OTTAWA, ON (April 13, 2015) The U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities welcomes the official launch of the Business Higher Education Roundtable, a group composed of 27 leading executives from the private sector, universities, colleges and polytechnics.
“I am honoured to have been asked to sit on this roundtable, not only as Chair of The U15, but as President and Vice-Chancellor of Waterloo University,” said Dr. Feridun Hamdullahpur. “It is a clear indication that industry and post-secondary institutions in Canada want to collaborate at a greater level to continue making sure our graduates are competitive in the work force as well as increasing support and uptake of innovative new ideas and technologies.”
The Roundtable will have three co-chairs: Mr. Tom Jenkins, who is Chair of OpenText Corporation; Arvind Gupta, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of British Columbia (U15 member); and Anne Sado, President of George Brown College and Chair of Polytechnics Canada. Its activities will focus its efforts on helping young Canadians transition from education to the workplace, seeking greater synergies between research and teaching on campuses and the needs of Canadian employers as they adapt to the economy of the future, as well as working towards improving life-long learning and strengthening research and innovation linkages between large companies and institutions.
“I look forward to joining many of my colleagues from both The U15 and from the larger PSE sector as we work towards making Canada more economically and scientifically competitive in the 21st century,” concluded Dr. Hamdullahpur. “Only by working together are we going to be able to put Canada on course to make it the most innovative nation in the world by 2030.”
The Business Higher Education Roundtable was organized by the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) in consultation with the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), The U15, Polytechnics Canada and Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan).
Here are the links to the CCCE roundtable announcement and to The U15 thought piece on making Canada the most innovative country in the world by 2030.