Tag Archives: Sarah Burch

$$$, the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), and the Expert panel for 2025’s The State of Science, Technology, and Innovation in Canada + a November 26, 2025 innovation event

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I’m a little late to a July 11, 2024 Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) announcement of the members for an expert panel the an upcoming report on The State of Science, Technology, and Innovation in Canada, Note: This will be the fifth report

The science, technology, and innovation (STI) landscape has changed rapidly in recent years, as a result of new technologies, ongoing digitization of the economy, a global pandemic that transformed supply chains, and new global security considerations. Since 2006, the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) has been documenting Canada’s standing in this landscape by benchmarking science, technology, and innovation strengths and weaknesses in a series of reports, most recently with Competing in a Global Innovation Economy (2018). At the request of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, CCA has formed an expert panel to provide an updated assessment of developments in the STI ecosystem, the extent to which barriers and knowledge gaps continue to impede innovation, and potential opportunities for Canada. Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, managing partner at TwinRiver Capital, will serve as Chair of the expert panel.

“CCA’s reports on this topic have repeatedly highlighted how Canada has historically excelled in research but struggled with innovation and productivity,” said Dr. Treurnicht. “I look forward to mining the extensive evidence and expertise on the topic to determine how things have evolved over the past few years and what new insights can be gained.”

Dr. Treurnicht is a general partner at North South Ventures, chair of the Public Policy Forum Board, and a director of the Equality Fund and Zentek. She was CEO of MaRS Discovery District in Toronto from 2005-2017. She has an extensive background in scientific research and commercialization, building health and cleantech firms, venture and impact investing, and public policy.

As Chair, Dr. Treurnicht will lead a multidisciplinary group with expertise in academic research, industrial research and development, financing, science and innovation policy, economics, and methodological approaches. The Panel will answer the following question:

What is the state of science, technology, and innovation in Canada, and how does Canada compare internationally?

“We are delighted that Dr. Treurnicht has agreed to take on the role of chair,” said Tijs Creutzberg, President and CEO of the CCA. “This is a timely and important assessment—the data and expert analysis by the panel will inform critical conversations about how Canada can position itself for the future.”

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The Expert Panel on the State of Science, Technology, and Innovation in Canada:

  • Ilse Treurnicht (chair), Managing Partner, TwinRiver Capital
  • Robert Atkinson, President, ITIF[Information Technology and Innovation Foundation] Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness
  • Ulrike Bahr-Gedalia, Senior Director, Digital Economy, Technology and Innovation, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
  • Joel Blit, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Waterloo
  • Christina Freyman, Deputy Director, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation
  • Jean Hamel, Chief Engineer, FPInnovations
  • Kathryn Hayashi, CEO, TRIUMF Innovations; Co-Lead Canadian Medical Isotope Ecosystem
  • Burhan Hussein, NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow, Concordia University
  • Vincent Larivière, UNESCO Chair on Open Science, Université de Montréal
  • Elicia Maine, W.J. VanDusen Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Associate Vice President, Knowledge Mobilization and Innovation, Simon Fraser University
  • Alexandra McCann, Executive Director, ONSIDE
  • R. Sandra Schillo, Associate Professor, Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa
  • Jeffrey R. Taylor, Associate Vice-President, Applied Research and Innovation, Nova Scotia Community College
  • Hans-Joachim Wieden, Associate Vice-President Partnerships, Knowledge Mobilization and Innovation, University of Manitoba

Expert panel members serve as individuals and do not represent the views of their organizations of affiliation or employment.

The skill set for members of the expert panel’s would seem to be highly concentrated in the fields of business, commercialization, entrepreneurship, and economics. As for geographic representation, it’s a bit unusual (but not unheard of) for two people (Robert Atkinson and Christina Freyman) from the US to be members of the expert panel. Usually, the American or Americans are peer reviewers. Otherwise, it’s pretty much the same as usual, a preponderance of experts from eastern Canada (emphasis on Ontario and Québec) with a few representatives from western Canada and no one from the North. The male/female split is about 50/50.

I missed the fourth report but of the ones I’ve commented on, this one is my favourite, “The Hedy Lamarr of international research: Canada’s Third assessment of The State of Science and Technology and Industrial Research and Development in Canada (1 of 2)” and “The Hedy Lamarr of international research: Canada’s Third assessment of The State of Science and Technology and Industrial Research and Development in Canada (2 of 2)” both published April 12, 2018.

The State of Science, Technology, and Innovation in Canada report summary is here.

The Walrus Talks Innovation Nation: November 26, 2025 hybrid event

For those unfamiliar with the magazine, from The Walrus’ Wikipedia entry,

The Walrus is an independent, nonprofit Canadian media organization. It is multi-platform and produces an eight-issue-per-year magazine and online editorial content that includes current affairs, fiction, poetry, and podcasts, a national speaker series called The Walrus Talks, and branded content for clients through The Walrus Lab.

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The first issue was in September 2003. Given how tough the publishing environment is, The Walrus has an impressive survival record. Bravo!

Coming up shortly is their innovation event, from The Walrus Talks event page,

Canadian research to real-world solutions

A new federal government is setting its sights on a stronger, more resilient Canada—and the key to getting there is homegrown innovation.

The Walrus Talks Innovation Nation celebrates the transformative research emerging from Canadian universities that’s already shaping how we live, work, and thrive. From life-saving medical breakthroughs to bold climate solutions and cutting-edge artificial intelligence, university-led research is transforming visionary ideas into tangible solutions that are fueling our economy, improving our well-being, and elevating Canada’s global leadership.

Join us in Ottawa or online for an inspiring evening of rapid-fire talks from award-winning researchers and pioneering experts. In dynamic seven-minute presentations, they’ll share how groundbreaking innovation is creating real-world impact—and how Canadian research is defining tomorrow’s possibilities.

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Featuring seven-minute talks by:

  • Dr. André Blais, Emeritus Professor, Department of Political Science, Université de Montreal
  • Dr. Kyle Bobiwash, Assistant Professor and Indigenous Scholar, Department of Entomology, University of Manitoba
  • Dr. Sarah Burch, Executive Director, Waterloo Climate Institute; Professor, Geography and Environmental Management; Canada Research Chair
  • Dr. Graham Carr, President and Vice-Chancellor, Concordia University
  • Rahul G. Krishnan, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto; Canada CIFAR Artificial Intelligence Chair
  • Dr. Catalina Lopez-Correa, Chief Global Strategy Officer, Genome Canada
  • Dr. Gina Ogilvie, MD DrPH FCFP FRSC; Professor and Canada Research Chair, Faculty of Medicine; Associate Director, Women’s Health Research Institute, University of British Columbia
Canadian Museum of Nature,
4th Floor Gallery,
240 McLeod Street, Ottawa
 
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. ET
 
General Admission: $20
Student/Senior: $12
Livestream: Free with registration

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You can register here.

University of British Columbia (Canada) boards the Coursera train

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The last time I featured an online education story was in my Aug. 9, 2011 posting about Stanford University and a free, Artificial Intelligence online course. It was a hugely successful effort and seems to have, at least partially, inspired a whole new institutional approach to offering education.

Universities still want to make money but instead of charging for the courses, they’ll be charging for the certification in these new online education ventures. That’s the theory behind Coursera, founded by Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng at Stanford University (California).

Today, Sept. 19 2012,  Coursera announced that the number of participating educational institutions has doubled. From the Sept. 19, 2012 article by Anya Kamenetz for Fast Company,

Having already teamed up with more colleges than any of its rivals, Coursera adds 17 new global universities to its roster.

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Since its debut earlier this year, 1.3 million people have signed up for a free six- to ten-week Coursera class, which includes videos, exercises, embedded assessment and a social component delivered through message boards.

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Although still exploring business models, the venture-funded company plans to eventually make money through certifications (a path competitor Udacity is already pursuing). The addition of these new partners will give Coursera an advantage in what’s become an increasingly crowded online education market.

Kamenetz’s article provides more detail about Coursera’s competitors and course offerings. I’m going to concentrate on one of the new universities to team up with the company, the University of British Columbia (from my home province). From the University of British Columbia (UBC) Sept. 19, 2012 media release,

The University of British Columbia is joining forces with the U.S.-based company Coursera to provide high quality, non-credit courses free of charge to a worldwide audience – bringing the university’s expertise within reach of anyone with Internet access.

Starting spring 2013, UBC will pilot three non-credit courses taught by renowned UBC faculty and researchers through Coursera’s online learning platform.

“Our partnership with Coursera will enable us to reach people around the world, and to evaluate an exciting new teaching and learning technology,” says Simon Peacock, Dean of the Faculty of Science, where two of the three UBC Coursera courses will be housed. “Ultimately, I believe all UBC students will benefit from our exploration of this rapidly evolving online space.”

UBC’s Coursera offerings are “Useful Genetics” with Prof. Rosie Redfield [emphasis mine], “Computer Science Problem Design” with Prof. Gregor Kiczales and “Climate Literacy: Navigating Climate Conversations” with Sarah Burch and Tom-Pierre Frappé-Sénéclauze, instructors for the UBC Continuing Studies Centre for Sustainability.

Coursera courses typically consist of videos or voice-over PowerPoint presentations, with student-led discussion forums, interactive activities, quizzes and assignments set at regular intervals.

(Rosie Redfield has been mentioned here before in the context of the ‘arsenic life’ controversy in a Dec. 8, 2010 posting where I apologized for having gotten caught up in the excitement and discuss the controversy at some length.)

Coursera‘s offerings are heavily weighted towards the sciences and mathematics but those are more easily quantifiable than the humanities and I imagine that makes them easier to mark. I understand from Kamenetz’s article, Coursera is testing a peer grading scheme. The website is easy to navigate as is signing up for a course. I do have a couple of  provisos. (1)  I was not able to find out the minimum technical requirement for a potential student’s computer. (2) At this point, they are offering certificates of completion, nothing else. You’re not going to be getting a degree or other professional certification from Stanford or Brown or UBC or any of the others.

On another note, I have a mild quibble with the UBC media release,

• UBC is building upon its leadership in continuing and distance education to enhance the student learning experience. The Coursera partnership will provide evidence-based findings for UBC to design and support quality learning interactions for online, face-to-face and other classroom delivery modes.

I’m not sure I’d call ‘jumping on the train’ with a bunch of other institutions leadership. As for the plan to extract data and mine the Coursera relationship so UBC can design and offer competitive (?) programmes in future, I think that must have been an interesting negotiation. As well, I appreciate the importance of building on someone else’s work as UBC is planning but I’m not sure I’d call that leadership either.