Situated in the heart of the academic capital of Canada and the Quebec metropolis, McGill embraces its cultural milieu and physical location to build fruitful collaborative relationships.

As an English-language university proud of its Scottish heritage and deeply rooted in la belle province, McGill continues its efforts to be a destination of choice for students from both anglophone and francophone CEGEPs and to increase the proportion of this cohort in the undergraduate student body. The University also continues to expand its offering of internship, entrepreneurship and experiential learning opportunities for all students to provide them the skills to be career-ready and future-ready.

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Goals

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 Increasing the number of applications and the yield rate from all Québec CEGEPs and colleges

Since 2017, McGill increased the number of applications from all CEGEPs by 22% (Fall 2022). This is a positive outcome, which reflects our ongoing efforts to increase access to higher education for students from local communities. We remain committed to exploring new strategies to increase the number of CEGEP students enrolling at McGill, aiming in particular to increase the number of offers made to English-speaking students, and to improve the yield rate for French-speaking students. We will continue to focus on this important area and prioritize our outreach to CEGEPs across Quebec.

     

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 Increasing the number of new registrations from French language CEGEPs and colleges by 15%       

McGill’s efforts to improve its outreach and engagement with francophone communities have resulted in a 4.5% (Fall 2022) increase in new registrations from French language CEGEPs. While this progress is commendable, our University will continue to strengthen its ties with French language institutions and communities to ensure that McGill's doors remain open to talented Francophone students from all regions of Québec and that the representation of this cohort continues to grow.  

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 Extending the outreach to Indigenous communities and increase Indigenous student enrolment to 1,000

The number of self-declared Indigenous students on our campuses rose from approximately 325 in 2016-2017 to 602 in 2021-2022. This partial but encouraging achievement reinforces our commitment to increasing Indigenous enrollment to 1,000, and strengthens our determination to improve our strategies and continue to allocate resources to this critical goal.

Responses to Calls to Action related to Indigenous student enrolment:

• In 2017, a second Indigenous Outreach Associate position was created for Indigenous Recruitment. (Call to Action 3)
• In 2019, with the launch of the new Indigenous Enrolment Strategy, this role evolved to focus on relationship building with Indigenous communities and the development of outreach programming, while offering support for recruitment activities. (Call to Action 3)
• The Indigenous Health Curriculum Committee increased allocation by two, for a total of six seats for Indigenous students to enter the Quebec First Nations and Inuit Faculties of Medicine Program. (Call to Action 9)
• In 2019, the School of Social Work allocated permanent funding to Indigenous Access McGill to ensure the ongoing support of Indigenous students enrolled in Social Work at McGill. (Call to Action 14)

Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies:

• Indigenous Graduate Excellence Recruitment Fellowship (IGEF): In support of the 52 Calls to Actions for Truth and Reconciliation at McGill, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies offers recruitment awards to Indigenous applicants to graduate degree programs. Since its inception in 2021, this program has benefitted 83 Indigenous incoming students for a total of $451,250. This includes confirmed commitments for 2023/24.

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Advancing Indigeneity through a comprehensive plan that prioritizes Indigenous studies, education, knowledges, cultures and languages, foster partnership building and advance Truth and Reconciliation.

The 2017 Provost's Task Force Final Report on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education is McGill's foundational roadmap for advancing Indigeneity on our campuses and in our curricula, and for guiding our community on the path of Truth and Reconciliation. Since then, a number of Calls to Action have been answered, more are underway, and the addition of new voices, expertise and perspectives within the McGill community allows us to further develop and improve our Indigenous strategy.

Progress on the 52 Calls to Action

This past year, McGill has initiated or progressed in 19 specific Calls to Actions, representing growth in all five areas of our plan.

Calls to Action answered and further expanded:

• The Office of Indigenous Initiatives has been established in the Office of the PVPA, under the leadership of Prof. Celeste Pedri-Spade, Associate Provost (Indigenous Initiatives). (Call to Action 48)

In 2022-2023, the OII has expanded to include additional full-time positions:

• Associate Director, Indigenous Initiatives
• Indigenous Initiatives Associate
• Indigenous Student Associate

• The relocation of the Hochelaga Rock is complete. It was moved to a more prominent site on the lower downtown campus of McGill. The Hochelaga Rock has been identified as a key element of Indigenous representation on campus. (Call to Action 18)
• While an official Land Acknowledgement has been adopted, some revisions are currently under consideration through the Indigenous Initiatives unit. (Call to Action 19)
• The men's varsity team name was officially changed in April 2019. (Call to Action 21)
• The Indigenous Initiatives unit is providing centralized, responsive support to Indigenous Health Professions Program colleagues. (Call to Action 29)
• The Campus Planning Development Office and the Indigenous Studies Program have identified a location and develop a space that meets the needs of the Indigenous Studies Program. (Call to Action 31)

Other initiatives:

Hiawatha Wampum Belt Flag Raising Ceremony

Each year, in honour of National Indigenous Peoples Day, McGill raises the Hiawatha Wampum Belt Flag from the McCall MacBain Arts Building. Inaugurated at McGill in 2018, the ceremony stems from Call to Action 28.

Indigenous Faculty and Staff Welcome Ceremony

In April 2023, McGill held its annual Indigenous Faculty and Staff Ceremony, welcoming 15 new colleagues, bringing the total number of Indigenous faculty and staff to 45, including 22 faculty staff. In its 2017 Final Report, the Task Force called upon the University to set a target of appointing at least 35 Indigenous tenure-track or tenured professors by 2032. (Call to Action 44)

Indigenous Citizenship Verification in Employment-Related Opportunities (ICVERO) Working Group

Established in January 2023 by the OII, the ICVERO Working Group was tasked with guiding the development of institutional policies and procedures related to verifying Indigenous citizenship claims in hiring, with the goal of ensuring that faculty and staff positions intended for Indigenous Peoples are filled by Indigenous Peoples. The work of the ICVERO Working Group extends from Calls to Action 44 and 52.

Policy on Cultural Protocols

The OII is in the process of creating an official cultural protocol document to provide our university with guidelines related to Indigenous ceremonial practices and to provide information for working with Indigenous people.

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Connecting with Black communities, locally and globally

Pick Your Path for Black Youth (PYP)

An integral part of Branches, McGill’s Community Outreach Program, PYP is a mentorship program connecting Black High School and CEGEP students with Black McGill students and graduates. Throughout the program, participants meet with their mentor individually, attend workshops focused on university readiness and complete a personal project about their academic journey.

The second edition of the program took place from October 15, 2022 to March 26, 2023. A total of 26 students and parents registered and took part in the program, achieving the goal of increasing the number of participants from 10 the previous year to 25. In addition, 25 mentors signed up and participated in the program. In total, five student workshops and eight parents' workshops were organised during this period.

Impact on participants: Five of the eight eligible students who applied to McGill this year will be enrolled in the Fall 2023 semester, and all indicated that the PYP program was instrumental in their decision.

Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Anti-Black Racism Initiative Recruitment Awards: GPS offers Graduate Excellence Recruitment Awards to Black applicants to our graduate degree programs, as well as for incoming Black Postdoctoral Fellows. These awards are offered in support of McGill’s Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism by nomination of their unit, based on self-identification during the admissions process. To date, 111 Black students have received a recruitment award under this initiative, for a total commitment of $753,500 since 2021. This includes confirmed commitments for 2023/24.

BE-STEMM 2023

McGill University was one of the sponsors of the 2023 National virtual conference for Black Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine/Health (BE-STEMM 2023). The second annual Black Excellence in STEMM virtual conference was held February 1 - 4, 2023, with a total of over 1,500 conference platform users from across the country.

Alumni and donor support for Anti-Black Racism initiatives

In 2022-2023, McGill alumni and donors around the world continued to give their time, energy and funds towards initiatives that support McGill’s Black students, faculty members and graduates. In addition, McGill used its alumni communications and engagement vehicles to help celebrate McGill’s Black community and spotlight the University’s overall commitment to acknowledge and address anti-Black racism.

Employment Opportunities

Job postings continue to be sent to targeted Black community associations. From July 2022 to June 2023, 30 postings were forwarded to these Black community association partners. 14 different Faculties and units at McGill have contributed job postings to this outreach initiative. Since July 2022, a total of 453 applicants heard of McGill University postings through our Black community association partners and 11 were hired.

Partnerships

The Anti-Black Racism Working Group engages continuously on a variety of activities with the Black community at McGill and outside the campuses. Their newsletter goes out to Black community organizations in Montreal to provide updates on our activities and initiatives. As an example, the Black Student Affairs Liaison and the Black Community Outreach Associate are respectively in conversation with Black community organizations for student’s placement and with local High Schools and CEGEPs in Montreal to promote and recruit for the Pick Your Path initiative.

Crowdfunding initiatives

Crowdfunding at McGill provides the opportunity for student and faculty-led initiatives to raise funds for their cause through a McGill-supported web platform. More than $20,000 was raised through crowdfunding for initiatives including diversity in STEM, summer research experiences for BIPOC students in Physics, outreach to promote the study of Law in Black communities, and student-led mentorship for racialized students in Dentistry:

• McGill Dental Inclusion Program

The McGill Dental Inclusion Program (MDIP) is a non-profit mentorship program lead by the students of the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences and is aimed towards students from marginalized populations (Black, Indigenous, low SES, other visible minorities). Its mission is to inspire, motivate, and encourage students from underrepresented populations to pursue the DMD program at McGill.

• Black Law Student Association Outreach Project

This project aims to promote the inclusion of Black and racialized students in the Faculty of Law by prioritizing the values of diversity, empowerment, leadership, and education.

• Department of Physics BIPOC Summer Research Experience

This initiative provides summer research experiences for BIPOC students, helping them get a foot in the door and discovering the world of research as a welcoming space for students from all backgrounds.

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Enhancing internship and entrepreneurship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students

The McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship continues to be a driving force in promoting entrepreneurship and internship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at McGill. Through its various initiatives, the Centre has helped to create a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem on campus that encourages students to explore their entrepreneurial ambitions and gain hands-on experience.

The Centre has more than 400 active startups, raised $1.5+ Billion and created more than 8,000 new jobs.

Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Doctoral Internship Program

Launched in 2017, the Doctoral Internship Program offers graduate students the opportunity to learn and grow outside of academia through a remunerated internship of a period of 1 to 3 months. Students have the opportunity to enhance the skills they have developed as graduate students, and to gain new professional expertise that will aid in their transition from university to the workplace. Since the start of the program, 155 students have completed a doctoral internship.

Graduate Internship Program for Engineering and Computer Science

The Graduate Internship Program for Engineering and Computer Science (GrIPECS) provides opportunities of paid internships to students in non-thesis programs in Engineering and Computer Science to complement their studies and help their transition into the Quebec job market. Launched in late 2022, the program has already helped secure 10 internships for McGill students.

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Quantified targets:  Achieved or surpassed   |  Partially achieved   |  Not achieved

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