Higher education roundtable launches pilots for work-integrated learning and greater industry-academic collaboration

A high-profile group of business and academic executives is backing two pilot programs to boost work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities and foster more effective collaboration between academia and companies. Expected to launch in January, the pilots are the first initiatives of the Business Higher Education Roundtable (BHER), which was created by the Business Council of Canada (BCC) (formerly Canadian Council of Chief Executives) in early 2015.

BHER's platform has four main thrusts: helping students with the transition between the classroom and the workplace; the needs of Canadian employers; strengthening the linkages between R&D and large firms; and, finding synergies between research and teaching on campus.

The roundtable's programs come amidst an escalating global competition for talent and persistent concerns that investments in academic research aren't being effectively translated into commercial outcomes — most commonly reflected in low Canadian business expenditures on R&D.

"The WIL pilot will focus on the financial services sector and is being spearheaded by the Toronto Financial Services Alliance," says Anne Sado, president of George Brown College, chair of Polytechnics Canada and one of three BHER co-chairs. "There are five post-secondary education institutions involved and the initial goal is to increase work placements in the fintech and cyber security sectors."

BHER's inaugural WIL pilot will be followed by others with the aim of improving school-to-work transitions for young Canadians and meeting regional and sectoral workforce requirements. One area for a future pilot will be advanced manufacturing.

Less developed is BHER's pilot on research and innovation partnerships, which will be fleshed out when the group meets in January in Toronto. A working group has been struck which is chaired by Univ of Toronto president Dr Meric Gertler.

To inform its initial pilots, BHER has commissioned two papers. One on the innovation ecosystem was provided by Robert Dunlop, former assistant DM of Industry Canada's science and innovation sector. Sado says Dunlop's paper — which has not been publicly released — includes a "lay of the research and innovation landscape", focusing on best practices and opportunities, exploring the motivation for companies to form partnerships with post-secondary education (PSE) institutions and offering a list of common obstacles.

"Partnerships can take many forms. For colleges, applied research tends to be focused on SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises) which is different from the university focus which is longer term," says Sado. "There are several potential options and work is underway developing tool kits, intellectual property policy and case studies."

For WIL, BHER secured the services of the Academica Group, which specializes in market research for higher education and evidence-based strategic consulting. It will assist BHER in launching a national campaign on the importance of WIL with a goal of ensuring that 100% of post-secondary students have some form of WIL training before they graduate.

Engaging with Innovation Agenda

At the same time, BHER is engaging in consultations for the forthcoming Innovation Agenda, either as a group or through individual members. Talent is shaping up as the key issue as policymakers seek strategies for bridging the gap between post-secondary institutions and industry.

Sado says there needs to be flexibility in the solutions to the skills shortage, adding that there's anecdotal evidence and some data showing a mismatch (in perceptions of the severity of the problem), particularly for skills required for entry-level positions. Industry typically finds that necessary skill levels are low while the PSEs contend they're higher. The mismatch appears to be more significant in certain areas but it's clear industry needs are changing.

"Policies have to reflect the broader ecosystem. There are some biases inherent in there," says Sado. "We've started small and built capacity but resources need to be scaled. We should now think about taking a bold and bigger step."

The BCC is taking a broader approach to its input on the Innovation Agenda. In addition to innovation and competitiveness and jobs and skills, it is also emphasizing energy and the environment, corporate and public governance, macroeconomic and fiscal policy, the North American marketplace and trade and investment

The BCC is also focused on growing the national network of incubators and accelerators, encouraging scaling up and clarifying foreign investment procedures.

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