“By now, many recent graduates realize that choices made several years earlier have come to haunt them,” wrote York University political science Professor Thomas Klassen in University Affairs April 2. “Low grades earned because of decisions to hold two part-time jobs to minimize student loans, or so they could purchase the latest consumer products, become insurmountable barriers to a successful transition from school to work.” Read full story.
Digital retail startup Slyce buys two Toronto startups, gets $10.75M financing
In February, Calgary tech startup Slyce acquired a piece of tech from York University PhD student Ehsan Fazi-Ersi, which was developed in conjunction with MaRS Innovation and Innovation York. Slyce then hired Fazi-Ersi to head up its research and development department, reported Yonge Street April 2. Read full story.
Winners of CommunityBuild challenge receive $5,000 each to address social issues
The CommunityBUILD Mash-up winners were announced this past Thursday at a celebratory event at the Markham Convergence Centre, reported Yonge Street April 2. An ongoing collaboration between VentureLAB, York University and United Way York Region, CommunityBUILD’s stated mission “is to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem addressing important social issues in York Region” in an effort to spur innovative approaches to social issues. Read full story.
Sunshine list didn’t keep salaries in line
Professor Daniel Cohn of York University’s School of Public Policy and Administration noted the top-paid 1,000 employees on last year’s “sunshine list” got a 7.2 per cent wage hike the year before, more than triple those in the bottom half. “That looks like there’s bargaining going on,” he said in the Ottawa Sun April 2, noting that most large organizations have ways to renegotiate salaries and nothing spurs people like a colleague’s fatter pay packet. Read full story.