Global

Faculty of Music

Humanities

�鶹��Ƶ Scarborough

Subheadline

The Global Humanities Alliance brings together researchers from around the world with the aim of elevating the role of the humanities and social sciences in addressing critical global issues

The University of Toronto’s Nicole Klenk sees her role in the recently formed Global Humanities Alliance – which aims to enhance the global impact of the humanities and social sciences – as a natural extension of her research and teaching.

An associate professor of environmental studies in the department of physical and environmental sciences at �鶹��Ƶ Scarborough, Klenk bridges the gap between the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences by championing interdisciplinary projects in her courses.

For example, she uses textile arts as a way for students to explore sustainability issues that arise from sectors such as fast fashion.

“They spend an hour weaving textiles to imagine what it means to spend seven days a week, 12 hours a day as a child to make clothes that people use less than seven times before they throw out,” says Klenk.

Nicole Klenk uses textile arts as a way for students to explore sustainability issues arising from fast fashion (photo by Chai Chen)

The alliance, formed earlier this year, brings together researchers from around the world with the aim of elevating the role of the humanities and social sciences in addressing critical global issues. It currently comprises four working groups: public humanities, sustainability and climate change, decolonizing knowledge and digital transformations.

Its founding members – �鶹��Ƶ, Ashoka University, Mahidol University, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Universitas Gadjah Mada, University of Manchester, University of Melbourne and University of Nairobi – signed a letter of intent in October at a launch event in Manchester, England.

The universities agreed to explore activities such as global classrooms, visiting fellowships, collaborative research projects and exchange programs for students and staff.

Klenk, a textile artist who has explored teaching methods that blend experiential and arts-based learning throughout her career, says she hopes her involvement in the initiative allows her to expand her work on an international scale.

“What got me excited [about the alliance] is the ability to connect with others who value the role of the humanities and social sciences at an international level,” she says.

From left: �鶹��Ƶ’s Alex Mihailidis, University of Manchester’s Fiona Devine and Universitas Gadjah Mada’s Wawan Mas'udi (photo by Sherry Lee)

Both Klenk and Sherry Lee, an associate professor of musicology in �鶹��Ƶ’s Faculty of Music, serve on the sustainability and climate change working group.

“Something we found in the conversations at the Manchester launch is that there are a lot of crossovers between the thematic working groups, and we expect a lot of exchange,” says Lee, whose research sits at the intersection of music, sound studies and environmental humanities.

“You can’t have a responsible conversation about climate change in the global context without also thinking about decolonization.”

Lee says students will benefit from the initiative through international collaboration, increased understanding of cultural differences and the opportunity to frame problems using different perspectives.

“This is sometimes a challenge – who do I collaborate with? How do I find people who are going to be interested in the kinds of issues that I want to bring forward in a classroom and who will be willing to participate? That’s precisely one of the things that is going to happen through this initiative,” says Lee.

“I think that’s really exciting.”

She says she hopes the alliance inspires collaboration between future generations of scholars.

“I hope it facilitates the entry of the students we are training into spheres where they can engage meaningfully on important global issues outside the academy,” she says.

“I think the best way to do that is to involve them in an international conversation at the moment of their training, rather than to give them more conventional disciplinary training and hope that they're smart enough to stand out from among the crowd once they leave.”

�鶹��Ƶ ranked world’s most sustainable university for second year in a row

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 16:12:41 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ ranked world’s most sustainable university for second year in a row

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 12/10/2024 - 11:12

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(photo by Don Campbell)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Institutional Strategic Initiatives

Climate Positive Campus

Climate Positive Energy

Sustainable Development Goals

QS World University Rankings

Meric Gertler

Subheadline

The 2025 edition of the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability ranked �鶹��Ƶ first out of more than 1,700 institutions across 95 countries

The University of Toronto has been ranked the most sustainable university in the world for the second consecutive year.

The 2025 edition of the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability, released this week by London-based Quacquarelli Symonds, placed �鶹��Ƶ first overall out of more than 1,700 institutions across 95 countries.

The closely watched ranking evaluates post-secondary institutions for their environmental impact, social impact and governance.

“On behalf of the University of Toronto, I am thrilled that our university is once again ranked first in the world in the QS Sustainability Rankings,” said �鶹��Ƶ President Meric Gertler. “The �鶹��Ƶ community is profoundly committed to the advancement of sustainability as one of the most urgent challenges of our time.

“This year’s ranking confirms our resolve to help lead the way to a sustainable future.”

First launched in 2022, the ranking assesses universities based on QS World University Rankings data, including reputation surveys and research output related to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. It also looks at institutional policies, operational data, alumni impact and national data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and World Bank.

To determine environmental impact, the ranking evaluates environmental education, research and sustainability. For social impact, it examines employability and outcomes, equality, health and well-being, impact of education and knowledge exchange. And for governance, the ranking looks at indicators such as student representation and transparent financial reporting.

�鶹��Ƶ performed particularly well in the social impact category this year, moving up three spots to first globally. It also ranked fifth in the world for environmental impact and tied for 23^rd in governance.

�鶹��Ƶ’s performance led a robust showing by Canadian universities. The University of British Columbia shared fifth spot with University College London, making Canada the only country to have two universities in the top five. Two other Canadian universities placed in the top 50: McGill University (15^th) and Western University (30^th).

The QS sustainability ranking comes as �鶹��Ƶ forges ahead with a host of climate-focused initiatives on its own campuses including: Project Leap, a $138-million infrastructure project that will cut emissions on the St. George campus in half by 2027; Project SHIFT, a �鶹��Ƶ Mississauga initiative to speed up the transition from natural gas to electricity; and a combination of new climate-responsible constructions and energy retrofits to older buildings at �鶹��Ƶ Scarborough.

Spurred by these and other efforts, the university’s three campuses last year made a landmark commitment to reduce more greenhouse gases than they emit in the coming years. And �鶹��Ƶ continues to make progress on its pledge to divest from fossil fuel investments in its endowment fund.

At the same time, �鶹��Ƶ is working to enhance Canada’s green energy sector through projects like the Grid Modernization Centre, a state-of-the-art facility led by Climate Positive Energy, an institutional strategic initiative, that will serve as a hub for testing, development and commercialization.

�鶹��Ƶ is also playing a leadership role in sustainability by engaging with regional, national and international partners. For example, the university acted as a founding member of the City of Toronto’s Green Will Initiative, collaborated with the Urban Climate Action Project to help implement the city’s TransformTO climate action strategy and contributed to the Toronto Region Board of Trade’s Banking on Green playbook, which helps Ontario organizations fund green retrofit projects.

Globally, �鶹��Ƶ has convened networks aimed at mobilizing multi-sector partnerships, including the U7+ Alliance of World Universities, the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) and the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN). �鶹��Ƶ’s sustainability leaders have also been asked to share knowledge and experiences with other universities in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Germany and other countries.

Most important, �鶹��Ƶ is actively creating a new generation of sustainability leaders. Supported by the President’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability (CECCS), which recently created a new student leadership subcommittee, more than 2,000 undergraduate courses in 2024-25 now have a sustainability orientation.

Students also have the option of exploring sustainability from various lenses through the Sustainability Pathways program, or to contribute to projects on- and off-campus via the Campus as a Living Lab and Community-Engaged Learning programs.

Overall, �鶹��Ƶ continues to be the highest-ranked Canadian university and one of the top-ranked public universities in the five most closely watched international rankings: Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings, QS World University Rankings, ShanghaiRanking Consultancy’s Academic Ranking of World Universities, U.S. News & World Report’s Best Global Universities and National Taiwan University World University Rankings.

President Meric Gertler highlights �鶹��Ƶ community's achievements in holiday message

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 14:35:13 +0000

President Meric Gertler highlights �鶹��Ƶ community's achievements in holiday message Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 12/10/2024 - 09:35

Topic

Subheadline

“To all our students, faculty, librarians, staff, alumni, volunteers, supporters and partners: Thank you for your contributions to our success”

The University of Toronto community had a lot to celebrate over the past year, �鶹��Ƶ President Meric Gertler says.

In his annual holiday message, President Gertler highlighted �鶹��Ƶ’s top spot in the QS sustainability rankings, University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton’s Nobel Prize in Physics and two students who were recognized with prestigious Rhodes Scholarships.

And that was just the beginning.

“We completed state-of-the-art landscapes and buildings on each of our three campuses,” he says in a video. “We broke new ground for several more. We made progress in the ongoing work of reconciliation. And we opened a new chapter in our history with the installation of our 35th chancellor.”

Most importantly, he adds, more than 20,000 students graduated with �鶹��Ƶ degrees, joining a global community of more than 700,000 alumni.

“To all our students, faculty, librarians, staff, alumni, volunteers, supporters and partners: Thank you for your contributions to our success.”

�鶹��Ƶ Reach Alliance initiative adds Howard University as its latest partner

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 14:25:01 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ Reach Alliance initiative adds Howard University as its latest partner

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 12/05/2024 - 09:25

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Left to right: Howard University Associate Professor Amy Yeboah Quarkume, Howard student and Reach Alliance researcher Zoey Hall and Reach Alliance Executive Director Marin MacLeod (photo by Jamie Napier)

Munk School Staff

Topic

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Reach Alliance

Subheadline

Founded at the Munk School for Global Affairs & Public Policy, the student-driven Reach Alliance aims to address challenges faced by the world's under-served and under-resourced communities

The Reach Alliance, a student-driven initiative founded at the University of Toronto that aims to help under-served or under-resourced communities around the globe, has inked a new partnership with Howard University, one of the most prominent historically Black universities in the United States.

The partnership with Howard – the ninth for the Reach Alliance and the first with a U.S. university – was announced at the 2024 Reach Conference and opens a channel for Howard students and faculty members to engage in Reach Alliance projects and case studies.

It will support the expansion of Reach project targets by building access to communities through new idea networks based in the United States.

“Howard university shares a commitment with the University of Toronto to inclusive excellence which is the key principle driving the work we do at the Reach Alliance” said Reach founder Joseph Wong, a professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and in the department of political science in the Faculty of Arts & Science who is also �鶹��Ƶ’s vice-president, international.

Founded at the Munk School in 2015, the Reach Alliance cultivates leadership for solving urgent challenges of hard-to-reach communities – those that are under-served or under-resourced for geographic, administrative or social reasons.

Working in interdisciplinary teams, Reach’s student researchers identify innovative solutions to climate, public health and economic problems by using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a guiding framework. The students conduct their research in collaboration with local communities, with support from university faculty members. When the research is done, each team produces a case study report that is shared with policymakers and practitioners.

In less than a decade, the Reach Alliance has grown to include universities in eight countries, with partners in Australia, Canada, Ghana, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, the United Kingdom and, now, the U.S. It has launched over 90 case studies and findings have been published in leading outlets including The Lancet, the Stanford Social Innovation Review and the Bulletin of the World Health Organization.

Amy Yeboah Quarkume, a data scientist who is Howard University’s graduate director at the Center for Applied Data Science and Analytics, is among the newest cohort of faculty mentors.

“The Reach Alliance is truly a global partnership network, which allows us to think about how we tackle issues in D.C., where Howard is, but also in Guatemala and Ghana and other places," she said. “Seeing and hearing how others are grappling with the same problems makes one feel as though we can go far if we work together.”

Before the conference started, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth renewed their longstanding partnership with the Reach Alliance through a US$2-million gift to support key investments in enhancing Reach’s impact strategy, as well as strengthen shared network resources. Adding to the current student leadership development program, the funding allows for more cross-university collaboration, expanded knowledge translation and communications capabilities.

The 2024 gathering also expanded on media engagement with Reach initiatives. Sponsor-in-kind Devex, a media platform that focuses on stories of interest to the global development community, followed the gathering with an eye to raising the profile of Reach’s actionable research insights.

“Devex covers stories that we care about, so it felt like a natural fit,” said Marin MacLeod, the Reach Alliance’s executive director. “As we approach 2030, with much progress yet to be made on the SDGs, the time is right to ask: Who is accountable? How are we holding them accountable? And are those that are hardest to reach being accounted for?

“The higher education sector, especially the Reach Alliance, has an important role to play in co-creating actionable research insights and partnering with practitioners and policymakers to see these findings implemented.”

The participation of Devex also supports the flow of actionable information between communities and researchers throughout the world – which Quarkume said was a key strength of the alliance.

“We must find common goals to deal with common issues in order to go back and share information that helps in more than one place,” she said. “I’m excited to meet new people across the globe who are thinking, moving, trying to reach communities that have been made to wait.”

Quarkume added that the recent U.S. presidential election result will impact the role America plays on the global stage, but that she remains committed to solving global challenges.

“Political systems have changed and issues may shift, but we still must find solutions. It will take us working across borders to solve some things.”

Students from �鶹��Ƶ and India’s Ashoka University explore urban challenges in Pune

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 14:20:19 +0000

Students from �鶹��Ƶ and India’s Ashoka University explore urban challenges in Pune

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 11/28/2024 - 09:20

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Students from �鶹��Ƶ and Ashoka University accompany waste pickers who belong to the SWaCH collective in Pune, India – part of a course offered through the �鶹��Ƶ India Foundation and School of Cities India (photo courtesy of Reyansh Lokare)

Topic

Subheadline

Undergraduate course in partnership with Ashoka University, near New Delhi, is one of many initiatives now facilitated by the �鶹��Ƶ India Foundation

Samantha “Sam” Guevara says accompanying two waste pickers in Pune, India as they went about their daily work offered a window into the social dynamics of the city of more than seven million.

“What interested me was the stigmatization that waste pickers tend to receive from the general public juxtaposed with the pride they have in their work,” says Guevara, a fourth- year student at the University of Toronto who is pursuing a double major in human geography and political science.

The workers she joined belong to SWaCH Waste Pickers, a co-operative of self-employed waste collectors who are contributing to the region’s environmental and financial well-being.

Guevara, meanwhile, is one of nine students from �鶹��Ƶ who, along with nine students from India’s Ashoka University, a private liberal arts institution near New Delhi, recently explored three city-building projects identified by Indian non-profit and civil society organizations as part of a �鶹��Ƶ undergraduate course.

Students from �鶹��Ƶ and Ashoka gather at the Centre for Development Studies and Activities in Pune for a lecture by a local consulting firm (photo courtesy of Reyansh Lokare)

Offered through the �鶹��Ƶ India Foundation and School of Cities India, the International Multidisciplinary Urban Capstone Projects course also saw students join guides for walking tours in Mumbai, attend lectures and develop what Aditi Mehta, an assistant professor, teaching stream, in urban studies at Innis College, calls “critical consciousness.”

The course is one of numerous activities facilitated in recent months by the �鶹��Ƶ India Foundation, a partnership between �鶹��Ƶ and Tata Trusts. Others include: a pitch competition and incubation program with Social Alpha, an incubator for social impact startups, that saw �鶹��Ƶ faculty members participate on the technical jury that helped select 10 winning India-based entrepreneurs; and research projects that bring together �鶹��Ƶ faculty members and India-based partners to work on building more resilient and sustainable cities.

Kunjpreet Arora, co-founder and director of India-based brick and paver upcycling startup Angirus, delivers a presentation at a social launch event (photo courtesy of Jake Karpouzis)

For the students involved, Mehta says questioning “why things are the way they are” and understanding their place in the world is a crucial part of their education – and one of the many takeaways they will bring back to Toronto.

“It’s about seeing how things are done in the east and thinking about how we can bring some of this problem solving back to the west,” says Mehta, who accompanied the students to India.

Jake Karpouzis, a fourth-year student in public policy and urban studies, spent his time exploring how the makeshift parking lots and garbage dumps beneath city overpasses, or flyovers, in Pune can be transformed into more valuable spaces that better serve surrounding communities.

“We're putting together a blog of the trip so the various organizations involved can read about it and take those experiences back to the classroom,” says Karpouzis, adding that he was excited by the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in urban studies in another country.

Ashoka University students speak to a vegetable vendor under a flyover in Pune (photo courtesy of Jake Karpouzis)

Kaitlyn Chan, a fourth-year urban studies student, concentrated on transgender studies while in India.

“Our program focused on skill development for the transgender community in Pune,” Chan says. “That includes access to government interventions, employment opportunities, self-efficacy and creating safe spaces.”

Professor Mehta, who created much of the programming with the �鶹��Ƶ India Foundation, says the course was often life-changing for �鶹��Ƶ students.

“The Indian students were amazing. They really took it upon themselves to be hosts for the Canadian students and they just kept asking, ‘When can we come to Toronto?’,” she says, adding that she is working on a reciprocal learning exchange in both countries.

Karan Singh, a professor of computer science and the associate director of School of Cities India, sees the capstone course as an opportunity to further strengthen �鶹��Ƶ’s global reputation.

“We’re looking at �鶹��Ƶ as a global brand and in India that is increasingly evident,” he says.

Professor Aditi Mehta (second from left) with students from �鶹��Ƶ and Ashoka University and SWaCH workers on the streets of Pune (photo courtesy of Reyansh Lokare)

Andrea Russell, director of international relations in �鶹��Ƶ’s Office of the Vice-President, International, says she’s thrilled with how the experience resonated with �鶹��Ƶ students.

“It’s a wonderful example of global collaboration and an amazing opportunity for our students to increase their global fluency.”

�鶹��Ƶ among top 15 universities globally for graduate employability: Times Higher Education

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 21:57:35 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ among top 15 universities globally for graduate employability: Times Higher Education

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 11/20/2024 - 16:57

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(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Topic

Times Higher Education

Subheadline

The Global University Employability Ranking 2025 is based on survey data and reflects the opinions of large employers

University of Toronto graduates are among the most highly regarded job candidates in the world.

In its latest ranking of graduate employability, Times Higher Education placed �鶹��Ƶ 14^th globally and eighth among public universities. �鶹��Ƶ was also the top-ranked public university in North America.

The Global University Employability Ranking 2025 is based on survey data and reflects the opinions of large employers.

“University of Toronto graduates are some of the best educated on the planet,” said �鶹��Ƶ President Meric Gertler.

“The world-class learning opportunities provided to our students and the quality of our scholarship and research give our graduates a distinct advantage in the workforce.”

The annual ranking evaluated 250 universities from 44 countries around the world. It was designed and commissioned by Emerging, a French human resources consultancy. The survey participants are recruiters or managers who supervise five or more new graduates per year; most work in companies with more than 500 employees.

There were 13,240 respondents to the survey from 33 countries. More than 129,000 votes were cast, up from 100,700 votes last year. Approximately 1,000 universities were assessed to derive the final ranking of 250 universities.

�鶹��Ƶ has consistently ranked among the top 15 globally in the Times Higher Education employability ranking over the past decade, holding the 12^th spot last year.

This year’s edition of the ranking was led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the California Institute of Technology and Stanford University. Harvard University and the University of Cambridge rounded out the top five.

Four Canadian universities joined �鶹��Ƶ in the top 100: McGill University (31^st), University of British Columbia (36^th), Université de Montréal (84^th) and McMaster University (88^th).

First 48 Hours: Doc about �鶹��Ƶ international students now streaming on YouTube

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 13:58:17 +0000

First 48 Hours: Doc about �鶹��Ƶ international students now streaming on YouTube Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 11/20/2024 - 08:58

Topic

Centre for International Experience

Student Life

A 22-minute documentary, International Students: First 48 Hours in Canada, directed by Cal Campos and shot at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, is now streaming on YouTube.

The film follows international students’ journeys to the University of Toronto using cell phone footage and sit-down interviews. A joint partnership between �鶹��Ƶ’s Centre for International Experience and the Innovation Hub in the division of Student Life, the documentary was screened across �鶹��Ƶ’s three campuses in October and November.

Julia Allworth, the Innovation Hub’s manager of innovation projects, says the goal was to shine a light on the multitude of diverse global perspectives that make up nearly a third of the university’s student body.

“We wanted to zoom in on what it’s like for students when they first arrive in Canada. What challenges do they face as they step off the plane and into Canada? What decisions do they need to make along the way? International students bring tremendous value to the university.”

�鶹��Ƶ ranked among top 10 universities globally in five subjects: ShanghaiRanking Consultancy

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 20:30:13 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ ranked among top 10 universities globally in five subjects: ShanghaiRanking Consultancy

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 11/18/2024 - 15:30

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(photo by Matthew Dochstader/Paradox Images)

Mariam Matti

Topic

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Rotman School of Management

Meric Gertler

Rankings

Shanghai Ranking Consultancy

Sociology

The University of Toronto has placed among the top 10 universities globally in five subjects – sociology (2^nd), medical technology (5^th), public health (7^th), finance (8^th) and management (10^th) – in the latest ShanghaiRanking Consultancy rankings by subject.

�鶹��Ƶ also ranked in the top 100 globally in 42 subjects in the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2024, released last week – a feat matched only by the University of Michigan.

Among Canadian universities, �鶹��Ƶ ranked first in 27 subjects. That’s more than any other institution.

“The University of Toronto’s performance in the latest Shanghai subject rankings underscores our academic excellence across an extremely broad range of fields,” said �鶹��Ƶ President Meric Gertler.

“These results are a testament to the talent and dedication of our world-leading researchers and scholars.”

More than 1,900 universities across 96 countries and regions are listed in the 2024 edition of the Shanghai subject rankings, which cover 55 subjects across natural sciences, engineering, life sciences, medical sciences and social sciences.

This year, the methodology was updated with four new indicators, increasing the total to nine. The new evaluation criteria include the number of faculty who are: recipients of significant awards, chief editors of academic journals, leaders in international academic organizations and considered highly cited researchers.

Existing criteria continue to assess research output, quality and influence, international collaboration and other academic awards.

Of the 55 subject areas covered by the rankings, �鶹��Ƶ ranked in the top 50 globally in 28 subjects and in the top 25 globally in 21 subjects.

The updated methodology resulted in significant changes for �鶹��Ƶ in several subjects, including 25 where �鶹��Ƶ moved up the rankings. Notable gains included: chemistry, which moved into 37^th place from outside the top 50; political science, which climbed 23 spots to 18^th; biology, which rose 12 spots to 21^st; human biology, which rose 12 spots to 24^th; and computer science, which climbed seven places to 17^th. �鶹��Ƶ declined in 18 subjects and remain unchanged in 5 subjects.

The ShanghaiRanking Consultancy also produces the influential Academic Ranking of World Universities, the most recent edition of which ranked �鶹��Ƶ as Canada’s top university and 26^th in the world.

�鶹��Ƶ Mississauga grad aims to 'understand people on a deeper level'

lanthierj — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 19:59:56 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ Mississauga grad aims to 'understand people on a deeper level'

lanthierj Fri, 11/01/2024 - 15:59

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Nirmol Midha, an international student from India, says studying psychology at �鶹��Ƶ Mississauga gave her insights into human emotions and behaviours (photo by Anmoal Midha)

Topic

Subheadline

Nirmol Midha studied psychology and volunteered with campus groups that offer mental health and wellness supports

As she prepares to graduate from the University of Toronto Mississauga, Nirmol Midha is taking time to reflect on the meaningful lessons, rich experiences and diverse connections that punctuated her journey – including a passion for supporting mental health.

“It’s a really emotional time, because at UTM I developed so much, not only academically but as a person,” says Midha, an international student from India who completed an undergraduate degree in psychology.

“It was a time of self-exploration, growth and discovering my resilience.”

Midha specifically chose to study at the �鶹��Ƶ Mississauga campus because of its serene natural surroundings and the option to have two minors – in biology and political science.

She says majoring in psychology was a way for her to better understand human motivations and behaviours – and to learn how to support mental health.

“I felt a deep calling to understand people on a deeper level and support their emotional and mental well-being,” she says.

“I think that’s really important in today’s world.”

Midha says she was fascinated to learn about the how the mind develops, the structure and function of the brain, the evolution of cognition in children and how to conduct quantitative research.

She says her professors skillfully brought the topics to life.

“All of the professors at UTM taught really well. They made the concepts so engaging,” she says. “They were helpful, accommodating and always trying to offer a helping hand.”

Midha complemented her classroom learning with mental health-related extracurricular activities.

She served a term as the vice-president of the student club Mending Minds, for which she organized mental health awareness events. She also worked as the education and communication lead at The Wellness Den, a space connected with the Health & Counselling Centre that provides wellness services to support students. There, she created an escape room game to bring awareness to the Den’s offerings.

“The goal at the Den was to let students know that we all deal with academic and life pressures – and sometimes it’s a lot, but everything’s going to be fine,” she says.

Like other Class of 2024 grads, Midha’s education was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic that forced �鶹��Ƶ to hold many classes virtually for an extended period. Missing out on so much campus life was difficult, she says, but notes she was able to find her stride with online learning and maintain her circle of friends.

She says remote learning also allowed her to attend her nephew, who was unwell.

“Everything’s going to have its positives and negatives,” she says. “You just have to look at the positive side and move on with it.”

While Midha is considering future studies in social work and speech-language pathology, she is currently focused on research, administration and mental health roles.

What she knows for sure is that she wants to apply what she has learned about human psychology and wellness so she can help others. That includes through her volunteer role as vice-president of marketing for UTM Campus Connections, a club that supports community members with intellectual disabilities.

“I want to use what I’ve learned at UTM to make a meaningful impact in people’s lives,” she says. “I hope to contribute to something bigger than myself in the future.”

How did she do it? Three questions with �鶹��Ƶ grad who speaks 11 languages

mattimar — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 20:31:59 +0000

How did she do it? Three questions with �鶹��Ƶ grad who speaks 11 languages

mattimar Wed, 10/30/2024 - 16:31

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Originally from Malaysia, Xin Yi Lim is graduating from �鶹��Ƶ with a master’s in Hispanic linguistics with a collaborative specialization in diaspora and transnational studies from the department of Spanish and Portuguese (photo by Nicole In)

Topic