Media Advisory - Jean Chrétien and Chris Hadfield to headline Higher Education Summit

TORONTO, Nov. 19, 2014 /CNW/ - More than 800 delegates from across Ontario will be attending the 2014 Higher Education Summit and Premier's Awards gala. The two-day conference runs Sunday, Nov. 23, and Monday, Nov. 24, at the Fairmont Royal York.

The keynote speaker this year is former prime minister Jean Chrétien, who will talk about current events in Canada and the world. Another featured speaker this year is retired astronaut Chris Hadfield, who will discuss the lessons he has learned about leadership, teamwork, and more.

Other featured speakers at this year's conference are activist and author Sally Armstrong, investigative journalist and author Paula Todd, Harvard innovation expert Tony Wagner, and big data expert Jer Thorp.

Training, Colleges and Universities Minister Reza Moridi will lead the presentation on Monday evening of the Premier's Awards for outstanding college graduates. There are 114 graduates from all 24 colleges nominated for this year's awards.

The Higher Education Summit, run by Colleges Ontario, is one of Canada's premier conferences on post-secondary education. The conference is open to the media. All sessions take place at the Fairmont Royal York hotel at 100 Front Street West in Toronto.

Key times:

Sunday, Nov. 23

1:15 p.m. – Human rights activist, journalist and author Sally Armstrong will discuss the shifting status of women throughout the world.

2:15 p.m. – Tony Wagner, an expert in residence at Harvard University, will talk about the steps that educators and others must take to teach young people to become innovators.

3:45 p.m. – Journalist and author Paula Todd will share the findings from her book, Extreme Mean, which looks at the impacts of cyberbullying.

Monday, Nov. 24

8:30 a.m. – Retired astronaut Chris Hadfield will discuss the lessons he has learned about leadership, teamwork, collaboration, science and technology.

9:30 a.m. – Jer Thorp shares his beautiful and moving data visualization projects that help put abstract data into a human context.

1:15 p.m. – In a keynote address, former prime minister Jean Chrétien speaks about the political situation today in Canada and around the world.

Dates:	Nov. 23 and 24, 2014
Location:	Fairmont Royal York Hotel
	100 Front Street West
	Toronto

The full agenda for the Higher Education Summit is available at: http://www.highereducationsummit.ca/program-and-presentations.html

Colleges Ontario is the Toronto-based advocacy organization for the province's 24 colleges. All sessions at the Higher Education Summit are open to the media. Media attending the conference must show accreditation at the registration desk on the convention floor.

SOURCE: Colleges Ontario

Rob Savage, Director of Communications, Colleges Ontario, 647-258-7687, [email protected]