Demetrios Nicolaides
Minister of Education and Child Care
We did this before he became Minister of Education, with all the finger pointing by the Alberta Government that teachers are being unfair in negotiations, we thought it was time to dust this one off and bring it back to the light again. Believe the Ministers when they show you who they are! If you would like to contact him re: education or teacher negotiations in Alberta, here’s where to find him!
Contact
Office:
Legislature Bldg., 10800 - 97th Ave. N.W., Suite 403
Edmonton, AB
T5K 2B6
E-mail: education.minister@gov.ab.ca
Twitter: demetriosnAB
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/demetriosnicolaides
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/demetriosnicolaides
Now to the deets on Nicolaides…
Where did Nicolaides receive his education?
Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs - University of Calgary - 2006
https://www.ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/archives/2016/f-2.html
Nicolaides received a GPA of 3.0 which is a B from the University of Calgary
Masters of Arts Peace and Conflict Studies - 2009
Between 2010 and 2013, the institute gained accredited private university status and was renamed "European Peace University (EPU) - Private Universität". In July 2013, EPU's accreditation was withdrawn by Austria's accreditation body; students currently enrolled in the "Master of Arts in Peace and Conflict Studies" program may finish their studies until 2014.[1]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/demetriosnicolaides/details/education/ Here is a description of his education
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Peace_University The University’s accreditation was removed in 2014.
Dr. of Philosophy, Political Science - 2013
https://www.ucy.ac.cy/graduateschool/postgraduate-programmes-places/?lang=en how to apply to post-secondary programs.
https://www.ucy.ac.cy/?lang=en
The University of Cypress ranks 368/1500 institutions. Bottom 25%
https://albertapolitics.ca/wp-content/uploads/Demetrios-Nicolaides-PhD.pdf (this is his PhD dissertion.
As also noted, the requirements for most European doctoral degrees, even from genuinely prestigious universities, are considerably less stringent than in North America.
Prior to being elected, allegedly Nicolaides worked for Unemployed Professor. (googled the information, found on Facebook)
Demetrios’ Reply:
Elected to represent the UCP in 2019 he was given a cabinet position under Kenney as Minister of Advanced Education. While he was there he:
The Alberta government aims to reduce funding to the province's 26 post-secondary institutions by 20 percent in the next three years - March 8, 2020
Alberta universities, colleges face varied government funding cuts | CBC News
Post Secondary Institutions - Tuition to rise to cover Government funding shortfall - Feb. 28, 2020
The model is known as “performance-based funding,” and the idea is that governments shelling out to universities and colleges should be getting a return on investment is a failed fad. June 27,2022
https://www.canadaland.com/alberta-postsecondary-demetrios-nicolaides/
Athabasca University - Nicolaides and the UCP wanted staff from Athabasca U to move to Athabasca and tried to force this to happen.
Thanks @demetriosnAB for your generous offer. We completely misunderstood that you wanted to help us. Here's what we need… A blog asking for what the Athabasca University needed - Aug. 8, 2022
The Response
Nicolaides fires 4 Athabasca University Board Members and hires 7 new ones to move forward with having employees move to Athabasca - Oct. 5, 2022
Who won the battle of Athabasca U? Not Alberta’s Government - Dec. 22, 2022
Athabasca University board fires president who fought Alberta government on staff relocations (the board put in place by Nicolaides) - Feb. 1, 2023
https://www.athabasca.ca/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athabasca,_Alberta Population 2021 (2,759)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athabasca_University Number of staff (1,233)
For the Alberta Government to force Athabasca University to have their staff and families move to Athabasca would double the population. The infrastructure was and is not there to support such an action.
Makami College
Makami College started as a massage school. It has grown thanks to Nicolaides and the UCP. The owners contribute to Danielle Smith and the UCP - For a small political contribution you can get accredited to offer various programs and get Government grants if you fill out the paperwork and offer a program.
https://makamicollege.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAt4C-BhBcEiwA8Kp0CZ2CVwJgUmpsEN676upg7wJxas7D9mxxc2GqKP7Zebvoyya2ZGhbJBoCMOAQAvD_BwE
Who owns Makami College -
Marija Pavkovic is the Founder and CEO of MaKami College, one of the largest Alberta-based Private Vocational Colleges. Originally from former Yugoslavia, Marija's family moved to Alberta when she was only seven.
Jeremy Appel wrote an excellent article about the who, the what, and the why Makami College got accredited.
“A month before the writ was dropped for the upcoming provincial election, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith opened up the potential for a for-profit college to receive public funding, which would be unprecedented in Canada.
But it’s not just any for-profit college — its founding family donated a combined $15,100 to Smith and the UCP, and hired a team of lobbyists, including a UCP board member, to sit down with the government immediately after Smith was sworn in as premier.
Alberta is the only province in Canada that provides grant funding to private post-secondary institutions, or Independent Academic Institutions (IAI), as they’re officially called. Until now, these IAIs have all been non-profits.
Smith’s cabinet quietly added MaKami College Inc., founded as a massage therapy school in Edmonton in 2001, to the IAI list through a March 30 Order in Council, a week after the Legislature was adjourned. The government, however, maintains it has no intention of providing MaKami with public funding.” May 2, 2023 (Nicolaides was still Minister of Advanced Education)
Parkland Institute dug into Makami College becoming an Independent Academic Institution the only for-profit one in Alberta’s list of six: direct quote from the article below
https://www.parklandinstitute.ca/subsidizing_profit
“At the end of the legislative session, via an Order in Council, the government made one more important policy change in the area of post-secondary funding.
First, some context: Alberta is the only jurisdiction in Canada that provides public funding to private post-secondary entities. These are called Independent Academic Institutions (IAIs) in the Post-Secondary Learning Act. IAIs operate under their own legislation, have different accountability standards than public institutions, are not required to have a government-approved mandate, and are responsible for their own governance and board appointments.
For the last number of years, there have been five Independent Academic Institutions in Alberta: Ambrose University, Burman University, Concordia University of Edmonton, The King’s University, and St. Mary’s University. All of these institutions are private, self-governing, and, most importantly, not-for-profit.
On March 30, the UCP government added a sixth IAI to this list: MaKami College Inc. What makes MaKami different from the other IAIs is that it is a private, for-profit business. For the first time anywhere in Canada, the UCP has made it possible for a private for-profit educational institution to receive public dollars.
MaKami College Inc. has been in existence since 2001. It was originally a massage therapist school but has since grown to include a number of programs, such as Health Care Aide, Business Administrative Assistant, Medical Office Assistant, Master Instructor, and Basic Security Training. It has two locations in Calgary and one in Edmonton.”
Former Danielle Smith staffer Erika Barootes was hired by MaKami College to assist in the 'transition' from private to public institution - April 23, 2023
Back to the Future
In 2023, Demetrios Nicolaides managed to scoop his seat in Calgary Bow, with only 623 votes, 49.74% to his NDP opponent's 47.39%. He won the same seat in 2019 with 55% of the vote. Maybe folks in Calgary Bow are starting to connect the dots.
Qualities to be hired by UCP: radio host, glib speaker, mediocre & inept, inexperienced but blindly follows so-called leader.
That Minister is totally not qualified for the job. He attended low caliber universities which only use a fog a mirror as the entrance requirement. We have several highly regarded universities within Alberta. And there are many highly regarded graduates of those which could do a much better job.