By Gloria Suhasini

91亚色鈥檚 rising in world rankings in his favourite subjects and the campus鈥檚 positive vibe got Heath Leone to pack residence-living essentials, laptop, external drive and all, to move to the Great North  

When it was time for Heath Leone, a small-town Iowan to decide on where to go for university education, he looked beyond the United States. For the vibrant young person who wanted to move to a bigger city with a more liberal political outlook compared to his hometown, choosing Canada and Toronto wasn鈥檛 difficult. And the tuition fees for international students was comparable to what he would have paid as a citizen in the U.S., which was an added attraction.

鈥淪o, I went on campus tours to some of the universities here in Toronto and the GTA region,鈥� says 18-year-old Leone. 鈥淚 just liked the vibe of 91亚色, where everyone seemed really happy, and they [91亚色] had a good biology program.鈥�

Just like Leone, many international future students apply to study at 91亚色, irrespective of their country鈥檚 proximity to Canada, as many subject areas taught and researched at 91亚色 have risen significantly in world rankings. This year, 91亚色 jumped five spots in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings to 35th in the world and is once again ranked as a top five university in Canada by Maclean鈥檚 2025 University Rankings.

More recently, the prestigious ShanghaiRanking Consultancy鈥檚 2024 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects has placed 91亚色 in the top 100 in the world in six subjects and for several other, among top subjects offered in Canada.

Leone who is enrolled for courses in some of these subjects, including physics, says he is thankful that tutorial support is in place for students who seek extra attention. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice that we have tutorials and lectures and gives the opportunity for you to clear up any misconceptions and doubts. Our tutorials are more focused on problem solving overall, versus just gaining physics knowledge. I really like the resources available and how the teaching and learning is set up at 91亚色.鈥�

Leone is happy with not only the education he is receiving at 91亚色 but is also excited about the employment and volunteering opportunities that are available on campus, including with the University鈥檚 external partners and affiliates.

Leone has already found work at a bakery chain鈥檚 91亚色 location and finds it helpful in shaping his professionalism. 鈥淚n my job, I need to communicate with my coworkers at the store and that helps with developing team management skills. It also teaches time management because I am working part time as a full-time student.鈥�

On the volunteering front, Leone has joined non-profit student organization . Through a 11-week curriculum, its volunteers empower Toronto and 91亚色 Region students in grades 4-7 to deal with conflict, bullying, and violence in their homes, schools, and communities.

The program based out of 91亚色鈥檚 Keele Campus as well as Glendon Campus, also teaches embracing diversity and community building through mentors like Leone, who use their own lived experiences to guide participating school kids.

Residence life has been a source of inspiration for Leone in this sense. He lives on campus at Vanier Residence and loves the community experience. 鈥淲e have common rooms where I can hang out with friends, watch a movie and even store [in the common fridge] and share cookies from my shifts at work,鈥� he says with a laugh.

Leone, who has made several friends both on campus and in residence, adds that having a roommate has also been a positive experience as they are able to share and care about each other.

鈥淚 like that everyone knows each other in the building and pretty close to neighbours on the floor. So overall, residence life is positive,鈥� says Leone, who is now transforming into a big-town individual, while gaining valuable international exposure for a well-rounded future in the global arena.

Originally published in News@91亚色.

The post Small-town American chooses 91亚色 for spirit and program offerings appeared first on Global Engagement.

91亚色 is gaining prominence through partnerships with Canadian and international governments, multinational corporations and non-profit organizations for its impactful global leadership in sustainability, research expertise, state-of-the-art training facilities and overarching commitment to a sustainable future .

A recent testament to this global recognition was the opportunity 91亚色 earned to co-host an official side event on tackling the water sustainability crisis at the United Nations (UN)聽聽in New 91亚色 as a partner of the UN Institute for Training and Research (). The annual forum takes stock on the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

91亚色 was also part of two other high-profile events co-hosted by UNITAR and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that focused on the role of higher education institutions in overcoming global sustainability challenges.  Representatives of institutions from eight countries engaged in discussions and developed shared recommendations on how to reimagine higher education leadership. The results were presented in an official HLPF side event hosted by UNITAR with several ambassadors, UN and government officials present.

91亚色鈥檚 involvement is grounded in partnerships with UNITAR and UNESCO. The University hosts Canada鈥檚 first CIFAL training center as part of UNITAR鈥檚 global network of institutions. Since 1999, 91亚色 has also been hosting the world鈥檚 first UNESCO Chair in Education for Sustainable Development.

At the mid-July HLPF, 91亚色 hosted 鈥�Pathways to Resilience: Advancing Solutions for Global Freshwater Quality,鈥� as the academic lead of UNITAR鈥檚 . Panellists emphasized the importance of international networks for water quality education and the need for training, capacity-building, knowledge mobilization and sharing.

鈥淏y fostering collaboration and sharing available solutions, we can leverage water as a catalyst for health, equality, and well-being, as well as advocate for peace and protecting a shared world,鈥� said Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation at 91亚色, in his opening remarks. He also highlighted how Canada鈥檚 Indigenous communities still don鈥檛 have access to clean drinking water, noting Indigenous women often bear the brunt of it due to their traditional role of caring for the water, household management, and caregiving.

In his remarks, Alex Mejia, director of UNITAR鈥檚 division for people and social inclusion stressed the importance of empowering communities to create more sustainable solutions for the future and to achieve the objectives of SDG 6, which is to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

Panellists further analyzed environmental and other drivers that exacerbated the deterioration of global freshwater quality while citing climate change, industrial pollution, and extreme climatic events as reasons for intensified water degradation. They discussed actionable solutions, including enhanced monitoring, refined management of freshwater resources, transboundary governance, and policy refinement aligning with SDG 6 targets, for effective management.

91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science Professor Sapna Sharma, academic director of UNGWA moderated the discussion. She noted that reducing the use of fertilizer, changing the timing of applying fertilizer (to limit the amount of nutrients entering into lakes), promoting green infrastructure in urban and suburban environments to reduce water run-off, conserving wetlands, and restoring vegetation will also help to preserve freshwater.

91亚色 Civil Engineering Professor Stephanie Gora on the other hand highlighted the multifaceted nature of water management, covering infrastructure, policy development, funding, and governance in remote arctic landscapes. She pointed out the critical role of operators in making water systems work and advocated for a multivariate approach tailored to the unique challenges of each location to ensure safe drinking water is preserved for all.

鈥檚 Chief Data Officer Duncan Ross closed the panel discussion by emphasizing the role of higher education in achieving the SDGs. 鈥淯niversities are custodians of common goals,鈥� he said, adding that higher education institutions are key in teaching as well as learning from one another.

Ross also attended the other HLPF official side event that 91亚色 took a key role in, which explored how higher education institutions must become equal partners in achieving SDGs to overcome global challenges.

Moderated by UN Assistant Secretary-General, UNITAR Executive Director Nikhil Seth, speakers emphasized the potential of higher education to model sustainability and to demonstrate international collaboration towards achieving just societies built on a sense of equality and trust, knowledge exchange, and societal impact.

Speaking at the event, 鈥�Higher Education Institutions as critical partners in design and delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions,鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education towards Sustainability Professor Charles Hopkins said, 鈥淏y reimagining sustainable leadership and reframing the purpose of higher education towards providing evidence-based knowledge and serving their communities, universities drive societal transformations and foster innovation and relations. They play a pivotal role in achieving the SDGs by equipping the next generation with the knowledge, competencies, and skills needed to act for a sustainable future.鈥�

Hopkins was also a speaker at the UNESCO-UNITAR Leadership Dialogue, where sustainability leaders in higher education had converged to discuss the important role of higher education institutions in society.

Patrick Paul Walsh, vice president of UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and university leaders from Australia, Canada, Germany, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey, and the United States attended.

Participants discussed the role of higher education institutions in youth and community engagement, spearheading and accompanying educational, social and technological innovations through inter-disciplinary research, engaging with diverse ways of knowing, challenging intersecting inequalities, creating cultural change for gender equity and building strong and meaningful collaboration and partnerships.

鈥淐ontinued conversations like the Leadership Dialogue initiated by UNESCO and UNITAR are crucial to develop a shared voice to advocate in global policymaking. Universities are living laboratories for the future of society,鈥� said Hopkins, who spoke at the 鈥淰isioning鈥� session, as an educator who has been leading thinking on sustainability, SDGs, and inclusion.  

91亚色鈥檚 UNESCO Co-Chair in Reorienting education to sustainability, Katrin Kohl, moderated a session that provided space for participants to share innovative solutions and successful transformations implemented in their respective institutions. They created a recommendation based on common themes emerging out of the discussion, that was shared with the broader global higher education community at the UNITAR side event.

Speaking to  on the heels of the HLPF, Hopkins said rankings of university sustainability practices and their impact have been 鈥渞ocket fuel鈥� for institutions that participate. 鈥淚n my own university, which has chosen to participate in the rankings, sustainability is now front and centre.鈥�

91亚色鈥檚 impactful global leadership in sustainability is evident in the recently announced results of 2024聽THE Impact Rankings, which assessed universities around the world against the UN SDGs in research, stewardship, outreach and teaching.聽91亚色 has moved up five spots to 35th in world this year despite stiffer competition than last year with about 2,100 participating universities 鈥� approximately 300 more universities than the previous year. 91亚色 is currently second in the world for SDG 1 (zero poverty) and number one in Canada for SDG 10 (reduced inequalities).聽

Originally published on News@91亚色.

The post 91亚色鈥檚 global leadership in sustainability gains momentum appeared first on Global Engagement.

Join us Friday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. ET for a virtual event during the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development with a panel discussion 鈥� 鈥�Humanitarian responses to emerging water crises as a result of extreme climatic events鈥� in preparation for the UN Global Water Academy.

Women and marginalized communities are disproportionately impacted by freshwater insecurity. This panel (see speaker details below) aims to raise the voices of communities affected by water insecurity, including Indigenous communities in Canada, women and girls in Africa, and families living in refugee camps. They will explore the humanitarian responses, challenges, and solutions to alleviating the freshwater crisis, particularly in the face of global environmental degradation and extreme climatic events.

As 91亚色 will be the academic lead of the UN Global Water Academy being planned as a multi-stakeholder collaboration between the United Nations, academic institutions, and private sector partners, freshwater expert Sapna Sharma, 91亚色 Research Chair in Global Change Biology in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Science, will moderate the 90-minute panel with welcome and opening remarks from Nikhil Seth, executive director of the聽United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and assistant secretary-general of the UN, and聽Rhonda Lenton, 91亚色 president and vice-chancellor. Sharma聽will introduce how climatic extreme聽events are having effects on water quantity and quality, followed by the panel of speakers.

鈥淓xtreme climate events and water crises are complex, global, intersectional challenges that require collaboration across diverse perspectives to identify equitable and sustainable solutions,鈥� said Lenton. 鈥淎s a leading international teaching and research institution committed to serving the public good, I鈥檓 proud of 91亚色鈥檚 role with the future UN Global Water Academy driving the kind of lasting positive change needed to protect the future for people and the planet.鈥� 

The concept of the UN Global Water Academy evolved out of UNITAR鈥檚 participation in the March UN Water Conference. The goal is to collaborate across diverse perspectives and disciplines to identify solutions that will ensure the safety and wellness of us all, but particularly for at-risk populations, Black and Indigenous populations, women, children, and the Global South.

鈥淓xtreme climate events, including heatwaves, droughts, and storms, are not only getting more frequent, but also more intense and the most vulnerable are paying the highest price, especially when it comes to freshwater,鈥� says Sharma. 鈥淥ne example is the association between extreme climatic events and changes in freshwater availability along with the degradation of water quality, including elevated concentrations of nutrients, contaminants of emerging concern, and potential for algal blooms, some of which may be toxic. Changes in the freshwater supply due to extreme climatic events can have catastrophic impacts, particularly during humanitarian crises, on the humans and wildlife who rely on freshwater for life.鈥�

Speakers:

Dr. Jessica Vandenberghe, University of Victoria, will provide the historical Canadian context for Indigenous communities and challenges for Indigenous communities in accessing resources during water and humanitarian crises.

Ms. Swani Keelson, Global Water Promise, will highlight the plight of African girls and women affected by the intersection of the water, climate, and humanitarian crises through period poverty and the role of transactional sex.

Dr. Nicolas Jarraud, Global Water Partnership, will illustrate that women are disproportionately impacted by the water and governance crisis and discuss the Global Water Partnership鈥檚 program elements for gender transformation.

Dr. Syed Imran Ali, 91亚色, will speak about his ongoing work with artificial intelligence tools that can be used to deliver clean water in refugee camps.

Register for the webinar Humanitarian Responses to Emerging Water Crises as a Result of Extreme Climatic Events here: /dighr/events/humanitarian-responses-to-emerging-water-crises/

The post 91亚色 leads water sustainability event at United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development to discuss water crisis brought on by extreme climate events appeared first on Global Engagement.