This is an exciting time as hundreds of thousands of students have now begun a new school year, some returning and others just beginning this promising chapter in their lives.
While the university experience may look different this year due to COVID-19, Ontario’s universities remain committed to the health and safety of students and staff and to delivering a high quality education and an enriching experience that provides students with the adaptable life-long skills that will help them succeed in our changing world.
Whether it’s by adapting co-op education experiences online, virtual student mentoring and mental health and wellness supports, and online transition and orientation programs designed to help students connect, Ontario’s universities are teaching, learning, innovating and adapting in new and exciting ways to support our students, while prioritizing their health and safety.
For more on this, I encourage you to read a recent article I wrote for the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance magazine that outlines how universities have shown nimbleness and adaptability as they continue to drive innovative solutions and provide the supports that students need to thrive as they prepare for the fall and beyond.
Today’s students – the province’s future employers, employees, professionals, educators and citizens – will need the ability to adapt to change and embrace a mindset of lifelong learning in order to succeed in our rapidly changing economy.
Over the past months, we’ve seen university students – our province’s future makers – put these skill to good use.
Through adaptability, ingenuity and innovation it’s our students who lead the groundswell for community engagement .They are volunteering to help health-care workers and vulnerable populations, developing new products and services for businesses and working with professors to create new tools, equipment, testing methods, treatments and more.
Today’s students are and will continue to shape the future of our province, bringing the new ideas and fresh approaches needed to help reimagine industries, strengthen community resilience and build a brighter future for our province and all who live here.
As the province continues to face increasingly complex challenges, it will be Ontario’s students – our future makers – who will use their talent and skills to build upon the economic growth, strong communities and scientific and technological innovation that the province needs to prosper.
David Lindsay
President & CEO
Council of Ontario Universities
Read our latest one pager to learn more about how Ontario’s university students are supporting their communities across the province, helping find the solutions to the social and economic challenges that Ontario is facing in these uncertain times.