Preparing the next generation to lead
The future workforce is being challenged by the rapid deployment of artificial intelligence (AI), automation and other emerging technologies, while geopolitical conflicts, climate change and inflation threaten economic stability and social equality. In response, York University is not only diversifying whom, what and how we teach, but also redefining higher education through dynamic and flexible programming that includes technology-enhanced learning (TEL), experiential education activities and work-integrated learning. Our students are benefitting from exciting, flexible and innovative programs focussed on preparing them to thrive in an environment characterized by instability and change.
Curricular Innovation
The City of Markham and York University have a shared commitment to building a more resilient and engaged community while innovating and embracing all possibilities. York University Markham Campus is a game changer for post-secondary education in York Region and will complement an already strong education and tech ecosystem, including the successful YSpace.”
Frank Scarpitti, Mayor, City of Markham
We’re proud to partner with York as we work to build Ontario for the future, including through the creation of a new medical school focused on training primary care doctors.”
The Honourable Doug Ford, Premier, Province of Ontario
21st Century Learning Highlights
Transforming the future of health care in Canada
York University is closer to achieving a long-held plan of developing a transformative new School of Medicine. York’s vision for a School of Medicine was endorsed by the Ontario government in March 2024 with a $9 million investment in startup funding. Bolstered by York’s leadership in health-related education and research, the School will be the first of its kind focussed on primary care, offering an accelerated path to graduation to help meet the critical health care demands of Canadians. Students enrolled in the School will benefit from responsive programming grounded on the principles of team-based, community-centred care, interdisciplinary curriculum informed by the social and economic determinants of health, and York’s leadership in digital health solutions to enhance access to quality health care.
The anchor facility will be located in the Vaughan Healthcare Centre Precinct, co-located with Mackenzie Health’s Cortelluci Vaughan Hospital. Future development will be supported by fundraising from York’s Impact Campaign.
New campus to open in Canada’s fastest-growing tech hub
York University’s new Markham Campus officially welcomed its first full cohort of students in September 2024. Located in the heart of Markham, one of Canada’s fastest-growing tech hubs and home to tech giants such as IBM, the Markham Campus is proud to offer innovative, interdisciplinary programming focussed on technology and entrepreneurship while offering incoming students co-ops, internships, work-integrated learning or other experiential learning opportunities for immersive, real-world learning. The new Markham Campus is poised to respond to the future employment needs of York Region and Markham’s growing tech sector and is expected to generate more than 2,000 jobs and up to $350 million in immediate economic benefits.
Creating a sustainable future for the esteemed Glendon Campus
In April 2024, York’s Board of Governors approved a re-envisioned Glendon Campus with a restructuring of academic units. The new departmental structure will enhance Glendon’s capacity to provide high quality programs, advance new ideas through interdisciplinary research and scholarship, and provide enhanced supports for students while facilitating financial sustainability. Glendon’s new academic departments include Economics, Business and Mathematics; Global and Social Science; Global Communications and Cultures; and Science.
Glendon will also continue to support upskilling through new micro-credentials, including a micro-credential in digital storytelling, an eight-week course that covers the basics of content creation in virtual reality, augmented reality, 360-degree photography, podcasting and 3-D printing.
Shaping the next generation of tech-driven business leaders
Launched in Fall 2023 by York’s award-winning Schulich School of Business, the new MBA in Tech Leadership program is training the next generation of leaders for a business world driven by technological innovation and disruption. The 16-month program pairs students with industry leaders across Toronto’s thriving tech scene to solve tech challenges through real-world case studies and features a suite of learning experiences including simulations, guest lectures, work-integrated learning and a capstone integrated field study project. In addition, the program is contributing to the ecosystem of talent and upskilling through a new partnership between Schulich and OneEleven called “Venture Studio”. Venture Studio is a program that pairs top students with member companies from OneEleven and the Schulich Startups communities to provide pro bono strategic product and fundraising analysis for select startups. As a testament to Schulich’s leadership in business education, the Financial Times ranked Schulich ExecEd among the world’s Top 30 executive education providers.
Creating accessible learning spaces for future students
Prospective students can now experience what student life would be like at the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) before they even step on campus thanks to an immersive virtual tour showcase. From the sound stage and the famed Motion Media Studio at Cinespace to York’s stunning dance studios and the Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan Theatre and digital media labs, students get to experience more than 300,000-square-feet of facilities. Built with leading technology company Circuit Virtual Tours, the AMPD Virtual Tour creates an accessible means to experience and interact with some of Canada’s leading arts, culture and design programs and spaces. The resource aims to inspire more students to unleash their creative potential to help solve global challenges by pursuing their studies in the arts, culture and design programs.
Task Force on the Future of Pedagogy release final report
While the COVID-19 pandemic caused many higher learning institutions to pivot to online learning, it inspired York to consider how technology-enhanced learning could shape the future of education. That is the impetus behind the Task Force on the Future of Pedagogy which seeks to energize both faculty and students by providing forward-looking guidance on the multiple futures of pedagogy. The Task Force was created in March 2023 and formed five working groups which included a cross-section of the York teaching community, students and administrative staff. The Task Force released a final report and included recommendations such as expanding and enhancing blended learning opportunities at York, accelerating the expansion of community-based experiential education and work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities and supporting AI literacy among instructors, students and staff.
The report reinforces York’s efforts to diversify teaching and learning methods. For example, in 2023-24, there were more than 530 students enrolled in blended and hybrid courses, making education more accessible than ever.
Leadership in lifelong learning
In a short span of time, the world experienced unprecedented change through global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic but also through significant technological innovations such as AI and automation. As a result, lifelong learning has never been more essential to supporting thriving economies. York continues to be exemplary in this regard. The School of Continuing Studies which is home to a diverse learning community includes flexible pathways, specialized streams and accelerated timelines. The School experienced tremendous success in the 2023-24 year, exceeding its enrolment target of 25,203 by more than 45 per cent.
In addition, York continues to lead with the most Ontario Student Assistant Program (OSAP) micro-credential offerings, representing 21.8% of all University-offered micro-credentials. York also received $450K from the Ontario Micro-Credential Challenge Fund, which is part of a $5 million investment by the Ontario government to help more Ontarians upgrade their skills for careers in healthcare, auto, advanced manufacturing and other in-demand sectors.
