Alberta education kept afloat via borrowing
Alberta education will remain intact in spite of low oil prices through a deficit. School councils and parents expressed concern about the funding for students because of the downturn in the Alberta economy, but the budget will increase from by 4.3% from the previous year to $7.9 billion. The budget will provide k-12 and advanced education funding and there are “no major school builds or renovations” included in the budget. Education Minister, David Eggen, said, “We know that we might have to make sacrifices in other areas, and borrow some money, but a child’s education at each stage of their development should not be compromised. That’s the way we roll here in Alberta.”
According to Advanced Education Minister Marlin Schmidt, students do not need to be worried that the tuition freeze for the second year will cause problems for them in future years.
Edmonton launches the Mindshare series
The University of Alberta launched Mindshare, which is a series that ?brings together top researchers, politicians, bureaucrats and industry leaders from Canada and abroad.?
These minds were brought together in Edmonton on April 18th to discuss the future of energy systems. Canada Research Chair in Cultural Studies at University of Alberta, Imre Szeman, said, ?The next steps in addressing environmental crisis will have to be led by the social sciences and humanities.?
Other aspects of the discussion were China and its large coal consumption, and that consumption’s changes to the environment such as air pollution. For those with an interest, there’s further information about Mindshare events throughout Canada, here.
New competition for national and international researchers for postdoctoral fellowships
Canadian and international researchers can take part in a competition for 2016-2017 postdoctoral fellowships. They are called the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships for those that ?have recently completed a PhD, PhD-equivalent, or health professional degree.?
The fellowships come with $70,000 per year for two years. Their intent is to bring in the world’s best researchers at the postdoctoral level. These will be held in collaboration with a host institution.
The deadline for the recent PhD graduates is September 21, 2016. For more information, candidates and others can look into the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship website.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen is an AUSU Councillor. He works with various organizations, and runs In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, and In-Sight Publishing.
