NEXT-GEN
LEARNING
Delivering scholarly and experiential knowledge
HIGHLIGHTS
Experiential learning opportunities for all undergrads
Concordia has committed to offering every incoming undergraduate student at least one experiential learning opportunity during their studies and at least two by 2025. The commitment formally recognizes what’s long been a priority for the university, says Concordia President Graham Carr. “This decision is our way of officially acknowledging — and perpetuating — Concordia’s reputation for offering academic programs that really equip you with the tools to build the world you want to live in.”
Learning by doing allows Concordians to invest in their skills and knowledge on a whole new level during their time pursuing a degree, through hands-on opportunities that might take the form of an internship, research project, field course or capstone project, to name a few.
Carr stresses that the experiential learning commitment is especially timely. “Society is in the midst of rethinking the future of work, against a backdrop of labour shortages, supply-chain disruptions and the proliferation of new technologies,” he says. “Developing, integrating and retaining next-generation talent has a new urgency.”
Film production programs will triple in size
Concordia will triple the capacity of the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema’s film production programs in the coming years, accommodating more than 220 new students. The expansion aims to ensure Quebec’s thriving cinema and television industry benefits from the creative and highly trained graduates who have cemented the school’s reputation over its half-century of existence. “We’re pleased to support the talent of our filmmakers as they enrich Quebec’s cultural industries,” says Annie Gérin, dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts.
Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema’s film production programs will triple capacity.
PhD Career Connect exposes students to diverse career paths
Concordia introduced PhD Career Connect, the first program of its kind in Canada, bringing together doctoral students and employers in the private, public and non-profit sectors to explore a range of career options. The first cohort of 45 select PhD candidates, recent graduates and postdoctoral students participated in career preparation and professional skills training followed by an immersive event with 14 employers.
The participants have since secured various positions such as researchers, software engineers, market analysts, machine learning engineers, scientific officers, lecturers and program coordinators.
Board game teaches how social media amplifies online conspiracies
Communication studies PhD student Scott DeJong has created a board game that pits conspiracy theorists and their online troll amplifiers against moderators and educators. He says he designed the fun-but-educational game Lizards & Lies, available as a free download, as a model to help grasp the movement of false content and the frustrations those fighting against it can experience.
The game explores the widely held supposition that the spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation online constitutes a new front in a global war on truth.
Bouclair’s Galerie B highlights Concordia student artists
At Montreal retailer Bouclair’s Galerie B, five Concordia studio art students took part in a group exhibition: Paulina Bereza, fibres and material practice, Alice Zerini-Le Reste, ceramics, Diane Roe, print media, Octavious Jones, sculpture, and Emiliano Moreno Quesada, sculpture.
Bouclair produced videos of the artists and received local media coverage. “Galerie B was great exposure,” Roe notes. “It has opened up doors.”
Concordia studio art students exhibited at Bouclair’s Galerie B.
Kristy Snell joins Concordia as Journalist-in-Residence
Award-winning multi-platform journalist Kristy Snell was appointed academic director of the Institute for Inclusive, Investigative, and Innovative Journalism and as Concordia’s Journalist-in-Residence. She is teaching and working on a project focusing on Indigenous education.
Snell has spent nearly a decade and a half delivering morning radio newscasts for CBC in Montreal and Quebec City. She has taught radio skills and broadcast writing at the CBC and audio news at Concordia’s Department of Journalism. Snell is currently pursuing an MEd in Indigenous education at the University of British Columbia. She is a member of Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation.
Kristy Snell, academic director of the Institute for Inclusive, Investigative and Innovative Journalism
V1Studio provides Canadian researchers an entrepreneurial touchpoint
V1 Studio is a venture builder founded by Concordia in partnership with its innovation hub, District 3. V1 Studio’s mission is to give researchers across Canada a touchpoint with entrepreneurship.
One V1 Studio initiative is the Quebec Scientific Entrepreneurship (QcSE) program, which facilitates researchers’ lab-to-market journey through entrepreneurship training. The Fonds de recherche du Québec awarded QcSE $600,000 over three years to support the creation of new curriculum and expand program outreach.
“Too many student researchers bypass the idea of starting a business to advance their technologies and products,” says Diana Horqque, V1 Studio’s executive director. “Training can help make entrepreneurship a viable career option. Having researchers bring their ideas to market feeds into the innovation pipelines that positively impact our communities and economies.”
V1 Studio’s Scientific Venture Program (SVP) recruits doctoral researchers with a great concept for a startup. Open to PhD graduates from Concordia and other institutions, the SVP aims to accelerate innovative, research-based ideas in science, health, agri-food, cybersecurity and cleantech. SVP is the only program of its kind in Canada. Rather than shelving their PhD research, participants receive tools and resources that help them transition ideas to implementation, including $71,000 in financial and in-kind services per year.
Women’s hockey team wins nationals
The Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team, under head coach Julie Chu, won the gold medal at the U Sports national championship in Charlottetown, P.E.I., in March. The Stingers defeated the Nipissing Lakers 4-0 in the final game to earn the Golden Path Trophy. It marked the third national title in the team’s history. Concordia won the first two U Sports women’s hockey championships, in 1998 and 1999.
To honour the champs, MNAs welcomed the Stingers to the National Assembly of Quebec in May. Members of the team met Isabelle Charest, the minister responsible for sports, Chantal Rouleau, the minister responsible for the Montreal region, and Quebec Premier François Legault.
Concordia Stingers women’s hockey team, 2022 U Sports national champions.
