Rankings of university sustainability practices and their impact have been 鈥渞ocket fuel鈥� for institutions that participate, says Professor Charles Hopkins, UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education Towards Sustainability. He was at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), where multiple higher education events took place on the sidelines.

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From street dwelling to living in youth shelters as a teen, Ahmat Nokour Mahamat has overcome many challenges to achieve his post-secondary education dream

TORONTO, June 19, 2024 鈥� 鈥淭omorrow is going to be the happiest day of my life and I am so proud right now,鈥� says Ahmat Nokour Mahamat, who says he has not had an easy life either in his native Chad, or in Canada, where he and his older brother Ahmat Nokour Brahim sought asylum eight years ago.

Mahamat is graduating with a degree in business economics at 91亚色鈥檚 spring 2024 convocation, crossing the stage during a convocation ceremony at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, June 20.

Theirs is a remarkable story of resilience, perseverance and passion: From living on streets and in youth shelters where they didn鈥檛 feel safe, to working midnight shifts, Mahamat and his brother have overcome many challenges to be where they are now. The brothers arrived in Canada at the age of 18 and 20, in 2016 and decided to start their new chapter in Montreal, a natural choice for the native French speakers.

鈥淚t was tough. But we didn鈥檛 give up and worked through those tough times,鈥� says Mahamat, hoping their success story will serve as an inspiration to those who are having a hard time.

In Montreal, the siblings were initially supported by the YMCA with accommodation for 30 days in a shelter. They were then on their own for several months, finding jobs in a vegetable processing factory outside the city, where they worked from midnight to 5 a.m. cleaning spinach. 鈥淎 car would come to take us to the factory and bring us back. It was cold and very difficult to live like that. So, my brother and I decided to come to Toronto.鈥�

They left for Toronto with each other, $300 cash, and an unwavering determination to build a better life. Their first stop was Streets to Homes Assessment and Referral Centre downtown.

鈥淎t times, I wanted to give up and return to Montreal, but my brother and I took turns encouraging each other. On the fifth day, we agreed that if we didn鈥檛 find a shelter, we would go back,鈥� recalls Mahamat. Fortunately, they were provided a more permanent shelter by the same day. 鈥淲e did not have close relatives or friends in Canada at that time, and we did not speak a word of English either. We started taking English classes immediately.鈥� Mahamat is now fluent in English thanks to Ed-Vance, a program offered by the Toronto District School Board鈥檚 .

He hasn鈥檛 looked back. While Brahim opted to apply for International Studies at 91亚色鈥檚 bilingual Glendon Campus, Mahamat took the required high school credits and English as Second Language proficiency tests, before applying for the Business Economics Program at the Keele Campus. 鈥淚nitially, I didn鈥檛 consider applying to 91亚色 because I thought I wouldn鈥檛 get accepted.鈥�

However, a friend suggested Mahamat apply as he had heard of 91亚色 providing access to those in precarious situations if they met eligibility criteria and had the passion to pursue higher education. 鈥淚 still remember vividly the moment I found out I was accepted to the program at 91亚色.鈥�

During his final year, Mahamat received an Aspiration Award for progressively improving his grades. 鈥淚 was not doing all that well in the first two years but in the third year, I got straight As in most of the subjects,鈥� says Mahamat, who took advantage of peer mentoring support from higher year students.

Needless to say, Mahamat was pleasantly surprised to receive the bursary that eased some of the financial burden on his tight budget. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 expecting this money 鈥� it was definitely a great help financially.鈥�

The awards program is run with the support of 91亚色 alumni and other donors. It ensures that outstanding undergraduate students like Mahamat, who have financial needs and have improved their GPA, receive the help they need to succeed, says J.J. McMurtry, dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies. 鈥淚t's an incredibly important promise to our students that we try as hard as we can to offer support to them, be it for mental well-being, numeracy and language help, or financial assistance. It is heartening to note that 91亚色 has been an impactful part of Mahamat鈥檚 path to success.鈥�

As it is, Mahamat is thought to be the first student from Chad to graduate from 91亚色鈥檚 Keele Campus, and an English-language program, unlike many others including his brother, who opt for French-language programs at Glendon.

Mahamat has already found a full-time job in the auto financing sector and hopes to return to 91亚色 to complete his honours in finance. The 26-year-old, who received his Canadian citizenship in 2023, is now able to focus on further stabilizing his life in Canada. 

The Scarborough resident has taken the day off from his job in Mississauga to attend the convocation ceremony and celebrate the occasion with his brother and best friend Brahim, and with close friends from Toronto and Montreal. 鈥淚 am so excited!鈥�

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Three New Frontiers in Research Fund-International grants, with additional $3.2 million from partner countries, to support climate change adaptation and mitigation research in Global South, Scandinavia and Canadian Arctic 

TORONTO, June 3, 2024 鈥� Today, the Canadian government announced the 2023 results of the New Frontiers in Research Fund grants (NFRF), including $6.1 million for three 91亚色-led research collaborations that will focus on how vulnerable communities 鈥� including those in Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Ghana, Guatemala, Kenya, the Philippines, Rwanda, Scandinavia, and Canada鈥檚 Arctic region 鈥� could mitigate or adapt to climate change. 

鈥淐limate change and its various economic and social impacts are observed globally. By supporting game-changing interdisciplinary research and fostering international collaboration for innovative projects, our government is committed to finding innovative solutions that could have a significant impact on some of the world鈥檚 most vulnerable populations,鈥� said National Revenue Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, announcing $60 million allocated across 32 research teams through the International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Competition, during an event at Carleton University in Ottawa. 

Research funders from Brazil, Germany, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, collaborated on the initiative. Together, more than $30 million in additional funding was contributed to the research projects by the international funders, according to a Canada Research Coordinating Committee .  

鈥淭oday鈥檚 funding announcement highlights our country鈥檚 commitment to support international research collaborations led by Canadian academic leaders like 91亚色 researchers who engage in incredibly important global projects,鈥� says Amir Asif, 91亚色鈥檚 vice-president research and innovation. 鈥淚 thank Canada and other funding partner countries for their support, and I commend 91亚色鈥檚 research community for their continued commitment to tackling the most significant threat to our planet and the future of humanity, climate change.鈥�  

The projects will examine how changing sea ice and snow conditions in Northern Canada and Alaska are affecting the lives of Indigenous Peoples; how coastal communities in Bangladesh, Ghana and the Philippines can be negatively affected by climate change adaptation programs; and how support for good governance practices can halt biodiversity decline and accelerate nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation in Central America and East Africa.  

BioCAM4 鈥� Biodiversity Integration in Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Actions for Planet, People, and Human Health: 

Professor Idil Boran, an expert in applied environmental governance and public policy in the Department of Philosophy and a Faculty Fellow at 91亚色鈥檚 Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health, has secured $3.1 million as the principal investigator and lead for the consortium project. This includes $1.6 million in grants from and . 

The objective of the project is to develop methodologies for mapping Nature-based Climate Action trends worldwide and assessing local opportunities and challenges through deep-dive studies in two biodiversity hot-spot regions: East Africa and Central America, where vulnerable groups and communities are among the most affected by climate impacts, least responsible for it, and have reduced adaptive capacity due to social and economic fragility.  

In partnerships with research institutes, non-governmental organizations, and universities in Kenya, Rwanda, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Germany, Netherlands, and the UK, the team will work on outputs to serve as a blueprint for counterparts facing similar risks within low- and middle-income countries. With open-access global databases, toolkits and policy-engagement processes rooted in open and collaborative science principles, the project will generate resources for researchers and practitioners worldwide. 

, an ecologist with extensive experience in interdisciplinary research and science policy who served as the director of the Institute for Research Innovation in Sustainability, is the co-principal investigator from 91亚色. Other 91亚色 researchers on the project鈥檚 core team are Faculty of Health and Gender, Sexuality and Women鈥檚 Studies . Environmental and Urban Change , director of 91亚色鈥檚 Las Nubes Eco-campus in Costa Rica, is one of the collaborating partners.   

Climate Change Adaptation, Dispossession and Displacement: Co-constructing Solutions with Coastal Vulnerable Groups in Africa and Asia: 

Migration and critical health psychology scholar, , in the Department of Psychology who conducts community-based research in both conflict and environment induced forced migration, will receive $3.1 million, including $1.4 million from the and UKRI for the project, as its principal investigator.  in the Department of Equity Studies is a co-principal investigator. She is an interdisciplinary migration and international development scholar and the incoming director of 91亚色鈥檚 Centre for Refugee Studies, which will host the project. 

In partnership with research institutes, universities, and community organizations in Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana, Norway, Philippines and the UK, the project will focus on gendered processes of displacement, dispossession, and other unintended negative impacts of climate-adaptation projects. Focusing on coastal communities of Bangladesh, Ghana and the Philippines, the team will collaboratively develop an intersectional framework for adaptation and build community-centred interventions to avoid maladaptation.  

The team will also co-develop low-tech, mobile phone applications and virtual platforms for communities to share and document their knowledge, strategies, innovations and concerns with one another. These tools can help in sharing local community responses, as well as informing future programming and supporting a collaborative, intersectional, contextualized and equitable framework for adaptation. 

Climate changed transportation: holistic and Indigenous informed responses to transportation infrastructure, food security and community well-being in the Arctic: 

As the principal investigator, 91亚色 Research Chair in Global Change Biology Professor Sapna Sharma, the inaugural director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research Global Water Academy, whose research interest is in predicting the effects of environmental stressors 鈥� such as climate change, invasive species and habitat alteration 鈥� on lakes, will receive nearly $3.1 million for the project.  

The project will co-develop adaptation measures and technological solutions to decrease the frequency of drownings and accidents in response to hazardous cryospheric conditions for Arctic Indigenous communities, and promote enhanced mobility and food security, in addition to physical and mental health. The main goals of the researchers are to map and forecast safe cryospheric conditions across the Arctic and explore observational and modelling tools to enhance Indigenous capacity in stewarding their land. 

With a vision of empowerment, unity and resilience in the face of complex challenges, the research team will co-create knowledge mobilization products for promoting knowledge exchange across generations and communities by transcending transdisciplinary research and community boundaries across the Arctic.  

, in 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Civil Engineering, who studies water resources engineering focusing on research areas including sustainable water-resource management and infrastructure and the impacts of climate change on these systems, and in the Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering, whose climate-dynamics research has helped to clarify the physical processes driving long-term changes in the atmospheric circulation, with implications on Arctic sea ice motion, are co-applicants on the grant.  

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TORONTO, September 20, 2016 鈥� Superbugs are a serious threat to public health, creating bacterial infections that are resistant to most antibiotics, says 91亚色 science Professor Dasantila Golemi-Kotra. Not only that, they continue to mutate and outsmart modern drugs. World leaders will discuss ways to combat 鈥渁ntimicrobial resistance鈥� or superbugs when the United Nations鈥� General Assembly meets tomorrow.

Staphylococcus aureus

Golemi-Kotra, an expert in bacterial infections and antimicrobial resistance in 91亚色 U鈥檚 Faculty of Science, is available to discuss the issue and what can be done, including:

How have superbugs become such a serious global health issue?

How are superbugs so easily mutating their genetic information to outsmart the latest drugs?

How the superbugs share knowledge with other bacteria so more of them become antibiotic resistant, called 鈥渃ross-talking鈥�?

What biological mechanisms trigger resistance/

Can we treat infections without triggering the superbugs to mutate and become resistant?

is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91亚色 students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world鈥檚 most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91亚色 U is an internationally recognized research university 鈥� our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91亚色 is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni.

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Media Contact:
Sandra McLean, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097/sandramc@yorku.ca

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