Author Archives: Ghoussoub

Another announcement by Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) and Science and Technology: The new Youth STEM initiative will provide up to $20 million for not-for-profit organizations to enhance or … Continue reading →

I will post later about my debate yesterday with Isabelle Blain, NSERC’s Vice-President, Research Grants and Fellowships on the topic of  NSERC Discovery Grant Evaluation
 Systems: New and Old. But I can already say that there was a consensus –at … Continue reading →

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) made their pre-2011 Budget submission to the Minister of Finance, James Flaherty. What are the highlights of this year’s ask? 1.    Support foundational research through the Tri-council, and in particular SSHRC. … Continue reading →

“Enough reports. We’ve seen enough,” NSERC’s President Suzanne Fortier said in a recent interview with the Globe&Mail. “At the end of the day, we all agree that Canada needs to up its game in innovation”. She also talks about how … Continue reading →

NSERC introduced in 2009 a new “binning” system to the review process in the Discovery Grant program. The program’s success rate has been on a downward spiral since — from 71 per cent in 2008 to 64 per cent in … Continue reading →

For the longest time, we have been told that Government is skeptical of, even hostile to, the concept of funding basic research, and that any open criticism of NSERC could have dire consequences, since it will give politicians a good … Continue reading →

Suzanne Fortier has been reappointed for a second 5-years term as President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). We wish her well. The first term of Dr. Fortier was marked by an abrupt change of … Continue reading →

“Is the National Research Council (NRC) a basic research organization or an applied research organization? Does it exist to perform independent, government-sponsored research, or does it provide research services in support of the private sector? Does it perform early-stage research … Continue reading →

Eva Szabo (pictured here on the left) was part of a team under the direction of Dr. Mick Bhatia of McMaster University’s Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute that succeeded in transforming skin cells into mature blood cells in less … Continue reading →

Back in 1995, and way before Gwyn Morgan took up this role, Reform party MP Randy White, was on a mission to illustrate waste in government by trying to discredit what is now called NSERC’s discovery grant program. His staff … Continue reading →

  UBC has been pro-active in integrating non-academic internships into its academic programs. The Science and Applied Science Faculties, and the Sauder School already have a good track record in this direction, through the traditional Coop programs for undergraduate students. … Continue reading →

Throughout the scientific enterprise there is a pressing need to create a platform for communities of researchers to jointly articulate a vision for their research efforts, to devise a strategy for achieving this vision, and to be accountable for this … Continue reading →

  The research enterprise is by definition international; if one wants to be a leader in this community, one must be tied in. The European Community has been extremely proactive in promoting collaborative research efforts by supporting European and international … Continue reading →

On Nov. 4, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty wrapped up Ontario’s mission to China by announcing a new Trillium Scholarship program designed to attract the world’s best graduate students to pursue doctoral studies in Ontario: 75 scholarships — each one providing … Continue reading →

The news for British universities are particularly bad as of late. Higher education will suffer major budget cuts under a recent spending review released by the British government. Excluding research support, which will remain flat, the amount of money going … Continue reading →

NY Times’ conservative columnist, David Brooks, writes about what America needs to do to achieve success in the future. “Building that America means doing everything possible to thicken connections: finance research to attract scientists; improve infrastructure to ease travel; fix … Continue reading →