Articles from:June 2022

• Brock, MTechHub working to strengthen Canadian manufacturing through partnership

  Wednesday, June 29, 2022 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 29 June 2022 – R0075

  Brock University and MTechHub have combined forces to enhance the skills of workers in the Canadian manufacturing industry.

  The two organizations formalized their partnership with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at an event held Wednesday, June 29.

  Through the partnership, Brock University’s Professional and Continuing Studies will work with MTechHub, a Burlington-based organization that supports digital transformation for Canadian manufacturing, to develop a set of unique educational opportunities for manufacturing workers that will combine online and classroom learning, hands-on labs, work-integrated projects and factory workshops.

  The MOU, Brock’s first in the manufacturing sector, is an important example of the University’s ongoing commitment to contributing to the well-being and vitality of the community and beyond, says Interim President and Vice-Chancellor Lynn Wells.

  “Manufacturing is an essential part of Ontario’s economy and our collaboration with MTechHub will not only facilitate opportunities to support today’s industrial manufacturers, but also the next generation of Ontario’s manufacturing industry,” she says. “This partnership with MTechHub is a key part of Brock’s commitment to supporting education and innovation for the future of the manufacturing industry, and will create avenues for further collaboration in research, service and student experiential learning.”

  Mark Corker, MTechHub Executive Director, says a shortage of skilled workers remains a universal problem in Canadian manufacturing, with the labour market lacking the knowledge needed to implement new technologies to move the sector forward.

  “MTechHub is excited to partner with Brock University to develop a set of unique integrated education, micro-credentials and Smart Factory adoption programs,” he says. “Brock’s world-class education resources, curriculum designers and adult-learning expertise combined with MTechHub’s proven tech stacks will provide Canadian small and mid-size enterprises with the tools to accelerate the move to the Smart Factory. This will improve productivity, employment and export growth.”

  April-Dawn Blackwell, Brock’s Associate Vice-President, Professional and Continuing Studies, says the department is focused on “connecting with industry and community to build partnerships that facilitate systemic and systematic opportunities for change and growth.”

  “Through our customized training and education solutions, the partnership with MTechHub is one example in which the University is expanding our educational offerings to upskill and reskill individual’s career advancement and employer prosperity,” she says.

  The community is already welcoming the partnership with open arms.

  Shann McGrail, Executive Director of the Haltech Regional Innovation Centre, where Wednesday’s event was held, says the organization “values the working relationship with Brock and MTechHub for the benefit it brings to our clients and the innovation community.”

  “Through access to talent, strengthened supports for entrepreneurs, industry expertise and programs, this partnership extends the resources and relationships for start-up and scale-up companies,” she says. “The result will be game-changing products and services in market, accelerated growth, and economic impact.”

  Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward says the City, which signed its own MOU with Brock in fall 2020, is looking forward to seeing the University enhance its presence in the community.

  “One of the pillars of the City’s Strategic Plan is to be a city that grows,” she says. “Welcoming Brock University to the Burlington community will be a big leap towards fulfilling the vision we have for the City of Burlington.”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University [email protected] or 905-941-6209

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock research exploring impact of 2S&LGBTQ+ representation on young gamers

  Wednesday, June 29, 2022 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 28 June 2022 – R0074

  More than simply a thrilling adventure, video games for Dane Di Cesare were a safe escape.

  The Assistant Professor in Brock University’s Faculty of Education recalls turning to virtual worlds in his younger days to get away from homophobic bullying he experienced in real life.

  Games of that time, however, rarely showed positive portrayals of people from Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (2S&LGBTQ+) communities.

  Today, while 2S&LGBTQ+ representation is increasing in other media, such as movies and television, it remains limited in most video games, Di Cesare says, adding it is still often stereotypical, problematic or completely absent.

  That representation, and its influence on young gamers, is at the centre of his latest research project.

  Through LEVEL UP!, Di Cesare is exploring ways video games and gaming communities impact the well-being and identity development of 2S&LGBTQ+ youth aged 14 to 29.

  The study will examine 2S&LGBTQ+ representation in video game characters and storylines across all game genres and platforms, as well as positive and negative experiences while gaming alone, with others or on streaming channels such as Twitch.

  To accomplish this, the project’s research team — co-led by Di Cesare and Shelley Craig, Professor at the University of Toronto and Canada Research Chair for Sexual and Gender Minority Youth — aims to survey 5,000 youth across Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Australia and Mexico, in addition to conducting interviews in Canada.

  “As a queer person, and as a gamer as well, this is something that I saw in my own experiences,” Di Cesare says of the lack of representation. “Growing up, I never saw myself represented in the characters and storylines within games.”

  That representation is key in games, he says, because players are active participants in the media they’re consuming.

  “If you’re watching a movie or a TV show, you’re there as a passive participant. If you are able to see yourself represented, that’s both powerful and affirming,” Di Cesare says. “Video games offer a bit of a different experience because you are controlling a character. Oftentimes, where the character ends and where you begin gets blurred as you project parts of yourself onto the character and into the storyline. There is the potential for representation to matter even more in this context, and this is something we are interested in examining.”

  The study, he says, can provide a better understanding of the needs of 2S&LGBTQ+ youth and, in turn, gaps in supports, to determine how to serve them better in all settings, including the classroom.

  “We need to make sure that we’re doing more than just supporting them, that we are helping them flourish and thrive,” he says.

  Di Cesare hopes the project’s findings will help game developers understand the need for representation in games and the teams that create them, and that the research will be used to help social and game streaming platforms create safe online spaces that eliminate hate raids, a type of co-ordinated harassment, and other forms of homophobia online.

  LEVEL UP! is an initiative of the International Partnership for Queer Youth Resilience(INQYR), a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council-funded interdisciplinary research partnership aiming to support the resilience of 2S&LGBTQ+ youth using technology-engaged research and practice.

  To learn more about the study and how 2S&LGBTQ+ youth can participate, visit the INQYR website.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University [email protected] or 905-941-6209

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  Categories: Media releases