eCampusOntario sees positive impacts for learners and innovation in Budget 2022

The Ontario Government announced its 2022 Ontario Budget: Ontario’s Plan to Build this past Thursday. eCampusOntario is pleased to see this continued significant investment in the growth and development of the postsecondary education sector that benefits innovation for economic development, lifelong learning and Indigenous learners.

The new budget allocates $9 million over three years to enhance postsecondary education and training for Indigenous learners. This investment will help the expansion of programs to better support Indigenous communities. eCampusOntario continues to work with member Indigenous Institutes to build strong and inclusive online and technology-enabled learning to help students, staff and faculty succeed today and in the future.

The $58 million Intellectual Property Ontario initiative supports postsecondary institutions in leveraging their intellectual property (IP) to ensure local innovators can build capacity and extend their impact globally. eCampusOntario strongly supports helping Ontario innovators understand the value of protecting their ideas and is leading the development of an advanced curriculum course focused on intellectual property (IP) as part of the implementation of the Government of Ontario’s Intellectual Property Action Plan.

To increase rapid retraining to support economic recovery, the Government of Ontario has earmarked $268.5 million in funding through Employment Ontario. This investment aligns with eCampusOntario’s Micro-credentials Portal, a gateway for accessible, lifelong learning that connects learners with training programs to help them upskill and reskill for in-demand jobs. In partnership with the Ontario government, eCampusOntario has also launched 36 micro-credential pilot projects with partner institutions and employers.

eCampusOntario applauds Budget 2022’s $55 million commitment to expand innovation and research in the postsecondary education sector, helping accelerate Ontario’s economic recovery and invigorate the provincial knowledge economy. eCampusOntario provides platforms, programs and services that enable innovation and collaboration, and we look forward to continuing to support innovation partnerships in our sector.