of you good health and happiness at home, which is especially important this year.

Featured in the November 2020 issue of Innovatus

Dean’s letter: The act of education is an act of hope and imagination
In her letter to the community, Interim Dean Sharon Murphy writes about how the Faculty of Education is constantly working to enliven new visions of education and society, visions of possibility, equity and social justice. “Our work focuses not only inward on curriculum and pedagogy, but very much looks outward towards the idea of education being situated within a complex and seemingly evermore fragile world.”

Summer Institute going strong all year
One of York University’s hallowed traditions, the Faculty of Education Summer Institute (FESI), may have bowed to COVID-19 in terms of format, but it is unbowed in terms of mission and content. For 2020-2021, the institute has morphed into a series of five free webinars titled Up Close and Personal: Conversations on Anti-Oppression.

York lab explores solutions for youth homelessness
Stephen Gaetz, the York University Research Chair in Homelessness and Research Impact and a professor in the Faculty of Education, is using his excellent research and communications skills and grant-writing ability to attack the challenges within youth homelessness, which need broad solutions and a meeting of many perspectives.

Crisis: Only one of the experiences shared by students and faculty
Rachel Silver, an assistant professor of education at York, with the help of a team of her colleagues in both Toronto and Dadaab, has created a virtual colloquium series, Reciprocal Learning in Times of Crisis, for the Faculty’s Borderless Higher Education for Refugees (BHER) program. The series considers the issues arising from the confluence of education, the COVID-19 pandemic and new waves of resistance to anti-Black racism.

Educators convene speaker series to address pressing questions in early childhood education and research in the 21st century
Lucy Angus and Cristina Delgado Vintimilla, assistant professors new to York and the Faculty of Education, have created a lecture series titled Disrupting Early Childhood: Inheritance, Pedagogy, Curriculum to explore new ideas about early childhood education (ECE) and create a space to bring together the innovative research conversations that are changing the field of ECE.

Innovatus is produced by the Office of the Associate Vice-President Teaching & Learning in partnership with Communications & Public Affairs.

I extend a personal invitation to you to share your experiences in teaching, learning, internationalization and the student experience through the Innovatus story form, which is available at tl.apps01.yorku.ca/machform/view.php?id=16573.

Will Gage
Associate Vice-President, Teaching & Learning

Dean’s letter: The act of education is an act of hope and imagination

DeansLetter Innovatus November issue FEATURED image

The act of education is an act of hope and imagination. Anti-Black racism, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the pandemic and climate change have all exposed habits of educational and societal practice that ask us to act and imagine new ways forward.

Sharon Murphy
Sharon Murphy

The Faculty of Education is constantly working to enliven new visions of education and society, visions of possibility, equity and social justice. This is difficult work, but it must be done individually and collectively. Our work focuses not only inward on curriculum and pedagogy, but very much looks outward towards the idea of education being situated within a complex and seemingly evermore fragile world.

Our engagements reflect these interests, whether they be on reducing the impact of COVID-19 on the homeless, engaging in conversations about anti-oppression and anti-Black racism, or reconceiving how we think of young children as they enter into their own engagements with the social world.

Our pedagogical and research engagements extend from our campus sites to our neighbourhood communities and to several provinces of Canada and countries of the world. In our actions of trying to make sense of and share the world with others, we aspire toward cultivating momentum for new educational and social realities.

Sharon Murphy
Interim Dean, Faculty of Education

The Faculty of Education’s Summer Institute going strong all year

One of York University’s hallowed traditions, the Faculty of Education Summer Institute (FESI), may have bowed to COVID-19 in terms of format, but it is unbowed in terms of mission and content.

For 2020-21, the institute has morphed into a series of five free webinars titled Up Close and Personal: Conversations on Anti-Oppression. Two of the seminars are complete and available online at https://fesi.blog.yorku.ca/. The next is scheduled for Nov. 25 and two others will follow. The upcoming webinar in November will focus on decolonizing mental health.

Vidya Shah
Vidya Shah

“There has been an increased focus on mental health and trauma-informed practices over the past five to 10 years,” said Vidya Shah, an assistant professor of education, who is a member of the FESI organizing committee. “So much of that discussion is decontextualized, ahistorical and separate from larger systems of oppression, perpetuating the myth of neutrality and pathologizing the individual. We want to think about how trauma and intergenerational trauma from colonization and other intersecting forms of oppression affect our health and well-being.”

FESI has long been a force for change in the education landscape.

“As is the long-standing tradition with this conference, FESI 2020 will continue to challenge and question long-held educational beliefs, policies and practices that have become embedded and normalized in educational landscapes,” reads the website. “It aims to disrupt the taken-for-granted assumptions, ideas and practices of what constitutes education, who has access to it, and which values are legitimated by it.”

Carl James
Carl E. James

The institute was created about a dozen years ago by renowned Faculty of Education Professor Carl E. James and his colleagues, and it continues to be a force for change in education. James, the Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community and Diaspora and the University’s senior advisor on equity and representation, sits on the organizing committee, along with Shah, Jack Nigro, a superintendent of Education for Ontario’s Durham District School Board, and the co-chairs, who are usually educators in the public system seconded to York. This year’s co-chairs are Sultan Rana and Sayema Chowdury.

“FESI began as a desire to foster deep connections between the academy, schools, families, policy-makers, teacher candidates and community organizations serving young people,” Shah said. “The goal is to address relevant and timely issues of schooling through dialogue, research and connection, and to honour the knowledge that exists in communities, the families and the classrooms.”

Each year, the co-chairs work with a larger committee of 20 or more representatives from school boards in the GTA and community organizations, as well as teacher candidates and researchers, who decide on the conference themes the co-chairs suggest to them.

“The leadership rotates,” said Shah, who co-chaired FESI in 2016 and 2017 when she was a teacher seconded to York. “It allows for fresh perspectives and different experiences. We tackle important topics that educators are grappling with in schools every day.”

FESI also tries to bring a different lens to these topics.

“We try to provoke dialogue, not simply give answers; it’s in the conversations that we acknowledge and grapple with multiple perspectives and work collectively towards justice-oriented change,” Shah said. “FESI has built a reputation among school boards as a place you can express questions, think differently, and join a network of people committed to anti-racism and anti-oppression in education.”

In the past, FESI took place on campus toward the end of the summer when schools were preparing to return to class. It offered educators and faculty an opportunity to get re-energized and focus on valuable issues.

“We’re excited about this year’s format,” Shah said. “We always wished we could extend the institute throughout the year to keep the conversation going and that possibility has now opened up.”

The new format has been successful, too. In addition to the live participants, 1,000 viewers have watched the first webinar and almost as many have viewed the second.

The opening webinar looked at designing systems and structures that center anti-racism and anti-oppressions at every stage and in every aspect of decision-making, and “designing to imagine new futures,” said Shah.

The October webinar explored anti-racist approaches to the child welfare system, something with which educators come into contact with time and again. On Nov. 25, as noted, FESI will explore decolonizing mental health.

“Given the increased challenges with mental health now as we live through the pandemic, it’s important to make sure we understand the systemic issues that inform and harm our mental health and that we are inclusive of many knowledge systems,” Shah said.

As always, the conversations are presented in ways that will promote action.

“This year, we are developing lenses, skill sets and habits of mind to see how systems have continued to oppress certain populations, hoping it affects practices within school boards,” Shah said. “FESI is a space in which decision-makers, parents, educators and community members are all in conversation about how to create more just and humane conditions for schooling.”

By Elaine Smith, special contributing writer

York lab explores solutions for youth homelessness

youth homelessness

What would you do if you discovered that 50 per cent of Canada’s current homeless population had their first episode of homelessness before the age of 24?

Stephen Gaetz
Stephen Gaetz

If you were Stephen Gaetz, the York University Research Chair in Homelessness and Research Impact and a professor in the Faculty of Education, you’d use your excellent research and communications skills and grant-writing ability to attack the problem.

Gaetz is the director of the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, the Homeless Hub, and Making the Shift – Youth Homelessness Social Innovation Lab (MtS), all based at York. As a young man, Gaetz worked in a community health centre for homeless youth, an experience that opened his eyes to homelessness and influenced the course of his career.

MtS, the newest member of his “family” of endeavours focused on homelessness, was created in 2018 and is led in equal partnership with A Way Home Canada, a national coalition working to contribute to the transformation of our response to youth homelessness. MtS seeks to provide leadership in helping communities and governments to move away from crisis response solutions for youth homelessness to finding solutions that help them exit homelessness or prevent it from happening. As with Gaetz’s other projects, MtS’s work is focused on research and knowledge mobilization, although the lab also has a service component, assisting youth and their families.

“The hospital emergency room is often used as a metaphor for how we should address homelessness, which in practical terms means we put most of our energies into helping those individuals who are sickest or who have been homeless the longest,” Gaetz said.

“While well-meaning, this system actually puts people in harm’s way by expecting people to wait until things get really bad before we really help them. For young people this means exposing them to potential harms associated with life on the streets, where their physical and mental health declines, they experience trauma, self-medicate and face a much more difficult road in moving forward with their lives. Basically, this indicates that the problem of youth homelessness in North America isn’t taken seriously enough – it’s often seen as a distraction.

“What if we treated the pandemic as we do homelessness? We’d forget about masks, a vaccine, social distancing and containment. We’d just make big waiting rooms and help people when they are really sick.”

One lesson Canadians have learned from the pandemic is that prevention is essential. Gaetz would like to see that lesson applied to youth homelessness, too.

“It’s a radical concept, when it shouldn’t be,” he said. “MtS’s hope is to contribute to that transformation and make a difference in creating change.”

MtS’s research focuses on developing and testing effective strategies to prevent youth homelessness and help those who are homeless to move out of it quickly and achieve housing stability. This focus intersects with three major goals:

  • enabling health, well-being and inclusion;
  • enhancing outcomes for Indigenous youth; and
  • leveraging data and technology to drive policy and practices.

MtS is currently funding 14 innovative research projects to help achieve this agenda. A few of these projects include conducting longitudinal research on better outcomes for youth transitioning from care, innovative strategies to prevent Indigenous youth homelessness in Saskatchewan and analyzing school-based early intervention.

The lab’s work also centres around creating change through knowledge mobilization – processes of engaged scholarship designed to move research into active use so as to enhance its impact on policy, programs and practice.

As Gaetz noted, “You can do the best research on prevention in the world, but if you don’t get it into the right hands with the right supports, it means nothing.”

One way MtS is spreading the word is through the LivEX network and it’s In Conversation series of virtual conversations with young scholars who have lived experiences of homelessness. Gaetz also involves young researchers in these public events to give them experience and exposure to more established colleagues. The first conversation of this series called on York alumnus and assistant professor, and renowned author, Jesse Thistle, a Métis scholar with lived experience of homelessness, to share his insights.

In addition, MtS is engaged in demonstration projects targeted in 12 locations nationwide targeting youth homelessness. Housing First for Youth is a rights-based intervention taking place in Toronto, Ottawa and Hamilton. It is an adaptation of the successful Housing First model used for adult homeless persons, modified to meet the needs of adolescents and young adults.

The Youth Reconnect program in Hamilton is a preventive intervention designed to provide support to vulnerable young people in the communities where they have developed social connections and supports, while encouraging youth to engage or re-engage with education.

Eight cities – Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer and Toronto – are home to Enhancing Family and Natural Supports, an effort focused on preventing and ending youth homelessness through strengthening relationships between vulnerable young people and their support networks, including family.

“The most common reason that youth become homeless is family conflict and childhood trauma,” Gaetz said, “but bad experiences with the family doesn’t mean that there aren’t positive relationships possible within the family. We want to keep youth connected to their families.”

His research shows that 40 per cent of all young people who are homeless had their first experience of homelessness before they were 16, whether due to childhood trauma or bullying or other reasons.

“We don’t do anything for them when they’re younger than 16, but if they’ve been couch surfing for a couple of years by the time they’re 15, there’s a lot of damage to undo,” Gaetz said. “We need to start supporting them as early as we can.”

Of course, it takes a village – or a team, in this case – to make an impact, and Gaetz is committed to involving undergraduate and graduate students, as well as post-doctoral fellows in research and knowledge mobilization. At MtS, there is a group of students who has lived experience of homelessness to serve as mentors to youth.

“York University has been very good at supporting my interdisciplinary approach to research and the Faculty of Education has been an ideal place to do my work, given its strong focus on equity and its multi-disciplinary nature,” he said. “I can find common ground with many others and there’s a willingness not to get stuck in silos.”

Perfect, indeed, because challenges within youth homelessness need broad solutions and a meeting of many perspectives, and the engine Gaetz has created will continue rolling toward practical remedies.

By Elaine Smith, special contributing writer

Toronto is now in the ‘Red Zone’ – What it means for York University

Image: CDC
An image of the COVID-19 virus. Image: CDC

The following is a message to the community from York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton:

Dear Colleagues,

Many of you will know that on Nov. 14, Toronto moved into the “Red” Control level of the Province of Ontario’s COVID-19 Response Framework. As a result, Toronto Public Health has updated their precautionary measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. This update is to inform you about what this means for York. As always, our first priority is the health and safety of the entire York community.

Based on our initial assessment of the new framework, we have determined that our academic, research and operational requirements are in compliance with the new framework. There is only one minor change being implemented that we would like to highlight.

Effective immediately, York Lanes will restrict the consumption of food and beverages when walking in the mall. Signs are being posted around York Lanes to notify all patrons about this public health requirement.

As the number of COVID-19 cases rises across the province, it remains crucial for everyone to continue following all public health guidelines. When all public health measures are being followed appropriately, the risk of transmission is minimized, and we are contributing to efforts to flatten the rise of new cases.

Public Health is asking all Toronto residents to only leave home for essential activities such as work, education, fresh air and exercise, and to limit contact with people not in their direct households.

We encourage our community to continue adhering to this and other public health measures, such as practising physical distancing, wearing mouth and nose coverings, and maintaining good hand washing hygiene, to prevent the spread of the virus.

The pandemic situation is continually evolving, and the University will continue to monitor it closely. If necessary, York will be prepared to enter into further levels of restrictions, should we be directed to do so or deem such steps necessary for maintaining the safety of our community. Every effort is being made to ensure the continued health and wellbeing of the York community, and compliance with new public health and government guidelines. As always, updates will continue to be posted on the Better Together website.

Once again, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and appreciation to all York students, staff and faculty for the unwavering commitment being demonstrated every day in supporting one another and the activities of the University.

Yours sincerely,

Rhonda L. Lenton
President and Vice-Chancellor