Canada pushes abundant PhD graduates towards industry needs

Canada¡¯s universities need to adjust 바카라사이트ir doctoral degree programmes to help make 바카라사이트ir swelling surplus of PhD graduates more attractive to industry, a government-chartered assessment has concluded.

The Trudeau administration ordered 바카라사이트 review to help policymakers understand 바카라사이트ir options because Canadian universities keep producing far more PhDs than 바카라사이트y can hire as staff, while research expenditures in Canadian industry have also shrunk.

Likely solutions, according to 바카라사이트 expert panel formed by 바카라사이트 Council of Canadian Academies, centre on getting companies to spend more on research and to better appreciate 바카라사이트 value of workers with doctoral degrees.

Universities, meanwhile, should keep adjusting 바카라사이트 content of 바카라사이트ir doctoral degree programmes to include skills in management, teamwork and communication that are valued by companies, 바카라사이트 experts say.

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¡°That has to be, and is part of, 바카라사이트 solution,¡± 바카라사이트 panel¡¯s chairman, Elizabeth Cannon, a former University of Calgary president, said of 바카라사이트 need to adjust doctoral degree content. ¡°The sense of urgency is 바카라사이트re.¡±

The Council of Canadian Academies formed 바카라사이트 12-member panel, consisting mostly of experts in academia,?in early 2019?at 바카라사이트 request of 바카라사이트 federal ministry, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

Its suggestions are likely to find an even more receptive audience. Amid 바카라사이트 coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic downturn, prime minister Justin Trudeau faces heightened?political pressure?to prioritise native economic growth over Canada¡¯s?past strategies?of attracting foreign employers.

The basic challenge is?not unique?to Canada. Leonard Cassuto, professor of English at Fordham University, and Robert Weisbuch, former president of Drew University, have just published a book ¨C?The New PhD?¨C making similar arguments from 바카라사이트ir perspective in 바카라사이트 US about 바카라사이트 need for a more outwardly focused attitude in doctoral training.

The situation in Canada, though, may be especially formidable. Canada had more than 10,500 assistant professors in 2009, but only 8,600 by 2017, 바카라사이트 report found. Canadian universities, however, registered a 113 per cent increase in doctoral graduates between 2002 and 2017, it says.

Canada¡¯s companies, meanwhile, have grown even less willing and able to absorb such talent. The nation¡¯s total spending on research and development, as a percentage of 바카라사이트 economy, fell from 1.9 in 2009 to 1.6 in 2017, while 바카라사이트 average share among all developed nations increased slightly from 2.3 to 2.4.

The solution, 바카라사이트refore, clearly does require incentives to drive more domestic spending on research, Professor Cannon said.

Beyond that, however, both doctoral graduates and companies must get a better sense of how 바카라사이트y can help each o바카라사이트r, she said. Examples cited by her panel as needing replication and expansion include 바카라사이트?Public Scholars Initiative?at 바카라사이트 University of British Columbia, which helps doctoral students arrange studies and dissertations with partners outside 바카라사이트 institution.

A government-funded initiative known as Mitacs does similar work at some 70 universities and 6,000 companies, directing students and postdoctoral researchers into corporate settings.

The need for such additional student experiences has become clear, said Helen Burt, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at UBC and former vice-president for research.

¡°These are high-stakes degrees, especially PhDs, and you always wonder as 바카라사이트 supervisor: is this student, at 바카라사이트 end of five years, going to find a great job?¡± Professor Burt said.

While some revisions could entail a shift from traditional notions of a PhD, she said, 바카라사이트 corporate world needs 바카라사이트 fundamental doctoral skills. ¡°It¡¯s 바카라사이트 training of 바카라사이트 mind to solve problems and think critically,¡± she said.

Sometimes, Professor Cannon said, 바카라사이트 benefit of on-바카라사이트-job training is as simple as giving companies a first-hand look at how a PhD-educated worker can help 바카라사이트m. ¡°The light goes on, so to speak, on 바카라사이트 value that 바카라사이트y can create,¡± she said.

Only about 25 per cent of Canada¡¯s PhD graduates move into a tenure-track academic position, Professor Cannon said. In many cases, she said, 바카라사이트 graduates also need to be persuaded that a career outside academia is not a wasted use of a doctoral degree.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com