CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence

St. Lawrence boss Berryman ‘optimistic’ on eve of new term

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St. Lawrence boss Berryman ‘optimistic’ on eve of new term

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Despite strict language guidelines and a student population cap, CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence boss Edward Berryman said he is “very optimistic” about the future of Quebec City’s only English junior college as a new session is set to begin.

Berryman, whose official title is director of the constituent college and director of studies, told the QCT in an interview that one immediate challenge is, faced with an excess of applicants, getting student numbers down to the government-allowed limit within the deadline.

He said St. Lawrence is not at risk of incurring a fine on the scale of the nearly $30 million the Ministry of Education slapped on Montreal’s LaSalle College for enrolling more than 1,000 too many students in its English-language programs.

“We’re under Law 14 [for- merly Bill 96] and there is a maximum of students we are allowed to have, and currently we’re above. So, of course, there’s still time left. The actual official count of the number of full-time students is done after the first drop [deadline] on Sept. 19. So, but currently we’re above our cap, and if we stay above, well, there’s a financial penalty and that is pretty steep. So that’s our concern,” Berryman said. “Otherwise, of course, we have all the students we need and there’s no more hirings to be done. So everything is under control on that aspect. We’ll be very ready when classes begin.”

St. Lawrence has a maximum full-time student population of about 960, of whom about 75 per cent are francophones who attended high school in French. About 20 per cent are “certificate-holders” – students with the constitutional right to attend English public elementary or secondary schools – and the rest are allophones, recent immigrants and international students.

Berryman said St. Lawrence has the highest percentage of francophone non-certificate holders of all English CEGEPs in the province, compared, for example, to John Abbott College in Montreal’s West Island with about a 60/40 anglo/franco mix, and Dawson College with about a 50/50 mix.

The new language requirements of Law 14 are also an issue for some students, Berryman said. “I think one of the challenges is the fact that for the anglophone student whose mastery of French is limited, it becomes quite a challenge to get a diploma, because there are now courses in French or of French that a student has to take. So that may pose a challenge for a small number of our students. They didn’t have to deal with that before.”

Berryman said he is pleased with the high success rate of students taking the French exit exam (Épreuve uniforme de français) required to get a diploma. He said the college’s 95 per cent pass rate is 10 per cent higher than the average at francophone CEGEPs.

As the new term nears, Berryman said the college faces no staffing issues. “This year is quite stable. You know, we will cross our fingers but usually on the days prior to the start of the fall semester, there’s always that panic of missing faculty members for different reasons: impossibility to find someone, someone’s decided to take sabbatical or whatever, sick leave. But this fall it looks good. So we’re not looking for any teachers as we speak, but again I’m crossing my fingers. You never know what can happen in one week.”

On the academic front, Berryman noted the launch of a brand new arts, literature and communications program, a “local version … that is more oriented towards creativity and creation, so I think better adapted to the expectations and the needs of our students.”

This term also marks the second year of the revised science program, he said, as well as completing the revision of the business program that will be launched next fall. “So it’s academically very active. It’s been a very active period and still is. In a three-year time span, we will have revised and renewed all our programs. So it’s a very remarkable period in that regard.”

Berryman said, “I’m fundamentally quite optimistic about the future of English colleges, and for St. Lawrence in particular. We can adopt laws, but one thing remains is that there’s a fundamental social need to learn to master English. The open world market, it’s a little bit less open than it was a year ago, but the fundamental need is there. No country is an island anymore, and like it or not, English is an international language and therefore the need is there. When students enrol at St. Lawrence, it’s not a comment on French culture, on Quebec culture, it’s a comment on the usefulness, the functionality of and the advantages that come with knowing to read, write, speak in English, period. I’m therefore very optimistic, despite the ups and downs of political life and worries that can emerge in a society. I’m very confident.”

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New English high school ‘great news’ for St. Lawrence: Berryman

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New English high school ‘great news’ for St. Lawrence: Berryman

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence could be a beneficiary of the new combined English high school, the college’s director of studies has said.

In late July, the Central Québec School Board received the go-ahead from the Quebec ministry of education for the call for tenders to build a $200-million-plus secondary school to replace the aging buildings housing St. Patrick’s High School and Quebec High School (QHS); the high school section of Dollard-des-Ormeaux School in Shannon would also be absorbed into the new school (See article in Aug. 6 edition).

Depending on construction complications or other delays, the new school, to be built on the site of the now abandoned St. Vincent Elementary School on Ave. Wolfe, could welcome students in the fall of 2028.

Edward Berryman, director of the constituent college and director of studies at St. Lawrence, told the QCT, “I think it’s about time that we have a modern facility for our anglophone high school population.”

He said the QHS and St. Pat’s buildings “simply don’t meet the needs of 21st-century education.”

The project to build a new English high school in Quebec City dates back to 2017, when parents’ committee members from the two schools urged the CQSB to push the project forward.

A major motivation for the project was to have a modern English high school able to compete for students with the better-resourced French public and private schools. Students graduating from an English high school get priority for admission to an English CEGEP.

Berryman said, “All those big projects take a while, but we’re looking forward to seeing that school open and welcoming their graduates … I’m sure it’s going to bring a new energy to those students that will be studying there in the years to come.”

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Former board member sues St. Lawrence

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Former board member sues St. Lawrence

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

A former member of the CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence establishment board is suing the CEGEP, director of studies Edward Berryman and human resources director Lyne Larivière amid al- legations of psychological harassment, the QCT learned on Aug. 10. The case was filed in Quebec Superior Court on July 22 and will be heard as soon as the court’s schedule permits.

Helen Walling joined the CEGEP’s establishment board in 2016 and became board chair in September 2020. She said that in January 2022, she received an email saying she and several colleagues were being investigated for psychological harassment. She was later told she was being investigated for harassment against the school’s management team, most of whom she had never met due to pandemic-era work-from-home guidelines. She learned of the specific allegations against her in April of that year.

A third-party consulting firm, Latitude Management, was hired to investigate the allegations against Walling and her colleagues; Walling said that in November 2022, Anaïs Lacroix, a lawyer working for the consulting firm, told her she had been cleared of the allegations against her. She left the board at the end of that month.

Walling said Berryman never told her his concerns before she was accused of harass- ment, and that the 14 allegations related to “banal” differences of opinion. “As board chair, I’m asking questions. If you’re not happy, let’s have a conversation. I never knew he was this upset,” she told the QCT. “Had he said, ‘Helen, I just need to talk to you,’ this never would have gone anywhere.”

In the 11 months between when she learned of the allegations and when she left the board, Walling, who was serving in a volunteer capacity while running a life coaching business and completing a PhD, said her professional life and her health were impacted by the stress. She is suing the CEGEP, Berryman and Larivière for approximately $80,000, including $30,000 for the financial impact of missed work.

The QCT was unable to obtain the full court filing before press time on Monday.

Three cases

Walling’s case is the second of three ongoing legal cases of which the QCT is aware, involving alleged psychological harassment by Berryman and Larivière against former teachers or board members. The first such case, involving longtime teacher Lisa Birch, went before the province’s labour tribunal in early 2024. In that case, arbitrator Julie Blouin ruled that the college had failed to ensure a psychologically safe work environment for Birch. Blouin’s ruling lays out a sequence of events similar to what Walling said happened in her own case. In January 2022, Birch was told she was being investigated for psychological harassment. In response, she filed three grievances alleging psychological harassment towards her and failure to ensure a safe workplace. She alleged that the college never made clear what she was accused of, and subjected her to a drawn-out investigation including no-contact protocols that isolated her from colleagues. She was also led to believe multiple people had filed complaints against her when only one person – Berryman – had. “The investigation should never have happened,” Blouin ruled. In June 2024, the college appealed the decision; as of this writing, the appeal has not been heard.

“Since the case before the court, we are saving our arguments for the hearing. The college will not give further comments,” the college said in a brief statement. It is rare for a defendant in a civil case to comment publicly while the case is pending.

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CELEBRATING THE CLASS OF 2025: CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence honours graduates and teachers

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CELEBRATING THE CLASS OF 2025: CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence honours graduates and teachers

Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

cassandra@qctonline.com

The Class of 2025 of CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence (SLC) entered the darkened hall of Le Montmartre on June 6 to the sound of Edward Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance.” Hundreds of graduates dressed in caps and gowns, and their families and friends, attended a ceremony to mark a milestone in their academic lives.

Graduates and parents lingered outdoors for photos be- fore being called into the hall. At 7:30 p.m., the ceremony began with speeches given by communications advisor Emma Lawrence and director of the constituent college and director of studies Edward Berryman.

Before the graduates and student award winners were named, the school honoured its dedicated faculty. This year, the AQPC Excellence in Teaching Award went to history professor Geneviève Ribordy. The students selected her fellow history professor Thomas Welham for the SLC Student Association Recognition Award.

The Highest Academic Achievement awards went to Hirad Haghbayan (science), Ève Richard (social science), Charlie Tremblay Groleau (P.W. Sims Business Program) and Harun Trtak (arts, literature and communications). Haghbayan also received the Highest Overall Academic Achievement Award, the Champlain Regional College Board of Governors’ Merit Award and the Governor General’s Medal. The prestigious Loran Honour Citation went to Tristan Massicotte. The Lieutenant-Governor’s Award went to Merrick Marshall and Paloma Calleja.

Of the 30 awards presented, Tremblay Groleau received four: the Puissance Onze Award, the Ernst and Young Award, the Beneva Resilience Scholarship and the Highest Academic Achievement Award in the P.W. Sims Business Program. As president of the SLC Student Association, he also gave the closing speech.

“I am truly honoured to have this chance to speak on behalf of the Class of 2025,” he said. “After our time here, we have come to understand that St. Lawrence is much, much more than an anglophone CEGEP in a francophone city. It is because we are small that we were able to have such a memorable and personal CEGEP experience, whether it was with our classmates or the dedicated faculty through extracurricular activities, studies, sports and clubs.” He concluded, “On behalf of the class, I thank you, St. Lawrence, and to the Class of 2025, continue to make a positive reputation.”

A full list of graduates and award winners follows below the photos.

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Union federation calls on St. Lawrence to drop Birch appeal amid cuts

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Union federation calls on St. Lawrence to drop Birch appeal amid cuts

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

The union federation which represents thousands of CEGEP teachers in the province is calling on CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence to drop its contestation of a labour tribunal ruling, amid wider provincial cuts to CEGEP funding.

The Fédération nationale des enseignantes et des enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ-CSN) is “dismayed by the misuse of public funds by Champlain Regional College St. Lawrence Campus,” FNEEQ-CSN vice president for CEGEPs Yves De Repentigny said in a statement. “Although arbitrator Julie Blouin delivered a strong and unequivocal decision against the college on May 1, 2024, finding that teacher Lisa Birch had been subjected to psychological harassment, the administration continues to pursue costly proceedings instead of taking the necessary corrective action.”

Blouin, a Tribunal d’arbitration du travail (TAT) arbitrator, ruled last year that the college had failed to ensure a safe workplace for Birch, a long- time teacher and former union representative. The ruling stated that in January 2022, Birch was told she was being investigated for psychological harassment. In response, supported by the faculty union, she filed three grievances alleging psychological harassment and failure to ensure a safe workplace. She alleged that the college never made clear what she was accused of, and subjected her to a drawn-out investigation including no-contact protocols that isolated her from colleagues. She was also led to believe multiple people had filed complaints against her when only one person – director of studies Edward Berryman – had. “The investigation should never have happened,” Blouin ruled.

The college mandated lawyers to appeal the decision in June 2024. The college is also separately contesting a decision by the province’s workplace health and safety board (CNESST) on Birch’s disability claim be- fore the TAT, according to the FNEEQ-CSN, of which the St. Lawrence faculty union is a member.

The Champlain Regional Col- lege (CRC) board, which oversees operations at St. Lawrence and the two other CEGEPs in the CRC system, in Saint-Lambert and Lennoxville, decided at the time to “acknowledge [its] shortcomings,” commission a workplace climate survey for St. Lawrence and explore alterna- tive conflict resolution methods. The survey, obtained by the QCT, raised concerns about teachers’ schedules and workloads and teacher-management relations; it is unclear what has been done in regards to conflict resolution methods.

“It has been a year since [the initial ruling], and we see that not only has [St. Lawrence] not put corrective measures in place, but it’s contesting the TAT decision and the disability [claim] granted by the CNESST,” De Repentigny said. “We don’t understand this insistence. It makes no sense that in a period where we’re imposing budget cuts and hiring freezes, they are wasting taxpayer money to pile onto a teacher who has been a victim of harassment.”

Last month, the Fédération des Cégeps said CEGEPs would have to cut more than $151 million in spending as a result of government cutbacks, an “unprecedented” amount. De Repentigny said St. Lawrence would have to absorb an estimated $325,000 in cuts, although the QCT could not independently confirm that number.

“For 12 months, instead of admitting its faults … [St. Lawrence] has poured its efforts into contesting the arbitration decision, hiring investigators and lawyers, throwing tens of thousands of dollars after the hundreds of thousands it has already spent on this saga. This is money that won’t be spent on serving its students,” De Repentigny said.

CRC corporate affairs administrative agent Nathalie Couderc said the college would not comment on eventual budget cuts. The CRC administration had not responded to a separate request for comment on the Birch appeal by press time.

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CEGEPs honour Indigenous achievement at St. Lawrence

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CEGEPs honour Indigenous achievement at St. Lawrence

Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

cassandra@qctonline.com

For the first time, the four CEGEPs of Quebec City honoured Indigenous students at a recognition gala for the Indigenous college community of Quebec. On May 2, the ceremony welcomed recipients, family, friends and community members for a cocktail, gala dinner and show at CEGEP Champlain- St. Lawrence.

The ceremony opened with a land acknowledgement followed by an opening prayer by Wendat elder Yolande Picard. “Throughout my life, I never considered higher education important, but now, after re- flection, I have realized that it is greatly important in today’s age because my education has allowed me to tour the world and to be here this evening,” she said after the prayer. “Thanks for recognizing the value of our youth and their hard work. Thanks for recognizing our peoples, because they’re just as important and valuable as any other people.”

“In a spirit of friendship and solidarity, inspired by Université Laval’s territorial acknowledgement, I pay tribute to the First Peoples who welcome our college and all of its activities onto their ancestral territories,” said Edward Berryman, director of studies at St. Lawrence. “Since we are at the crossroads of the Nionwentsïo of the Wendat people, the Ndakina of the Wabanaki people, the Nitassinan of the Innu people, the Nitaskinan of the Atikamekw people and the Wolastokuk of the Wolastoqey people, we honour our relationships with one another.

“Dear students, this gala is an opportunity to recognize your remarkable journeys of resilience and commitment, to celebrate your voices and, through them, those of your families and communities, and to highlight your unique contributions that enrich our college and community life,” said Berryman. “You bring knowledge, cultures, visions and dreams that transform our institutions, step by step. Tonight’s event, which brings us together around you, is a magnificent example of how far we have come and the hopes we can nurture for generations to come!”

To celebrate the students’ hard work and dedication, the Indigenous community organized the first Recognition Gala for Indigenous CEGEP students in Quebec City, inspired by a similar ceremony at Cégep de Sept-Îles, created by Innu author Naomi Fontaine. The gala ceremony was held in English, French and several Indigenous languages.

Members of the community and alumni from the four participating CEGEPs (St. Lawrence, Garneau, Sainte-Foy and Limoilou) distributed four awards to the 16 participants: Leadership and Community Engagement; Promotion of Indigenous Cultures; Resilience and Perseverance; and Solidarity and Collaborative Spirit. The Puamun Meshkenu organization also awarded a Coup de Cœur scholarship. After the ceremony, attendees enjoyed a buffet dinner and a concert with a live band.

The full list of award winners is below:

Leadership and Community Engagement

– Frédérique-Christina Picard (Innu Nation; Cégep Limoilou)

– Hugo Picard Copeau (Innu Nation; Pessamit, Que.; Cégep Limoilou)

– Laurence Vollant-Vachon (Innu Nation; Pessamit, Que.; Cégep de Sainte-Foy)

–  William-Frédéric Bacon-Hervieux (Innu Nation; Cégep Garneau)

Promotion of Indigenous Cultures

– Émilie Labbé-Hervieux (Innu Nation: Pessamit, Que.; Cégep Limoilou)

– Janie Fontaine (Innu Nation; Pessamit, Que.; Cégep de Sainte-Foy)

– Kimi Ottawa-Flamand (Atikamekw Nation; Manawan, Que.; Cégep Garneau)

-Logan Morsillo (Ojibway Nation; Matachewan, Ont.; St. Lawrence)

Resilience and Perseverance

– Anne-Marie Riverin Rousselot (Innu Nation; Pessamit, Que.; Cégep de Sainte-Foy)

– Ève Jean (Wendat Nation; Cégep Garneau)

– Jennifer Côté-Wapachee (Cree Nation of Eeyou Istchee; Cégep de Sainte-Foy)

– Julianne Labbé (Wendake, Que.; Cégep Limoilou)

– Stecy Jourdain (Innu Nation; Uashat mak Mani-Utenam, Que.; Cégep Garneau)

Solidarity and Collaborative Spirit

– Aiden Aqpik-Savard (Inuit Nation; Iqaluit, Nunavut; Cégep Limoilou)

– Amélie André (Innu Nation, Maliotenam, Que.; Cégep de Sainte-Foy)

– Louis-Félix Morin (Abenaki Nation; Odanak, Que.; Cégep Garneau)

Puamun Meshkenu Coup de Coeur award

Laurence Vollant-Vachon (Innu Nation; Pessamit, Que.; Cégep de Ste-Foy)

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St. Lawrence grad Dr. Joanne Liu recounts life as humanitarian

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St. Lawrence grad Dr. Joanne Liu recounts life as humanitarian

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Despite trying to alleviate an unimaginable amount of human suffering all around the planet, CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence grad Dr. Joanne Liu still has hope for humanity.

Liu, a McGill University medical school graduate, former president of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) and longtime pediatric emergency doctor at Hôpital Sainte-Justine in Montreal, spoke on April 10 to a packed auditorium at her alma mater, describing, with the help of images on a screen, her life as a global humanitarian activist.

The content of her 35-minute presentation was essentially the same as the one she had been asked to give to New York University in March; that talk was cancelled at the last minute by university officials over concerns about references to the situation in Gaza and the Trump administration’s cuts to USAID.

Liu had studied her pediatric emergency specialization at NYU.

She began her talk, much of which she deals with in her new book, L’Ébola, les bombes et les migrants, by explaining how the daughter of Chinese immigrants who opened a restaurant in Quebec City 50 years ago ended up as a doctor working in many of the world’s disaster zones.

She explained she had “an existential crisis” as a teenager, during which she read Albert Camus’ The Plague, a fictionalized account of an epidemic in Algeria. Rejecting the main character’s pessimism, she vowed, “I would never trivialize death and I would fight for life.”

From there, her life followed a seeming path of destiny. She participated in the Katimavik youth program, which led to her enrolling at CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence. She recalled how she saw a poster in the campus cafeteria for the Canadian Crossroads International program and decided to sign up.

After three stints working in the West African country of Mali over the summer break, Liu said, “This is it, I want to become a doctor.”

Getting into medical school, however, was not automatic. She said former campus director Jean Robert, her student advisor at the time, had suggested she apply to McGill because admissions are partly based on interviews. “He said, ‘If you get an interview, you’re going to ace it.’ And I did – and you’re going to ace it too,” she addressed the gathered students.

“St. Lawrence gave me everything I needed to become a physician,” Liu said.

From her first mission with MSF in Mauritius in 1996, Liu has worked in more than 30 crisis zones, all the while moving up the worldwide organization’s ladder, serving as Canadian president (2004-2009), then international head from 2013 to 2019.

It was during her stint as international president that she had to deal with an exceptionally tragic incident in a war zone – the bombing by U.S. forces of the MSF hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, in August 2015.

Showing before and after aerial photos of the site, Liu noted how the airstrike was so precise the hospital building was destroyed, but “not a leaf was lost” on trees in a nearby grove of trees.

In the aftermath of the incident, which killed 42 people and injured 30, Liu led a campaign at the United Nations for it to adopt a resolution to protect the wounded and medical and humanitarian personnel in war zones.

Despite the measure, Liu said, “not much has changed” with regard to attacks on medical and humanitarian workers.

Liu described other memorable missions, including the 2010 Haiti earthquake, where the challenges of treating the injured were compounded by a cholera outbreak caused by UN forces dumping contaminated water; the 2004 tsunami in Thailand, where MSF workers ended up putting bodies in bags more than treating the injured; and the Ukraine war in 2023, when MSF organized a medical train to evacuate people injured in Russian attacks westward.

Liu, now 59, though winding down her international humanitarian missions, is still very active in humanitarian efforts, including as professor at the School of Population & Global Health at McGill University and director of the Pandemics and Health Emergencies Readiness Lab (PERL).

“In terms of the hardcore things I used to do, I’ve slowed down. I’m still going to do some overseas assignments, but probably not at the extent I used to, so I’m going to slow down a little bit.”

As for how it feels to speak to an audience at her alma mater, Liu said, “It makes me believe there will be people who will take over.”

During a question-and-answer session following her talk, a student asked how she could maintain hope given all the suffering and strife in the world.

Liu said, “The last chapter of my book is about hope. Despite the title – Ebola, Bombs and Migrants – it’s a book about hope. … It’s not because you don’t see a solution at the outset that you shouldn’t give it a try. It’s worth the fight because each time you change things, never at the level you wanted, never ever. Life is full of imperfect solutions. But I always say an imperfect solution is always better than no solution, as long as you’re not complacent about the imperfect solution and you strive for more.”

Liu was in Quebec City to participate in the Salon international du Livre de Québec. She was on a panel discussing the topic of finding hope in troubled times.

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CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence holds first TEDx Talk

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CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence holds its first TEDx talk

Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

cassandra@qctonline.com

CEGEP student Tristan Massicotte brought TEDx to CEGEP Champlain–St. Lawrence. Under his guidance, on Oct. 24, nine students and two guest speakers gave presentations on the theme of “What’s Next?” For nearly two and a half hours, they touched on the future of cancer research, genomics, technology, population growth, the Arctic, geopolitics, the psychology of good, rethinking work culture, adaptability, entrepreneurship and dance.

Over the past 40 years, experts in various fields have given over 44,000 conferences and lectures under the banner of TED (Technology, Entertain- ment, Design) or TEDx about recent developments in business, science and global issues, many of which are available on YouTube.

Inspired by his own TEDx Talk when he was 12, Massicotte organized one for his fellow students, along with class- mate Louis Théoret. “We had to move fast because things move fast in CEGEP. I started planning this talk last semester by applying for a TEDx Talk licence and then searching for our guest speakers. At the start of this semester, we held an open call for student speak- ers,” said Massicotte. “After screening the applicants’ vid- eos, we selected nine [people] to speak about ‘What’s Next?’ They had about two weeks to prepare their eight-minute talk.”

Louis-Philippe Gervais used statistics to follow and predict population growth. Jordan Tchouamou Tchiadjeu shone a light on the BRICS alliance (named for the first five countries to join the bloc — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). Abraham Eyestone looked at the benefits of opening the Arctic region for better global shipment and naval traffic.

The next speaker, Abigail Esther Mendez Mora, took a more personal approach in her talk on adaptability and its role in this ever-changing world. A key part of adaptability involves having good coping skills – like dancing, as explained by professional Ukrainian dancer and PW Sims Business student Sofia Gagné. Sarah Luger talked about social media as a coping mechanism. Justin Simard speculated on whether these behaviours are good and what it means to be, do and feel good. Dominic Gaumont looked inside people to find how genomic cells become cancer, while Tassnym Echchahed presented her research on artificial intelligence and its potential benefits for humanity.

To close this TEDx Talk, artificial intelligence specialist Dev Aditya, who was unable to attend in person, gave a video presentation on his own work. He spoke about how he and his team created the first digital human artificial intelligent teacher. This was their answer to the teacher shortage, especially in remote and less developed parts of the world.

Guest speaker Thomas Eckschmidt, chair of the board of business consulting firm CBJourney, advised business students, “There are four principles for a highly successful organization: a clear cause, a recognized leader, understanding of interdependence and creating a responsible culture.”

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