Queen’s University is preparing to host the Canadian University Boards Association (CUBA) conference in May with a theme this year of “A World of Opportunities”. Each year the conference focuses on pivotal issues affecting Canadian universities.

The purpose of the annual conference is to educate participants, who are members of university secretariat offices or university boards across the country, on best practices in university governance, and on national, international and provincial trends affecting post-secondary institutions. The conference also provides opportunities for networking among individuals responsible for the leadership and operations of university governance boards and senates.

This year the Kingston event looks at how universities can adapt to a new world of work and changing workforce trends which put pressure on universities to prepare their students.

“The opportunity to share experiences with and learn from others is critical to ensure that a university remains equipped to manage current challenges, but also emerging issues that others are experiencing and to learn about strategies and tactics being employed to meet them,” says Lon Knox, University Secretary at Queen’s.

The conference is expected to attract over 100 attendees over three days in Kingston and includes a number of keynote addresses and discussion sessions.

One of the keynotes this year is being presented by John Stackhouse, member of Queen’s University Board of Trustees and senior vice-president, Office of the CEO at Royal Bank of Canada.

For the keynote, Stackhouse is focusing on how we can prepare Canadian youth for the workplace of the future.

“In the coming decade, half of all jobs will face the serious risk of disruption by technology and automation,” Stackhouse says. “Some will change dramatically. Others will disappear completely, replaced by jobs that are yet to be invented. We are living through an era of radical change, with the latest advancements in artificial intelligence and automation transforming the way we work. This is a very timely conversation in universities right now.”

Another highlight of the conference is a presentation by Queen’s alumnus Ali Velshi. Velshi has worked as chief business correspondent for CNN and as anchor of CNN’s Your Money, as well as serving as co-host of CNN International's weekday business show World Business Today. He currently serves as senior economic and business correspondent for NBC News and co-anchor with Stephanie Ruhle of Velshi & Ruhle on MSNBC.

At the conference, he will be sitting down in a fireside chat format to discuss the future of internationalization at Canadian universities with Phil Glennie, Communications & Partnerships Manager at Academica Group. See the video here.

For more information on the conference and the full schedule, visit the website.