The Power List: Education – Macleans.ca

It’s curbing a runaway market for international students and ensuring that a Canadian degree is still worth something.
When Marc Miller became Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship last July, Canada’s international student population was almost one million, and 200,000 more than just a year earlier. On paper, those numbers could frame Canada as a global incubator of young minds, poised to reap the economic benefits of a supercharged education system. But Miller realized they were telling a different story: Canada’s seemingly successful international student program had become a source of revenue for underfunded universities and colleges and a booming private university industry, as well as a gateway rear for people seeking permanent residence. It was also a golden opportunity for unscrupulous international education consultants who lured students to Canada to make a quick buck.

It’s putting universities on the front lines of Quebec’s language wars
François Legault became an enemy of Quebec’s English universities when he announced last fall that tuition for out-of-province university students would increase from an average of $9,000 to $17,000. The move, a tactic to reduce the rush of English students into Montreal and protect the French language, was seen as a potential existential threat by McGill and Concordia, the former of which estimated it could amount to nearly $100 million in business losses. income due to registration. declines A provincial advisory committee on higher education accessibility urged Legault to re-evaluate it. He made a small concession, reducing the increase to $12,000, but McGill and Concordia are not satisfied; They recently announced separate lawsuits against the province. If Legault stands firm, he risks alienating Quebec from Canada’s higher education ecosystem.

It is inflaming the debate over parental rights across the country.
When Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe cracked down on the use of students’ preferred pronouns in schools, he placed himself at the center of a storm that pitted the idea of ​​parental rights against free speech. of the students. The policy he introduced, preventing students under 16 from changing their names or pronouns at school without parental consent, aligned with legislation in New Brunswick and later Alberta. Hundreds of people rallied in support of the bill last September, sparking counter-protests across the country and leading to arrests in several cities. Now other provincial leaders are joining Moe on the parental rights bandwagon, along with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who has criticized Justin Trudeau for, he said, trying to “impose his radical ideology on other people’s children.” ”.

For leading the higher education sector in a time of multiple crises
In March, Canadian universities welcomed a new leader: Gabriel Miller, a nonprofit superstar who most recently served as vice-president of public affairs for the Canadian Cancer Society. Miller enters a landscape plagued by financial challenges. There are hugely indebted universities in Ontario. Alberta institutions face devastating budget cuts. In Quebec, English universities are waiting to see how increasing fees for out-of-province students will reduce enrollment. That’s not to mention a massive nationwide reduction in permits for international students, jeopardizing a key source of revenue that many institutions have used to fund their growth. It’s a difficult time for higher education, and all eyes will be on Miller’s first steps.

They take the fight against tuition increases in Quebec to court
Quebec’s planned tuition increase for out-of-province students could cost English universities many students, as well as their money. And Anglo Quebec’s best academics won’t tolerate it. In February, McGill and Concordia, led by presidents Deep Saini and Graham Carr, announced they were taking the provincial government to court over what they see as an attack on Quebec’s English communities. The twin lawsuits, which Concordia called “complementary and coordinated,” argue that the rate increases are illegal, contrary to Quebec and Canada’s charters of rights. It is clear that the two institutions and their leaders are gritting their teeth for what could be a long fight.

To make sure AI doesn’t do kids’ homework for them
Last year, when he was a senior at Princeton University, Edward Tian caught lightning in a bottle. His field of research, large language models, had become the hottest topic in the world, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT was forcing educators to wonder if students were using it to write assignments. While on vacation, Tian, ​​who grew up in Toronto, developed GPTZero, an app that distinguishes AI from human content. He immediately received praise from teachers. Now, the war on homework continues: Tian has transformed GPTZero into a 13-person company to “preserve what is human,” an undertaking increasingly difficult as GPT-4, a more powerful AI platform, becomes available . Microsoft, news rating website NewsGuard and rating platform Kritik are among the companies already using Tian’s technology to keep robots at bay.

To make kids’ screen time something parents feel good about
During the pandemic, imposing limits on screen time in an increasingly digital world seemed wildly far-fetched. Even the Canadian Pediatric Society relaxed its one-hour limit on screen time for young children. And families looking for easily accessible alternatives to social media and video games for their children found Melissa Cash’s Pok Pok, an educational app for children ages two to seven. Her games, which include dress-up games, word puzzles, and a digital house that emulates a family home, are developed by therapists and pediatric experts to be non-addictive. They are fun and educational and you can’t win or lose. Last year, Cash and her team racked up an App Store Award and a Kidscreen Award as subscribers to her app, which costs $8.99 a month, quadrupled.

She is making life and work easier for international students.
After leaving his home in Thailand to study at Simon Fraser University, Pat Chaisang struggled to get a job while learning a new language and culture. After graduating, he created Wayble, a digital platform to help international students integrate into Canada’s workforce. Wayble helps students create an online profile and leverages that information to connect them with a network of mentors and employers in their fields of interest. Seventy thousand people now use the app, and it’s no wonder: the average international student in Canada pays $36,000 in tuition each year. They need the job. Hopefully, Wayble will also help address national workforce shortages in healthcare, customer service, manufacturing, and other fields.

For bringing the classics to life in the students’ own words.
Tech Spark AI, Tamar Huggins’ Toronto-based company, develops curriculum for children of color across North America. Last year, it launched Spark Plug, an artificial intelligence model designed for Black students. The platform, which translates classic texts and literature into African American vernacular English, is aimed at students of Generation Z. Huggins trained it with content from his own daughter, Talia, and from Harlem Renaissance authors and civil rights activists. Spark Plug is evolving rapidly: its latest version combines lessons with hip-hop beats for a better learning experience. A longer-term goal is to diversify it to serve black students around the world. “A black child in Canada is very different from the United States, and it’s very different in Haiti or Jamaica,” Huggins said.

To make online education relevant, before and after the pandemic
Some people have dismissed online education companies as a COVID-era phenomenon. But John Baker disagrees. His online education platform D2L (or Desire2Learn), which he founded in 1999 from his University of Waterloo dorm room, continues to gain steam despite the return of in-person classes. Initially intended as an online hub for university courses, D2L developed the ubiquitous Brightspace platform, which has since expanded to facilitate continuing education courses and workplace training modules. It has grown to 16 million users, including Purdue University, construction company EllisDon and oil and gas safety nonprofit Energy Safety Canada. Turns out, the era of learn anywhere isn’t over, and it’s great for business. D2L shares are up 25 percent over the past year.

This story appears in the May issue of Maclean’s. You can buy the edition. here or subscribe to the magazine here.