Category:

Science & Technology

Screen of a Zoom meeting showing moderator and four panellists

Toronto’s tech ecosystem and talent make it a hotbed, says industry panel

by Daniel Johnson September 14, 2021

written by Daniel Johnson

A panel on tech changes following the pandemic, hosted by Toronto Global and the International Economic Forum of the Americas (IEFA), attributed Toronto’s prominent tech market to its existing ecosystem and talent pool.

Toronto Global is a non-profit investment attraction agency, while the IEFA is an organization working to promote an exchange of views on economic issues among world leaders.

The panel was part of an event named Stronger than Ever, which was livestreamed from Billy Bishop Airport Thursday. Titled, “How Will Tech Change After the Pandemic?” the panel was moderated by Greg Bonnell, an anchor at BNN Bloomberg and host of the show The Real Economy. Speakers on the panel included Erin Elofson, head of Pinterest Canada; Sabrina Geremia, vice-president and country director at Google; Jen Wong, chief operating officer at Reddit; and C VIjayakumar, chief executive officer and managing director at HCL Technologies.

“What we’re witnessing is probably the most intense proliferation of technology into the business world,” said VIjayakumar during the panel discussion. “Everyone is really focused on how they can reimagine their business in a completely virtual world.”

VIjayakumar went on to say that the Toronto region has the third-largest tech talent pool in North America and is also one of the fastest-growing talent pools.

“So clearly, Toronto’s calling card is talent for global tech companies like us.”

Equally important to talent, said VIjayakumar, is the technology ecosystem in the city. Individual success and innovation are good, but sustainable success comes from institutional collaboration.

The innovation hubs and accelerators really help in scaling incubation and innovation, said VIjayakumar.

Favourable sentiments towards Toronto’s tech talent pool were shared by Wong, who pointed to Toronto’s diverse and talented technology workforce.

Geremia also said density in the ecosystem is beneficial to the industry.

“You want to be in a tech ecosystem that has density,” said Geremia. “And I think Toronto does have density. We have anchor tenants like Google, like Microsoft; and we have emerging scaleups, we have startups, we have an amazing incubator support ecosystem for tech in Canada.”

Geremia said she is bullish on Toronto, partially because the tech industry is collaborative. Collaboration makes it distinct from other ecosystems.

Elofson was in agreement with other panel members about the city’s talent pool, but added that she is particularly excited about the work being done with machine learning.

Contributing to Toronto’s tech ecosystem and talent pool is the DMZ. The DMZ has accumulated over 10 years in the industry while helping to grow over 617 startups. To date, the DMZ has raised around $1.4 billion in funding, while playing a key role in Toronto’s tech scene.

Shane Flynn, the incubator director at the DMZ, said providing a support system for startups is part of the organization’s role. Promoting global awareness of the city’s tech industry is also a significant part of what the DMZ does, said Flynn.

As part of this global awareness, the DMZ currently has 70 international incubator partners in 20 partner countries.

A large part of developing the talent pool at the DMZ — and Toronto as a whole — comes from access to Ryerson students interested in entrepreneurship, said Flynn.

The DMZ also emphasizes diversity in tech.

Startups with at least one founder self-identifying as either a woman or Black receive another layer of support and benefits upon joining the incubator.

The DMZ has also had its Black Innovation Programs in place since 2019, said Flynn.

Curated programming for women founders has been available at the DMZ since 2018, the DMZ said in an email, but it launched a new formalized structure this year. The new structure offers enhanced programming for women across four different programs, including Launchpad, Bootcamp, Fast Track and the Incubator.

“We saw a huge gap in the market, just with all these applications and so that really caused us to double down. Not only on supporting earlier stage founders but also founders who more commonly come from underrepresented communities,” said Flynn. “At least half, if not more, of our founders that we work with in our programs now come from these under-represented communities.”

The Black Innovation Programs were the first of their kind in Canada when they launched. The programs provide additional programming, mentorship, events, capital, an alumni network and connections to the industry to startups led by Black entrepreneurs in order to support their growth.

The Women Founders Incubator provides woman-identifying founders with benefits in addition to standard DMZ programming. These benefits include peer support groups with women tech founders and mentors, introductions to funders dedicated to women-led ventures, partnerships and pilot opportunities, PR and marketing opportunities, access to exclusive cutting-edge content, workshops, discounts and more.

The Black Innovation Fellowship provides Black-identifying founders with additional benefits and support. This includes dedicated support from the DMZ BIP team, curated connections, exclusive programming, peer-to-peer sessions with fellow Black founders, and exclusive workshops and mentorship sessions from Black leaders in Canada.

While Ryerson’s DMZ influences Toronto’s tech industry, tech also affects the student experience at Ryerson University.

“The pandemic has accelerated the use of technology to expand the possibilities for flexible and accessible learning and teaching opportunities,” said Mohamed Lachemi, the president of Ryerson.

In an interview with On The Record, Lachemi pointed to four elements that allowed the university to pivot quickly during the pandemic. These elements include recorded lectures, teaching tools, open education resources and technology facilitating online student discussions.

“As we contemplate the post-pandemic campus, the flexibility and accessibility afforded by technology opens up exciting possibilities that I believe are here to stay,” said Lachemi. “But we are hearing from other students that their presence on campus and in-person interactions with others are important, and we’re taking that into consideration.”

September 14, 2021

Pandemic Tales Science & Technology Sports Students

A virtual race to the finish line

by Devon Harvey April 20, 2021

written by Devon Harvey

Ryerson racing student groups move their clubs and cars online

Ryerson University Baja team members Ariel Gil (left) and Marc Buono perform pre-race inspections of the powertrain components during the 2019 Baja SAE competition in Rochester, N.Y. (Courtesy Marek Serwin, Philip Martins)

The whirring of power tools, the screech of metal on metal, and rumbles of laughter contribute to the chaotic symphony reverberating through the workshop. The banter among teammates brings the loud, busy space to life. Sitting in the middle of it all, the project on everyone’s mind, is the car. A metaphoric sun, the centre of this small universe, pulling everyone together.

Now, the shop is empty. All the noise abruptly stopped last March. And more than a year later, all that is left is dusty equipment and abandoned, but not forgotten, car parts.

The new and disappointing reality for the Ryerson University Baja and Ryerson Formula Racing teams involves sitting at desks, attending Zoom meetings and working in solitude. The pandemic forced them out of their usual workspace in the affectionately nicknamed “dungeon” of Kerr Hall North and has kept them away for over a year.

In a regular year, members of the Ryerson University Baja team would be building an off-road-ready car from the ground up, painstakingly designing, manufacturing and constructing it for a high-stakes international competition. This year there is no physical manufacturing, no testing, and no in-person competition.

Instead, Philip Martins, captain of the team, had to move the traditionally hands-on group entirely online over a few short weeks.

“Everything’s turned upside down…we had no idea what was going to happen. All the work we put in over the last year is sort of up in the air,” says Martins, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student.

Transitioning the club online meant hosting meetings over Zoom, using email as a primary mode of communication, and letting go of the project that meant the most to them — the car.

“Everybody’s on the team because they want to build it; they want to drive it,” says Martins. “So, it was kind of shitty.”

Any other year, the team would be putting the final touches on their car for the Baja SAE competition, a highly anticipated event in which racers from across North America compete and push their vehicles to the limit.

Team member Marc Buono drives the Baja vehicle during the four-hour endurance race at the 2019 Baja SAE Competition in Rochester, N.Y. (Courtesy Marek Serwin, Philip Martins)

This year, however, the teams will be competing online through presentations about their car and its capabilities.

The focus now is modelling their cars in 3D. As there is no in-person competition, detailed images of these models will be the stars of the show. Using design software from SolidWorks, they are creating highly detailed renderings, but the enormous file sizes make editing and collaborating a gruelling task.

“It was definitely a difficult process to figure out,” says Martins. “What’s the best way to engage my team, what’s the best way to make sure I’m getting responses from everybody, or what’s the best way to make sure that the team knows what’s going on?”

Martins and his team started working on their car around the start of the 2020 fall semester. They have logged more than 200 hours of work to complete about 70 per cent of their designs, some of which still need work. Now, they spend hours on end working remotely, with their eyes trained on their screens, bodies huddled over their keyboards, painstakingly designing — and redesigning — more than 150 parts for their vehicle.

Back in the dark, dusty basement of Kerr Hall North, the Ryerson Formula Racing team’s section of the workshop, which once saw countless hours of machining and designing, is also a deserted museum of abandoned power tools and car parts.

The team, forced to adapt quickly to their online task, is treating the pandemic as an opportunity to do something different.

“We’re actually working towards the design and eventual manufacturing of our first-ever electric vehicle,” says Erica Attard, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student and captain of the team. “It actually came about only because of the COVID situation.”

A rendering of RF-20, the Ryerson Formula Racing team’s most recent combustion car, from their virtual unveiling (Courtesy George Stoyanov, Erica Attard)

According to Attard, designing and building an electric vehicle requires plenty of funds, resources and time. Since their in-person competition was cancelled, the group now has the necessary time and resources for what’s become a two-year project.

While students aren’t getting hands-on experience building their vehicles, virtual co-operation still offers them a learning opportunity.

The club has implemented a “ready-to-race” program designed to teach incoming members everything they need to know about the car and the team. “We really tried to make learning virtual and not miss the opportunity to teach both our new members and current leads,” Attard says.

Similarly, the Ryerson University Baja team is also focused on providing a learning experience for its members: “One thing I focus on is teaching them and helping them learn; helping them understand how a team works,” says Zyam Dewan, the powertrain lead for the team. Students learn the value of teamwork, the importance of deadlines, and vital communication skills.

It may be a virtual creation, but both teams have still managed to focus on what is dearest to them – the car.

“As easy as it would be to just stop and use COVID as an excuse, I think we’ve all taken it really well,” Martins says. “I’m really happy with this team, really proud of this team.”

The author of this article was the social media and marketing lead for the Ryerson Formula Racing team from June 2020 to October 2020.

April 20, 2021

Career degrees Education Features Science & Technology Students Top Top stories

CanPhysCounts survey reveals how white, male Canada’s physics field is

by Natalie Michie April 8, 2021

written by Natalie Michie

The national equity, diversity and inclusion survey shows minorities are underrepresented in physics

The data shows the majority of people in the field identify as white and male. (Roman Mager/Unsplash)

Darsh Sangha was in grade 11 when she discovered her love for physics. She appreciated that the principles taught in physics are all things that come into play in everyday life. While her friends would dread the class, she held positive anticipation and excitement to learn more about the world around her.

But during her first year at Ryerson University studying biomedical sciences with a minor in physics, she began to see how the intelligence of women and men were perceived differently in the field. Now in her fourth year, Sangha said it’s been challenging to navigate the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) as a woman of colour.

According to a new Canada-wide study, the physics field is sorely lacking in diversity, with the majority of people in the field identifying as white and male.

The study, conducted by CanPhysCounts, surveyed 3,000 respondents including undergraduate students, graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, faculty, members of research institutes, and industry and government workers.

The preliminary data released in March shows that the largest group of respondents in all categories were white men, and only one per cent of respondents identified as Black.

In each category, gender diverse people — meaning those who identify as non-binary, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, transgender and those who self-describe another gender identity — were the least represented. Black, Indigenous, and other women of colour were second last in terms of representation in each category.

I'm excited to see this. If Canada is serious about closing #EDI gaps in STEM and emerging tech fields, then understanding the starting conditions is a must. #CdnSci https://t.co/Y8UtwlZcoe
— Dr. Aimee Gunther (@AimeeKGunther) March 17, 2021

This data is not surprising, said Sangha, who is co-president of Ryerson’s Association of Undergraduate Women in Science (AUWS), which aims to unite and amplify the voices of women in science fields. She said the club has brought her comfort and community while navigating STEM as a visible minority.

In her daily interactions, Sangha said she feels like her intelligence as a woman is perceived differently than that of her male peers, finding herself constantly having to prove her worthiness to be there.

“They make assumptions about (me) before they’ve even spoken to (me). People will tell me, ‘you’re a lot more intelligent than I thought you were.’ And a lot of the times that’s coming from men,” she said.

“It shows how they perceive women and their intelligence in science. I’ve never felt like they saw me as an equal.”

Sangha said the reason women are regarded differently in the field is in part because of the lack of diversity in the way physics is taught.

“All of our science textbooks mostly talk about men, more specifically white cis men and their findings. We’ve always highlighted the voices and achievements of men; they’re kind of seen as the fathers of science and the fathers of physics,” she said.

Sangha points to the erasure of female scientists’ contributions and educational institutions crediting male scientists for work done by female scientists as a reason why the modern-day physics learning environment can be unwelcoming to women.

“That sort of process (of erasure) has translated over the years into people of colour, especially women of colour, feeling discouraged to go into the field,” she said. Not only is it white men that mostly get recognized for their work, but it’s also the fact that they don’t acknowledge that women even contribute to the field.”

The lack of diversity in physics can also impact work environments. Jean Chen, an associate professor of medical biophysics at the University of Toronto, says women in physics at all levels of their school and career face challenges unique to them.

“In my undergraduate classes, the majority of students were male and all the professors I had were men … not even a single woman. So there (is) this lack of role models for women who want to become researchers in physics and engineering and other types of quantitative science,” said Chen.

“For those of us that end up being successful in a research career and end up being scientists, we are also the minority,” said Chen. She said women working in the field can be treated differently due to skewed perceptions of them by peers and trainees.

“There’s sometimes this age-old prejudice against women: men seem more sure of themselves and they don’t show their imposter syndrome as clearly, so they seem to carry themselves with more confidence.”

Minorities in the field will be on the receiving end of either conscious or subconscious bias at some point in their careers, said Chen.

Lack of diversity in a field like physics can not only impact the treatment minorities working within the field face, but also in the way research is conducted.

When people from marginalized backgrounds are not able to give their input, they cannot help identify underlying biases that are often incorporated into experiments. Diversity among researchers adds an intersectional perspective that can bring about more accurate and interesting research, said Chen.

“Some of the best researchers I know in my field are women… Although men and women are all physicists (in the same way), they sometimes approach problems slightly differently,” she said.

“Bringing diversity into the conversation will actually present more innovative solutions.”

But because the field of physics is traditionally geared towards men, men are more likely to pursue it as a career path, said Sarah Kadhim, a biomedical physics master’s student at Ryerson.

As masculinity presides over academia and the general work environment, femininity is less likely to find a place. Studies have shown that when women are more feminine presenting, such as wearing colourful makeup and clothes, they are less likely to be deemed suitable for a career in science.

Equating femininity to lacking capability in physics results in a perception of STEM as an inherently masculine field. Studies have shown that when adolescent girls see hypermasculinity predominating STEM, it can impact their interest in entering the field.

By introducing physics as a possible career path to younger students, women and people from diverse backgrounds would be more likely to enter the field, said Kadhim.

Providing opportunities for high school students to speak with people who are studying and working in the field would dispel their hesitancy and encourage them to join, she said.

“Especially for women, we want them to know that they can do physics. Starting from high school, we want them to know more about the field, so they can be interested to join and to talk to us about it,” she said. “This will give them the courage to apply to these kinds of programs.”

Despite the study’s low diversity statistics, Kadhim and Chen said representation for minorities is getting better.

With organizations like Ryerson’s AUWS, students who are minorities in the field are provided a sense of community. For Sangha, it’s been a space to talk about the common issues faced by women and minorities in the field, and to give and receive support.

The data collected by CanPhysCounts is the first ever comprehensive survey of the physics community in Canada. Now that this data has been collected, it makes space for more conversations around improving diversity.

Chen is optimistic that meaningful change can happen with more resources, opportunities and mentorships in the field.

“Although the numbers are still so low, I do feel a shift in mentality and I feel very encouraged,” she said. “The minorities who have not yet contributed to the field can bring about paradigm shifts. They can be the future of this field.”

April 8, 2021

Education News On Campus Science & Technology Students Top Top stories

Ryerson announces change to Google unlimited storage policy

by Nathan Charbonneau March 16, 2021

written by Nathan Charbonneau

People asked to reduce current storage usage in anticipation of defined limits coming next year

The university announced Friday that it would begin limiting Google storage capacities early in 2022, as part of a transition to the new Google Workspace for Education.

“Along with the updated name, Google’s new account storage policy will end the current availability of unlimited storage for educational institutions in July 2022,” the announcement states.

The updated policy affects all current users of G Suite for Education through Ryerson, including students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

Unlimited storage was initially announced in 2014, and has been offered through Google by the university since Oct. 30 of that year, when the previous 30-gigabytes-per-user restriction was removed.

The offer of free unlimited storage is an outlier among cloud-based storage options, with companies like Dropbox, Apple iCloud, and Microsoft OneCloud using tiered limits or paid unlimited storage, depending on subscription. This change by Google will bring it in line with industry standards.

According to Google, Ryerson currently subscribes to Google Workspace’s “Education Fundamentals” tier, which, according to Google’s website, is free “for qualified educational institutions.”

The new limitations for this tier will provide 100 terabytes of pooled storage to be shared by everyone under the licencing agreement. With more than 44,000 full and part-time students, and over 900 full-time faculty registered with the university as of fall 2020, that pool could quickly dry up.

Divided among all users, each person would have an average allotment of just over two gigabytes — Ryerson hasn’t mentioned anything about alumni, who currently also have unlimited storage. If they’re included, the pool would be stretched even thinner.

In anticipation of this issue, Ryerson Computing and Communications Services (RCCS) did note in their announcement that “beginning in early 2022, we will implement individual storage limits for all users at Ryerson.” What those limits will be has not yet been announced.

Google is introducing new fee-based subscription tiers, which would allow the university to upgrade to an additional 20-gigabytes or 100-gigabytes-per-user storage option. It is not clear which option the university may be pursuing, but either choice would increase costs for the university. Google currently offers 15 gigabytes of free storage to individual users who sign up for their own Google Drive.

These new storage restrictions could impact students and faculty who use Google Drive to store large files for classes, such as unedited video files, raw image files, lecture videos, computer-aided design (CAD) files, or other large media that are necessary for their courses. Collaboration — often required in university studies — may be more difficult as these large files won’t be able to remain in the cloud indefinitely and shared among group members.

RCCS has asked users to begin reducing their storage usage now, in order to prepare for the coming changes.

“These steps will be voluntary through 2021 and more information, including your specific storage limit, will be shared later this year,” the email states.

March 16, 2021

a cartoon graphic of the Toronto skyline with the CN Tower and a plug and socket hovering over it

Accessibility Community News COVID-19 Local News News Politics Science & Technology Students Top stories

Toronto looking to build its own high-speed internet network for low-income communities

by Cassandra Dubiel February 1, 2021

written by Cassandra Dubiel

Recent report reveals significant ‘digital divide’ within the city

Toronto is home to some of Canada’s fastest internet infrastructure, yet there continues to be a digital divide separating those who have access to the internet at home, according to a new report.

Ryerson’s Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship has found that 38 per cent of Toronto households have experienced download speeds below the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)’s national target of 50 megabits per second.

With COVID-19 creating an increased dependence on technology, Toronto Mayor John Tory emphasized how important it is that all Toronto residents have reliable internet access.

“Having access to a reliable and affordable internet connection is a lifeline for many residents and businesses in Toronto,” he said. “Without sufficient connectivity, many are left behind by an increasing digital divide – especially during COVID-19, where it has become vital to maintain business operations and access supports and learning.”

The City of Toronto is looking to address that by building its own network. Members of the city’s executive committee voted unanimously that city council should proceed with a ConnectTO proposal to build a broadband network, using existing city fibre-optic cables while pursuing new partnerships with private sector firms.

Lawrence Eta, the city’s chief technology officer, says “unlocking” these existing assets will ensure those who need access to the internet are receiving it quickly since the necessary infrastructure is already in place.

Joe Masoodi, a co-author of the Brookfield report and a policy analyst at the Ryerson Leadership Lab, says that without action, this digital divide will continue to widen since it’s primarily affecting low-income households.

“The digital divide is not spread evenly across the population but rather, it is mapped upon the pre-existing socio-economic and socio-cultural inequities,” he said.

The Brookfield report finds that 34 per cent of Toronto households are worried about paying their internet bills over the next several months. Rates of worry are highest among low-income, newcomer, single parent, Latin American, South Asian, Black and Southeast Asian residents.

While the report also reveals only two per cent of Toronto households don’t have access to home internet, half of those who remain disconnected say it’s because of the cost.

Peter D’Gama serves as chair of the Etobicoke branch of ACORN, an independent national organization of low and moderate-income families. He says the ConnectTO proposal is a “step in the right direction” and hopes to see this broadband infrastructure implemented across the city with a low price structure for those who currently can’t afford it.

The Brookfield report identifies six neighbourhoods in the city with the lowest home internet access rates: Humber Summit, Jane and Finch, South Parkdale, East Downtown, Taylor-Massey, Thorncliffe Park and West Hill.

If passed in council, ConnectTO could be implemented in three neighbours later this year: Jane and Finch, Golden Mile and Malvern. After that, a report would go back to council on its progress with potential for the next phase of the project launching city-wide in early 2022.

“ConnectTO will help to create a digitally connected Toronto, which means everyone can prosper and enjoy a better quality of life,” said Tory.

February 1, 2021

Business COVID-19 Politics & Security Science & Technology The World After COVID-19

Zoom regulations during pandemic concern activists, academics

by Gavin Mercier December 1, 2020

written by Gavin Mercier

Lax security, academic interference among reasons cited

Zoom’s rapid expansion involved growing pains. The company recently settled with the Federal Trade Commission in the U.S. over claims of deceptive security practices during the beginning of the pandemic. (Gabriel Benois/Unsplash)

The rapid withdrawal into our quarantine caves had most of us turn to the internet to stay connected with friends and loved ones. While we waited in our homes, Zoom, YouTube and Facebook became new gathering venues, featuring online concerts and lessons in lieu of the real thing.

While sites like YouTube and Facebook are well-established, Zoom came as a dark horse in the race to connect in the age of COVID-19, with its capabilities connecting families and classrooms — and its shortcomings leaving something to be desired, according to experts.

Zooming into classrooms

Zoom emerged victorious in the video platforming war, with universities and workplaces quick to adopt it. In December 2019, around 10 million people were using Zoom; by April 2020, the company announced that 200 million people were using it.

“It’s important to understand that Zoom was chosen by our faculty at the beginning of the pandemic,” Ryerson president Mohamed Lachemi said, listing advantages like private and group chats and a virtual whiteboard as features that lend themselves well to academic institutions.

“I think those were very good solutions for remote learning.”

Lack of security draws criticism, settlements

Zoom’s rapid expansion did not come without growing pains. Zoom recently settled with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the U.S. over claims of deceptive security practices during the early days of the pandemic.

In response to concerns about Zoom’s security, Ryerson’s Computing and Communications Services (CCS) has “reconfigured Zoom to improve its security and privacy beyond the default of functions that Zoom has,” as well as adding improvements to make disrupting a class difficult.

CCS also continues to update and monitor flaws with Zoom, such as the recent MacOS update that made the app inaccessible for some users.

“I’d be surprised if anyone for whom security is a concern still uses Zoom. If they do, they’re still foolish,” James Turk, director of the Centre for Free Expression at Ryerson, said. “I certainly would not. The problem is there aren’t a lot of options.”

Turk pointed out that while apps like FaceTime, Microsoft Teams and Signal are more secure and also allow for large groups to be hosted, Zoom remains a top choice at universities.

“Most of Ryerson’s use of Zoom is about public events where security is not a primary concern. It’s things like classes and panels where security is not such an issue,” Turk said. “Besides, there are other reasons to be concerned about Zoom, and that is Zoom’s actions in the last few months as an academic censor.”

Academic interference

Zoom’s security isn’t the only part of the app to come under fire recently. The company has been criticized for censoring a roundtable at San Francisco State University (SFSU) featuring Lelia Khaled, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Zoom refused to host the panel event on Sept. 23, citing Khaled’s “reported affiliation or membership in a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization, and SFSU’s inability to confirm otherwise” as a violation of their terms of service.

A similar event a few weeks later, at the University of Hawaii, was also denied access to use Zoom for hosting, causing students to respond in a video.

Zoom wasn’t the only site to block access to the event. SFSU tried to host the video on Facebook and YouTube, both of which took the stream down.

In October, a webinar hosted by New York University on Zoom’s censorship of academic discussion was also taken down. The event focused on two questions: “Why are big tech platforms making decisions that violate academic freedom?” and “why is speech about Palestinian rights always the first to be censored, and how should academic communities respond?”

“Our academic freedom in interacting with our students and the public through panel discussions has become a foundation of the university. Now, when we want to interact with our students or the public, we have to use one of these platforms,” Turk said. “That gives them enormous power that, we assumed, would never be used to act as a censor.”

Adding to the accusations of censorship, Zoom disrupted meetings of U.S.-based Chinese dissidents in June, capitulating to the authority of China, where many of its servers are based.

Zoom’s terms of service state that users of the platform cannot use it to engage in illegal activity, which is pretty standard. Being a global company, however, that definition of illegality can change. Zoom said in an emailed statement to ARS Technica, “It is not in Zoom’s power to change the laws of governments opposed to free speech.”

“We’re aware that Zoom has previously shut down three meetings and suspended other accounts,” Lachemi said. “They have acknowledged that there are serious problems with that, and they did and have promised to do better.”

Lachemi took the stance that these issues were in the past and the company intended to make good on their promise.

“We are not aware of any ongoing problems with Zoom censorship,” Lachemi said, adding that the university would “monitor the situation and see how we can provide an environment that is free of censorship for our faculty and students.”

“Changing platforms in the midst of the academic year would be very disruptive for both students and faculty,” Lachemi said. “However, since the pandemic began, Zoom has been steadily improving their security.”

December 1, 2020

Business COVID-19 Education Features Science & Technology Top stories

Adoption of surveillance tech for online exams sparks student backlash at Ryerson

by Josh Scott and Alex Cyr November 27, 2020

written by Josh Scott and Alex Cyr

Ryerson has turned to automated assessment tools like Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor to prevent cheating. But is virtual proctoring software truly worth the cost?

Rayyan Akhtar hasn’t experienced a normal university exam yet — but he has a good idea of what it shouldn’t feel like.

The first-year Ryerson University business management student writes all of his exams from a computer niche in his home. Every so often, during a typical test, Akhtar will get lost in a tough math problem and dip his head down to solve it in his notebook. This triggers a pop-up notification that orders him to bring his head back into the frame. When Akhtar catches sight of it, he feels a jolt of panic and loses focus.

“I’m thinking, man, is this going to invalidate my exam? Am I going to get charged with academic misconduct?”

Ryerson argues this software helps to prevent cheating and ensures academic integrity. Some students, however, find it acutely anxiety-inducing during an already difficult period.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic reached Canada in mid-March, nearly all Ryerson courses and exams have been delivered online. In an effort to mitigate cheating during virtual tests, the school has turned to Respondus’s automated proctoring technology. According to the U.S.-based e-learning company, its Respondus Monitor software is employed by over 1,000 higher learning institutions, who will use it to proctor over 20 million exams this year. Its LockDown Browser tech is even more popular, despite its 1.3 star (out of five) rating on the App Store.

The sudden shift to online learning has been tough for a lot of university students. Almost two-thirds of Canadian students say it has negatively impacted the quality of their education, due in part to a lack of interaction and engagement with professors. Student mental health has also deteriorated amid the pandemic. A recent Toronto Star investigation found that COVID-19 increased depression levels among Canadian post-secondary students by 35 per cent.

Akhtar thinks the company’s “invasive” software has been “an additional unnecessary stressor in a time where university students across the globe have already been cut a horrible deal.”

Other students are also wary of Respondus’s system.

“The proctoring system is just really stressful,” said Kennedy Byron, a second-year social work student who has used Respondus for two exams so far this year. “I’m typing on my laptop and the little thing would come up like ‘bring your eyes up to the screen again or don’t look away.’ It’s just anxiety-inducing… it’s always watching you, and you don’t really know who’s watching.”

*Amid COVID-19, student mental health has deteriorated significantly, according to a recent Toronto Star investigation. (Anh Nguyen/Unsplash)*

Students demand Ryerson ban Respondus

A recent Change.org petition calling for Ryerson to stop the use of LockDown Browser during exams has garnered 1,195 signatures as of Nov. 26. Created by “RU Students,” the petition refers to Respondus’s proctoring tech as “invasive spyware,” and argues that taking a test “while being recorded and having (your) browser locked adds enormous stress and anxiety to the exam.”

*A recent Change.org petition calling for Ryerson to stop the use of LockDown Browser during exams has garnered 1,195 signatures as of Nov. 26. (Screen capture by Josh Scott)*

Student bodies at several other Canadian universities have also voiced similar concerns. The University of Manitoba’s student union board of directors voted unanimously to oppose the use of Respondus Monitor at their school after students raised issues about personal privacy, accessibility for students with disabilities and the risk of false positives. At the University of Ottawa, in response to the implementation of Respondus Monitor, a petition to “stop using harmful proctoring software” has received nearly 2,700 signatures.

Ryerson University president Mohamed Lachemi told the Ryersonian it was important for Ryerson to offer its instructors a means of automated virtual proctoring for online exams, adding that he views software like Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor as a deterrent to some forms of academic misconduct.

Lachemi said he is aware of the petition and student concerns regarding the use of Respondus’s tech, but did not specify how the school might address them, instead deferring to Ryerson’s existing policies.

“It has been our aim to ensure that faculty and instructors engage in the most appropriate usage of this software,” said Lachemi, stressing that faculty and instructors “are being strongly encouraged to find alternative forms of assessment and to adopt automated virtual proctoring only if absolutely necessary.”

The shift to online exams has impacted students in a range of ways

For Samantha Tome, the adjustment to online exam-taking has been difficult. The fifth-year biomedical sciences student is the group mentoring lead for Students with Disabilities, a student support group at Ryerson.

As a student with an anxiety disorder, Tome is registered with Ryerson’s Academic Accommodation Support. Prior to the pandemic, she would write her tests in a small, quiet room in the basement of the Victoria Building. This arrangement helped ease her test anxiety. Today, she writes all of her exams from home, where it’s tougher to achieve the same level of peace.

“There is often noise that I cannot control, such as my dog suddenly barking, or my home phone suddenly ringing,” she said. “Distractions are everywhere, no matter what room I go into.”

“As someone who already struggles with horrible test anxiety, having this software would be a detriment to my education,” said Samantha Tome, a fifth-year Ryerson biomedical sciences student.

Although she hasn’t personally encountered Respondus’s software, Tome opposes its use, calling it “anxiety-inducing in a time when there should be more leniency and understanding,” in a comment she left on the Change.org petition.

“As someone who already struggles with horrible test anxiety, having this software would be a detriment to my education,” said Tome, who thinks the associated stress would decrease her academic performance and negatively impact her mental health.

Does automated proctoring software actually prevent cheating?

While students find proctoring software anxiety-inducing, some evidence suggests that it’s effective in upholding academic integrity. According to a 2017 study from Miami University, students whose tests were proctored with video monitoring scored on average 17 points lower than students who took the same tests with no proctoring. The researchers concluded that such a discrepancy might be due to the fact that video monitoring deters cheating.

The Washington Post reported that the failure of universities to pay for adequate proctoring services has led to increased levels of cheating during the pandemic. But other studies indicate that even in the presence of such software, three out of four students say it’s easier to cheat during an online test than an in-person test.

Most proctoring systems also have limitations. For example, they might not be able to identify if students have a second computer present, which could allow them to search the internet for answers.

In 2020, exam proctoring service company ProctorU reported less than one per cent of 340,000 in-person test takers cheated between January and March. The company later reported that over the course of the following three months — when universities were forced to begin administering tests virtually — eight per cent of 1.3 million test takers cheated.

*What a student’s computer screen might look like when taking an exam using Respondus’s automated proctoring software. (Respondus)*

Byron thinks a student who is creative and willing to break the rules could easily outsmart a proctoring system and cheat.

“Students could discuss with people on the sidelines (while taking an online test),” she said.

Mitigating cheating probably has less to do with strict surveillance, Byron said, and more to do with the type of test administered, because the qualitative nature of her exams does a better job of discouraging her from copying answers than a proctoring system.

“We don’t have ‘what is question A and what is question B (on our exams).’ It’s more essays,” she said.

Faculty and instructors should strive to “reduce the need for high-stakes exams and tests,” said members of Ryerson’s Centre for Excellence in Learning (CELT) and Teaching and the Academic Integrity Office (AIO) — responsible for the school’s transition to online learning — in an email to the Ryersonian.

Ryerson gives its instructors the discretion to decide whether the use of Respondus’s software is warranted. To ensure academic integrity during online exams, the group recommends that Ryerson instructors use “the simplest option that makes sense for their course,” adopt technology that is well-known to both students and themselves, and apply automated virtual proctoring “only if deemed absolutely necessary for assessment.”

Neither CELT nor the AIO would comment on how online exams or the use of this software has affected the rate of academic misconduct since they don’t have “all the information.”

How equitable is this tech?

Akhtar said he is privileged to be able to pursue his education from home “without being that adversely affected by the pandemic,” but expressed concern for how this sort of proctoring software might impact students whose learning has been more directly affected by COVID-19.

“It’s just another layer of stress that is not needed at a time like this,” he said.

The petition mentions the “huge toll” the download-required software takes on device hardware and performance, and highlights that it requires a “quiet, secluded workspace,” a “good, stable Wi-Fi connection,” and a working webcam and microphone, which not all students have the ability to access for a variety of reasons.

“This one-size-fits-all approach to ensure academic integrity puts students who might already be struggling financially during a pandemic at a disadvantage,” said Rayyan Akhtar, a first-year Ryerson business management student.

Akhtar referred to its use as “inherently classist.”

“Ryerson assumes that all its students have adequate access to technology, stable internet connections and quiet spaces to work,” said Akhtar, even though students come from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds and, as a result, many lack these requirements.

“This one-size-fits-all approach to ensure academic integrity puts students who might already be struggling financially during a pandemic at a disadvantage.”

CELT and the AIO told the Ryersonian that the university has made efforts to address these issues and better facilitate the transition to virtual testing. The university cited its purchase of approximately 400 laptops for students in need and the continued availability of Academic Accommodation Support for those who require alternative test-taking arrangements.

“If access to required technology is a concern, students are encouraged to raise this with their instructors as soon as possible,” they stated.

In response to a question concerning what the university’s policy is when a student loses their internet connection during an online exam, they advised students to “contact their professors directly.”

Confidence in academic integrity might decrease pressure to cheat

In situations where formal examinations are required, a rigorous software that threatens to catch cheaters could have benefits.

“When students feel confident their classmates cannot easily cheat, they don’t feel the pressure to cheat themselves,” Jodi Feeney, Respondus’s chief operating officer, told the Ryersonian.

When asked, Feeney acknowledged student concerns surrounding the use of her company’s software. “We don’t want to diminish the stress everyone is experiencing as a result of this pandemic.”

But she also highlighted that exams have always “included an element of stress, regardless of the testing environment,” citing the stress associated with a professor walking around the classroom during an in-person exam.

*Many Ryerson students find proctoring software anxiety-inducing during an already difficult time. (Oladimeji Ajegbile/Pexels)*

“Most people agree — even students — that the only way to ensure the integrity of an online exam is to have some type of proctoring.”

Prior to the pandemic, when students were given the option of either using Respondus’ services or visiting an in-person test centre, Feeney said 98 per cent opted to use automated proctoring, putting the convenience of an online exam first.

“It was viewed as being more convenient than going to a testing centre,” she said.

Feeney claimed that “any decent proctoring solution will reduce cheating to roughly five to 10 per cent of examinees through deterrence alone.”

CELT and the AIO told the Ryersonian that they did not have enough information to determine whether cheating rates at Ryerson have changed since moving to online classes or adopting proctoring software.

Data privacy and security concerns

When taking a test with Respondus, it can be difficult to shake the sensation that you’re being watched. Given rising public awareness about the often questionable collection and storage of personal data by tech companies, some students wonder how their information is being used and stored.

“Apart from my prof, I have no idea who else has access to this information or the reputability of Respondus as a company for data security,” said Akhtar. “How long will the recordings of myself and photos of my ID be stored? Can Ryerson guarantee that my information is safe and won’t be sold for profit by Respondus?”

Feeney directed the Ryersonian to a document that summarizes the company’s practices regarding data privacy and security, and cited the support it has gained from universities because of them. The document claims that the company doesn’t sell or share student data.

“Over 1,100 universities have selected Respondus Monitor as their automated proctoring system — many after conducting detailed reviews of our security and privacy policies,” she said.

Feeney told the Ryersonian that the company’s system is fully automated, “so there isn’t a human watching the student during the exam.”

“We don’t drop in, we don’t review the video after — people think we’re doing that and we’re not,” said Respondus’s CEO David Smetters.

Respondus records exam sessions and, afterwards, only the student’s instructor has access to the proctoring information and video, said Feeney. She added that the company’s AI doesn’t measure the occurrence of cheating, nor indicate that it has taken place. Instead, it identifies anomalies in student behaviour, generates a report summarizing these findings, and shares this report with the student’s instructor, alongside the video and audio recordings for reference. Respondus then leaves it up to the professor to review said materials and “decide whether an examination rule has been violated.”

“We don’t drop in, we don’t review the video after — people think we’re doing that and we’re not,” Respondus’s CEO David Smetters told The New York Times.

According to the terms of use for Respondus Monitor, the company only reviews or analyzes exam session recordings when directed to do so by educational institutions, or to “resolve technical problems, improve system performance, modify its software or investigate violations of its terms of use.”

The privacy policy for Respondus Monitor states that the company retains students’ data for up to five years. By downloading the application and agreeing to its terms of use, students authorize Respondus to share video or audio exam session recordings with contracted third-party researchers, including “research institutions and/or biometric experts.” According to these terms, these researchers are bound by confidentiality agreements, and the company does not provide them with any “personally identifiable information … such as the student’s name, course name, institution, grades or student identification photos.”

According to Ryerson’s agreements with Respondus, Ryerson owns and controls its students’ proctoring data, and the school has “an institutionally endorsed agreement with Respondus that confirms information technology security and privacy.”

Feeney cited live proctoring via web conferencing as a potential alternative to the use of her company’s software. However, Ryerson recommends against this practice due to privacy concerns. “There is no way to ensure student privacy with Zoom,” wrote the school. Live proctoring through Zoom or another similar platform would require students to turn on their webcams, enabling them “to see everyone else and their surroundings,” including during the identification verification process, posing a privacy risk to students.

Alternative methods of testing

Some instructors have found ways to administer exams while doing away with proctoring systems altogether.

This semester, Laurel Walzak, an assistant professor at the RTA School of Media who teaches a 200-level sport marketing course, chose to allow her 82 students to collaborate in groups for their final exam. She tested the approach during a recent midterm and saw no evidence of cheating.

*RTA School of Media professor Laurel Walzak will allow group work during her class’s final exam. (Cara Gilhula)*

“I told them they could talk amongst each other… because I didn’t want them to have the feeling of, ‘if I didn’t understand the question and I speak to a friend, am I cheating?’ so I just took that element away.”

Walzak said she plans to steer clear of multiple choice and true-or-false exams this December.

“I wanted to take away the temptation to cheat, though I think the temptation is very low. What I gave them was a problem, a real-life problem that they would have to take the knowledge from this course to solve.”

Looking forward

Ultimately, no solid timeline exists for a return to in-person classes and exams at Ryerson, an institution nestled inside one of Canada’s hottest COVID-19 zones.

Ryerson has no current plans to stop using Respondus’s software to help deter cheating. In instances where it is deemed necessary by professors, students will simply have to trust that Respondus and Ryerson are respecting their privacy and taking care of their personal data. In turn, flexibility by professors could limit the need for this software.

Despite students’ concerns, Ryerson has no current plans to stop using Respondus’s software.

Adopting more qualitative testing methods, as Walzak did, is one possible alternative for professors that could both ensure academic integrity and demonstrate greater understanding for their students.

But in light of the unique circumstances surrounding COVID-19, Tome said she thinks the university should ban the proctoring software altogether, and instead make alternate exam proctoring arrangements.

“I think I can speak for many students when I say it is unfair to treat our tests and this school year in general like a normal test or school year, because it’s not one. And we should therefore make accommodations … in order to ensure not only the success of our students but also to maintain their mental health.”

November 27, 2020

Business Features News Science & Technology Top stories

Ryerson partners with Canadian software company SOTI to lead research into autonomous aerial drone tech

by Josh Scott and Patrick Swadden November 27, 2020

written by Josh Scott and Patrick Swadden

*SOTI’s current aerial drone prototype. (Courtesy of SOTI)*

Agreement involves $US2.5 million towards the creation of a new Ryerson research chair and ‘hands-on’ co-op and training opportunities for the university’s computer science and aerospace engineering students

SOTI has enlisted Ryerson University to help design autonomous aerial drones for use in health care and search-and-rescue operations. This research will support the Mississauga, Ont.-based tech firm’s new aerospace division, which was publicly announced last week and first reported by The Logic.

The privately held company plans to invest $US20 million to launch the venture, and will allocate $2.5 million to Ryerson to lead its research. It will also include the option for more funding for future research projects. The school will use this money to fund the creation of a new research chair and support on and off-campus research, training and co-op opportunities for students.

“This collaboration unites leading aerospace researchers and industry experts to accelerate the development of aerial drone research,” said Mohamed Lachemi, Ryerson’s president and vice-chancellor, in a statement announcing the move. “The agreement will also create new opportunities for our students to work on cutting-edge projects through enriched learning experiences, internships and scholarships.”

Founded in 1995, SOTI is a software firm that focuses on managing mobility and internet of things (IoT) technology for large enterprises. The company, which the BBC reports is valued at more than $US1 billion, employs approximately 1,200 people in 28 different places around the world, and derives the vast majority of its revenue from outside Canada.

SOTI views the new partnership as a long-term commitment, and hopes the new division will “amplify Ryerson’s reputation as an international destination for aerospace learning.”

With Ryerson’s help, SOTI aims to design and bring to market a small autonomous aerial drone, while also building out the company’s talent pipeline by targeting the school’s aerospace engineering and computer science students.

“Our goal is to really establish a partnership with Ryerson and perform advanced aerospace research with some leading-edge folks,” Shash Anand, SOTI’s vice-president of product strategy, told the Ryersonian.

Anand said the company chose to partner with Ryerson given its reputation for aerial drone tech research. SOTI views the new partnership as a long-term commitment, and hopes the new division will “amplify Ryerson’s reputation as an international destination for aerospace learning.”

SOTI meets Ryerson

Ryerson’s relationship with the company began several years ago, when SOTI’s founder, president and CEO, Carl Rodrigues, advised the university regarding the creation of the Rogers Cybersecurity Catalyst —a Brampton, Ont.-based not-for-profit training and innovation centre owned and operated by the school.

*SOTI CEO Carl Rodrigues previously advised Ryerson on cybersecurity. (Courtesy of SOTI)*

“We first engaged with Ryerson in the cyber area, and through our discussions, broadened our horizons to include aerospace research,” Rodrigues told the Ryersonian. “Security continues to be a focus and will certainly extend into our ongoing work.”

Rodrigues approached Ryerson this summer to gauge the school’s interest in autonomous drone research, and expressed a particular interest in engaging with undergraduate students.

Steven Liss, Ryerson’s vice-president of research and innovation, told the Ryersonian that partnerships like this are important to Ryerson’s trajectory, particularly in scholarly, research and creative (SRC) activity.

“(Rodrigues) has a strong interest not only in SRC and research, but also in… access to outstanding talent,” said Liss, adding that these partnerships are mutually beneficial as the private sector stands to benefit from student development.

He said that 60 per cent of Ryerson’s research funding comes from partnership funding from not-for-profits and private sector companies. “That’s probably an increase in 20 to 30 per cent over the last four to five years.”

Liss said that Ryerson also plans to leverage this partnership to obtain access to other research funding from government sources and organizations like Mitacs, a not-for-profit that supports industrial and social innovation in Canada.

Anand said SOTI plans to create an “interactive educational experience that leads directly into career paths in the tech industry.” He added that Ryerson students will get “hands-on” opportunities to work with company experts on research, as well as the chance to network with them, discuss the industry, and pose questions about potential career options.

Dhvanit Desai, a Ryerson graduate student studying aerospace engineering, told the Ryersonian that some of the approaches to aerospace engineering haven’t changed much since the 1970s.

“I think these specific co-op opportunities are important because they provide the students with an insight into how aerospace is changing,” said Desai.

The state of the airline industry and Ryerson’s aerospace research

*A pre-COVID-19 photo taken from inside the Ryerson Aerospace Engineering Centre at Downsview Park. (Ryerson University)*

The Ryerson Aerospace Engineering Centre, a 7,000-square-foot facility located at Downsview Park, houses a number of research projects related to airline technologies, including many in partnership with Bombardier. The airline industry has been hit particularly hard by the virus and the international travel restrictions implemented to curb its spread.

“Aerospace and airlines are major features of our ability to move goods and services, let alone people, around the world,” said Liss, highlighting the continual importance of air travel in global supply chain management.

Liss also sensed a research opportunity in figuring out how to ensure the health of air travellers. Desai confirmed to the Ryersonian that some work at Ryerson is already being conducted “to act against the virus,” but declined to go into specific detail.

“It has taken projects that were theoretical and boosted them to become important (and) more significant than some running projects,” said Desai.

What SOTI and Ryerson are trying to build

Anand told the Ryersonian the physical location of the SOTI-Ryerson venture is yet to be determined due to COVID-19 and, for now, its research will take place remotely. However, he confirmed that SOTI plans to divide its operations between Ryerson and Mississauga.

SOTI hopes to design and bring to market a small autonomous aerial drone that can lift lightweight objects in small spaces. For now, SOTI is working with a bigger model because it’s focused on the underlying tech.

Anand said the company’s present research is focused primarily on sensor and “PID tuning” tech. Sensors can be understood as the drone’s eyes and ears, while PID tuning — or proportional-integral-derivative tuning — can be thought of as work on the drone’s brain, which processes and acts upon the info collected by its sensors.

Desai said there is still a long way to go before drones can be made completely autonomous.

Today’s drones can be flown remotely, but if the connection is lost, the vehicle needs to be able to get where it is supposed to go without any commands from the pilot. It should be able to avoid any obstacles, land in the right spaces, and slow down or speed up according to its environment.

“When it comes to unmanned vehicles, autonomy is, from software and electronics, the most important thing. And no one in the world has really completely cracked it yet,” said Dhvanit Desai, a Ryerson graduate student studying aerospace engineering.

This is a particular problem in cities, where signal interference due to frequencies such as Wi-Fi and cellular are more common and thus, disruptive.

“When it comes to unmanned vehicles, autonomy is, from software and electronics, the most important thing. And no one in the world has really completely cracked it yet,” said Desai.

According to Desai, the other main problem that needs to be overcome to make autonomous drones market-viable is power: how much a drone can carry and how long it can carry it for.

He said that current electric drones are “basically at a wall in terms of their capability to carry cargo.”

“Once that issue of power — longer endurance, more payload, and the issue of autonomy, which we’re tackling here at Ryerson — are addressed, that will kind of break a barrier, and then you can see a faster and faster rate of adoption.”

He anticipates that the use of autonomous drones will become a lot more commonplace in the future, and views the growing popularity of wearable tech — electronic devices that are typically worn as accessories and employ the use of sensors — as a stepping stone towards autonomous drones.

How SOTI aims to apply this tech

SOTI’s vision involves making medical care for elderly patients more accessible and efficient.

Anand said that although this move was long-planned and not driven specifically by COVID-19, the pandemic has accelerated the need for the health-care industry to push toward adopting and leveraging tech to save time.

Shash Anand says COVID-19 has accelerated the need for the health-care industry to leverage tech to save time. “There’s so much that’s being done that could be automated.” (Courtesy of SOTI)

A recent report the company released on the state of mobility in health care found that nurses and other health-care workers surveyed spend an average of over half of their time on administrative tasks, which includes inputting data to various systems using paper-and-pen processes.

Moreover, 73 per cent indicated that their existing tech and systems were not equipped to handle the global pandemic.

“There’s so much that’s being done that could be automated,” said Anand.

Desai believes drone tech could be used extensively in the health-care industry, particularly as COVID-19 has made treating patients in person more dangerous.

He said it could be as simple as a patient indicating they need medicine and, with the push of a button, having an autonomous drone fly over to provide it.

“That can make a huge difference in saving somebody’s life. We can’t even start to count how many lives are going to be affected by that.”

The company also sees potential applications in the search-and-rescue space. “You could send a drone to inspect a mineshaft collapse,” Rodrigues told The Logic. “It would create a 3D map that would show if there are humans inside and how to navigate to them.”

The future of autonomous aerial drones

Desai expects the next two to three years in the autonomous aerial drone space to be slow, but predicts that once the technological barriers he outlined are crossed, the use of drones will become safer and even more economically viable.

“That would be seen four or five years from now — at that point or onwards, you would see a lot of the stuff that’s being promised today, like drones delivering your parcels or packages and whatnot,” said Desai.

What excites him about the SOTI-Ryerson venture is that there aren’t many programs in Canada that are independent, as most support the United States.

“If this goes well, I would be really happy because we can create a real breakthrough in aerospace here at Ryerson. It will be independent, and something others can look up to us for.”

November 27, 2020

Career Education Jobs News Science & Technology

Competitive Ryerson program at The Catalyst offers free cybersecurity training

by Jesse Caplan November 11, 2020

written by Jesse Caplan

20-week program provides students with two separate, industry-led certifications

*“The programs are designed for people with no technical background,” said Sumit Bhatia, director of communications and knowledge mobilization at The Catalyst. (Graphic by Jesse Caplan)*

Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst is offering free cybersecurity training to qualifying women, new Canadians and displaced workers.

While the program description may sound intimidatingly technical, The Catalyst claims that applicants do not need to have any prior experience in computers to succeed in their programs.

“The programs are designed for people with no technical background,” said Sumit Bhatia, director of communications and knowledge mobilization at The Catalyst. “In fact, this is work that welcomes diverse knowledge and background.”

He also added that programs like these will not take away job opportunities from students receiving university degrees in computer sciences or cybersecurity.

“Cybersecurity has so many different layers, each with different credentials. And the field is hungry for new talent,” said Bhatia. “We want to help fill those gaps with solid, trained candidates.”

*Cybersecurity is a sustainable and increasingly growing field of work, according to director of communications and knowledge mobilization at The Catalyst, Sumit Bhatia. (Submitted by Sumit Bhatia)*

The program is offered to three demographics — women, new Canadians and displaced workers — with the goal being to “empower promising leaders from diverse backgrounds.”

The program, however, is not without barriers. It is currently only offered in English, and applicants must have a Canadian high school diploma in order to submit an application.

“It’s a highly competitive program. We receive over 1000 applications but only have 60 seats,” said Bhatia. “However, the (job) placement rate after completing training is very high.”

Those who apply must pass an aptitude assessment test performed by SANS, the world’s leading cybersecurity training and certification firm. The test looks at different areas of a person’s aptitude, including their ability to analyze complex information, work collaboratively with different teams and their attention to detail.

For those who are accepted, there is a $500 registration fee. All other program fees are paid for by subsidies given to The Catalyst by partnering companies.

November 11, 2020

Business Entrepreneurship Health News Science & Technology

New app aims to get men talking about anxiety, personal issues

by Jasmine Rach November 4, 2020

written by Jasmine Rach

With help from Ryerson’s Social Ventures Zone, tethr hopes to fight stigma surrounding men’s mental health

*tethr, a free app that aims to change the way men talk about their mental health, offers a peer-led online*
*community that allows men to share and discuss their feelings with one another (Kickstarter).*

Conversations about mental health are increasing, but as we navigate the rollercoaster that is 2020 it’s clear there is still much work to do in breaking down stigma.

Men in particular have a difficult time dealing with personal or mental health issues, as a result of toxic male gender roles that have misled us for too long into believing feelings are not manly. But suicide is the third-leading cause of death in Canadian people under 44, and men make up 75 per cent of those deaths.

“Men are much less likely to report if they have anxiety or depression,” says Ryerson professor and clinical psychologist Trevor Hart. “Feeling bothered and distressed is considered as a sign of weakness by other men, and I’d argue by some women as well.”

tethr is a free downloadable app that aims to change the way men talk about their mental health. It’s a peer-led online community for men to share their concerns and feelings and engage in discussions about mental health.

“It might change the narrative so men won’t only turn to locker room talk when they get together, but actually talk about their feelings and how things sometimes suck,” says Hart.

“I don’t think everyone needs to go into paid psychotherapy. Isn’t it great that there are other possibilities that are low-barrier access?”

tethr is one of the ventures working with Ryerson’s Social Ventures Zone, an entrepreneurial incubator. “We were lucky enough to have our app available to download when we joined the Social Ventures Zone, so we really got to go in and fine tune the details with their help,” says Addison Brasil, who co-founded tethr along with Matt Zerker, Burke White and Denny Park.

As we enter our ninth month of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health resources are more necessary than ever. Rates of anxiety and depression are higher than before lockdowns and restrictions were in place, and students are missing many of their lines of support as they work and study from home.

“That university experience isn’t there. I feel for the first-year students who aren’t getting that first feeling of community at school, and I feel for the final year students struggling with what their future will look like,” says Brasil.

The app is made up of forums, direct messages and customizable groups for men to communicate as publicly or privately as they prefer, and its website features articles and stories to read and share. tethr also hosts virtual events.

tethr has been downloaded over 13,000 times across North America, Europe and Australia, and it is available to any person who identifies as male. “To me, that’s a no brainer,” says Brasil.

While the app is a step in the right direction, Hart says more resources are still needed.

“I don’t think a single app has the power to change an entire gender role,” he says. “Not only should there be more resources for men, there should be more for all of us. There should be other resources specifically for non-binary people.”

tethr is available for download on your smartphone. Its next event called “We F*ck With Feelings” is November 11 at 8 p.m.

November 4, 2020

Newer Posts

Older Posts