Executive Summary
Introduction
The purpose of this report is to summarize the 2019-20 business plan objectives and outcomes for Seneca.
Covering three main areas of focus – Institutional Growth, Academic Excellence and Partnerships – this summary will provide a snapshot of the many initiatives Seneca has successfully accomplished over the past 12 months.
Institutional Growth
Seneca continues to renew our programs and credentials while expanding our footprint in the Greater Toronto Area and internationally.
Seneca opened Seneca Downtown, a campus in the heart of Toronto’s financial district. It is a key delivery location for the also newly launched Centre for Graduate and Professional Studies, where flexible learning formats are used to enable students to study while they continue to work. Seneca Downtown demonstrates Seneca’s ability to continuously offer diverse learning options to match the changing needs of both students and the market.
Internationally, Seneca continues to expand our global footprint through projects such as the opening of the Seneca TIMSR Fintech Centre in partnership with the Thakur Institute of Management Studies and Research in Mumbai. Its focus will include academic and applied research collaboration, as well as Seneca programs in flexible learning modules.
Academic Excellence
Combining career and professional skills training with theoretical knowledge to provide a polytechnic education, academic excellence is the cornerstone of all that we do at Seneca.
Seneca launched nine new programs at various credential levels, with a focus on cross-disciplinary learning, in emerging sectors and high-demand sectors. They include: graduate certificates launched in Cybersecurity & Threat Management, Cannabis Regulation & Quality Assurance and an honours bachelor’s degree in Data Science & Analytics.
Across all faculties, more than 500 hours were moved partially or fully online, in addition to courses identified for flexible learning delivery.
Seneca continued to advance experiential learning opportunities for students through the use of technology platforms, including the involvement of Seneca Business in more than 365 Riipen projects. Seven Seneca teams participated in the 2019 Skills Ontario Competition. Work Integrated Learning (WIL) job postings increased from 3,763 to 4,254 in 2019.
Partnerships
Seneca continues to build on academic and industry partnerships to enrich work and learning experiences for our students, including the Humber-Seneca Polytechnic Partnership. Significant progress has been made on this collaboration with foundation operational plans for 2019-20 completed and a shared procurement process now established. A number of academic pathways have been built or are under development.
Numerous pathway agreements have been signed with institutions around the world, including the University of Arts London, the University of Manchester, Northeastern University and Royal Veterinary College, University of London. In Ontario we signed agreements with Loyalist, Cambrian, Canadore, Confederation, Lambton, Mohawk and Niagara colleges.
International partnerships continued to expand with agreements with institutions in Peru, The Gambia, Thailand and India, among others.
Industry partnerships remain critical, underpinning Seneca’s ongoing commitment to collaboration and innovation. Several such partnerships were signed, including a five- year collaboration with CAE and Jazz Aviation to develop a new all-Canadian cadet pilot training program.
Seneca also partnered with Toronto Finance International to launch a new Cybersecurity & Threat Management graduate certificate program to meet the growing needs across all industries for skilled graduates.
Seneca continues to excel and innovate in our unique programs, our local and global partnerships and in our mission to deliver exceptional student experiences. As a leading postsecondary institution, Seneca continues to provide our students with the critical education and skills required to the meet the challenges for the workforce, whatever comes our way.