The following summary of the Open Conversations held on April 25th was captured by the conversation leader. We want to continue the dialogue, so please use the form below to provide us with your big, blue sky ideas!
Session Convenor: John Herron
Participants: Robert MacKinnon, Aline Munro, Shelley Rinehart, John Johnson, Edward Philips, Kathleen Duguay, Heather Chase, Andrew Carson, Harrison Burrows
Main Point from Discussion:
- Emerging cluster educational institutions – University, Med school, potential for l energy institute, university/college $44 million just announced for NBCC health/med school
- Clustering, sharing facilities and collocation – Improve student life.
- Student life buildings, libraries, recreation facilities, enhancing cooperation between institutions – certificate, diploma, degree, PhD., the full spectrum, etc.
- Centre for urban studies -- Saint John
- Living Lab - City in Transition
- To student/understand growth
- Need to look for potential cross-discipline research opportunities — such as Nuclear science, Nuclear energy, Nuclear medicine
- Co-marketing for international students
- Asset population growth - make better use — alumni network (value proposition)
- Need for differentiation/excellence. University needs to excel be known in certain fields for excellence that matter (energy- vital to the region, not good enough to merely offer programming,
- Need to identify cluster opportunities
- Energy systems diplomas are to be offered at NBCC
- 300 nuclear plants to be built in the next decade plus world wide, educational institutions should take advantage of the local expertise in the region and offer programming that can attract students from abroad
- More engineering, more foreign students
- Possible pursuits - Companies that manufacture nuclear equipment
- There is still a requirement to offer foundational core programming (arts, biz, science etc) — but excellence in some programming helps build the UNBSJ brand that it can attract and recruit students -- Innovation programming — recruitment tool - applied training — diploma
- Region should host a College/University summit on how our institutions can evolve into exceptional places of learning and training and how they can play a role on driving priorities of the community—economic, socially, culturally, capacity -- bring new
- Clusters/priority/educational cluster—vital to foster and incubate and fund—arts within the community.-- Richard Florida -- university