Thank you, Madam Chair, for inviting me to join you today, and I thank the members for taking on this important work.
I'm Gail Murphy, vice-president of research and innovation and a professor of computer science at the University of British Columbia. I'm also the co-founder of Tasktop Technologies, an enterprise software company headquartered in Vancouver with over 200 employees. I am grateful and privileged to be joining you today from the beautiful, traditional ancestral and unceded territories of the Musqueam people.
I'll begin with a very brief introduction of UBC and its research enterprise. UBC is the second-largest university in Canada, with nearly 70,000 students and more than 17,000 faculty and staff at our large campuses in Vancouver and Kelowna and at research and learning sites throughout B.C.
The university is consistently ranked among the top 50 in the world, with particular strengths in innovation and research commercialization. UBC researchers attract over $700 million in funding each year, the second most in Canada, and are responsible for tremendous contributions to knowledge, technology, public policy, economic growth and social progress.
Many of the themes you've discussed at this committee resonate with me in my roles as a vice-president of research, a professor and as a tech entrepreneur. I've been watching closely as countries around the world are making ambitious, new investments in science and research, recognizing the benefits of more highly skilled workforces and how advanced research helps fuel competitiveness and growth, not to mention the importance research for tackling pressing issues like pandemics and climate change.
Thanks to investments from successive governments and actions taken in recent federal budgets, Canada has positioned itself well, but as a number of my colleagues have highlighted, we now risk being left behind if we're not able to continue to attract and retain top talent while other countries accelerate and intensify their investments.
Support for Canada's research enterprise is ultimately an investment in developing Canadian talent and the expertise of our people. Exposure to and engagement with research and the scientific process is a critical experience that equips individuals to be innovators throughout their lives and their careers. When done right, the resulting skills help advance knowledge, develop new technologies and solutions and equip people with a readiness to try the new and re-examine conventional wisdom. Equipping Canadians and especially our youth with these competencies is particularly important for our country as we tackle the great challenges of our time, from meeting climate and environmental targets to building an inclusive, green and innovative economy and enhancing the health and wellness of Canadians and our communities.
For example, through the Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute at UBC, faculty, students and staff are engaged in initiatives that build interest in quantum science and encourage participation from diverse groups of students. This has included K-12 outreach, undergraduate scholarships and mentorship programs, and all of these have a special attention on reaching students with identities that are currently under-represented in the sciences, including indigenous peoples, women and girls and people of colour. The institute has engaged over 3,500 students in the past five years.
Another example is my own experience building a Canadian tech company. The knowledge on which we built the company came from NSERC-funded research that enabled us to think broadly about problems facing software developers while NSERC further supported our early stage formation through the Idea to Innovation program. Continued innovation at the company was fuelled in part by industrial undergraduate research grants.
My two other co-founders in Tasktop include a Ph.D. student from UBC and a master's student from the University of Victoria. Our first hires were graduate students from UBC, and the company has been fuelled by a steady stream of talent from Canadian institutions.
While I echo calls for funding levels that ensure Canada's core research granting programs remain globally competitive, I would also like to bring closer attention to programs that support students and make opportunities to pursue advanced study more accessible. Funding amounts for graduate student scholarships, for example, have not changed in nearly two decades, which, in inflation-adjusted terms, means a 35% decline. At the same time, Canada ranks 28th in the OECD in graduate degree attainment. As we seek to improve access to opportunity and support diversity, increases in the number and the value of these awards are critical.
We also need to expand undergraduate student participation in advanced research. Earlier and deeper experience in research will help our students develop their curiosity and talents, which will serve them and Canadian society very well as they pursue their careers.
I hope the committee finds these contributions to its study helpful. I thank you for the opportunity to speak with you and to address any questions you may have.