'We're No. 6!' Not Much of a Cheer:

Canada's universities are major resources in meeting our global challenges; government policies are the key

by UBC President Stephen Toope

First published in The Vancouver Sun, Tue 13 Feb 2007.

Canadians tell pollsters that they are worried about a decline in our global influence and about our
inability to address fundamental social and environmental issues.

Whereas once the federal government trumpeted our first-place ranking in the United Nation's human
development survey, our current sixth-place spot is greeted with silence.

Ontario's manufacturing is in decline, Quebec's economic prospects are clouded by a huge debt load,
while provinces like British Columbia struggle with natural resource dependencies. Despite economic
gains from oil and gas, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland continue to face population loss. Even
wealthy Alberta frets about the sustainability of its oilsands projects.

The good news: Canadian universities can help. The better news: We will be much more effective when
Canada's federal and provincial governments adopt more creative policies for higher education. The still
better news: It will never be easier to do so than now.

In an era when all issues have an international dimension, Canada simply cannot escape the pressures
of global competition. That competition is not purely economic; it is also social and cultural. Although
there are sad examples of backlash, many countries are competing fiercely for immigrants to fuel
economic growth. Indeed, talented people are more mobile today than ever. At the same time,
investments hurry across borders in pursuit of market opportunities and comparative policy advantages.
Cultures are increasingly mixed; "fusion" marks musical innovation, cuisine and literature.

Over the next decade, the world is likely to see the emergence of between 25 and 50 elite research
and innovation clusters that drive healthy and prosperous societies. We can already see this trend in
places like northern California, Massachusetts, southern England, and Japan. Think Silicon Valley, but
with work and influence extending well beyond the high-tech sector. The common denominator is the
presence of globally influential research universities whose idea-driven energies make huge economic,
social and cultural contributions to the regions and nations that host them.

Famous universities like Stanford and Cambridge are sites of world-changing medical and scientific
research, of extraordinary economic spin-offs, of social innovation, and of rich cultural exploration. Yet
investments are also being made right now in less-well-known universities, making them global
challengers.

Most Canadians would be surprised to discover that the University of California San Francisco
consistently rates above any Canadian university in a variety of world rankings. The same is true for UC
Berkeley, UC San Diego and UCLA. Meanwhile, China is calling back Chinese-born, foreign-trained
researchers to build an impressive number of new elite universities with state-of-the-art facilities.

If Canadians are going to address the challenges we face, we must be part of this vital research and
innovation landscape — as active players, not as wishful observers. To make this happen, three key policy changes are required of the federal and provincial governments.

First, funding policies must recognize the different roles played by different universities. Some
universities do a fine job in educating undergraduate students primarily for regional social and
economic needs. Others link undergraduate education to robust research agendas in a range of fields.
In Canada, there are not more than three or four universities that are large enough and good enough in
a wide range of disciplines to serve as hubs for the world-class research and innovation clusters that
Canada must create. Yet the way universities are funded in Canada effectively precludes this catalyzing
role.

International comparisons are painful. At the University of British Columbia, one of Canada's few
world-ranked universities, the total academic revenue for each full time student is $30,703. This total
includes the provincial grant, research income, student fees, and all gifts and proceeds from the
endowment fund. The comparable figure, also in Canadian dollars, for Cambridge University is $66,300,
for the University of Michigan $67,049, and for the University of Washington $63,266.

Second, top Canadian universities must be enabled to draw more foreign graduate students to our
country. These students are the engine of research and innovation, a source of new talent and fresh
ideas for Canada. Some stay here and contribute mightily to our society. Others go home but serve as
natural points of contact for Canadian business and as interpreters of Canadian values. Canada is a
passive bystander as shifts take place in the global flow of graduate students. Today, the U.K. and
Germany each attract roughly 12 per cent of all international graduate students, and Australia draws 10
per cent. Canada remains stuck at about one per cent.

Third, Canadian universities must be supported in enriching the experience of undergraduate students,
in their communities and around the world. For our very best students, it is simply not enough to
imagine undergraduate education purely as the product of classroom lectures and labs. Canadian
students want and need to develop their skills by volunteering in their communities as part of their
courses or by spending time outside of Canada at sister universities, as volunteers in international
development, or as interns in global businesses or international NGOs.

Yet high debt loads make students too risk-averse, and the sad fact is that funding for undergraduate
education in Canada does not encourage any of these initiatives.

We must increase government funding for bursaries that enable less advantaged students to engage
with their community and their world. We need to see a variety of student opportunities outside the
classroom not as mere "add-ons" but as integral parts of the education of competent citizens in an
interconnected world.

The federal and provincial governments have a golden opportunity — right now — to forge policies that
will enable Canada to compete successfully in the world of existing and emerging research and
innovation clusters. The price of leadership will only increase with time, while the bright possibilities will
only dim with inaction.