This week, Ken Steele concludes his conversation with Paula Burns, President & CEO of Lethbridge College. In part 1, Paula described 3 notable innovations at Lethbridge College, in competency-based learning, stackable modular credentials, and the use of VR technology ( https://youtu.be/9-kxnnMA8nM). In part 2, she outlined 5 ways that institutions can prepare for evolving students and the labour market over the next decade (https://youtu.be/zSKoxZI7b_s).
This week, we explore the question of how higher ed leaders can nurture a culture of innovation on campus. Academic environments tend to be cautious and risk-averse, and truly experimenting with programs or pedagogy usually requires curiosity, creativity, collaboration and genuine courage.
Paula admits academic innovation can be challenging, but also presents immense opportunity. Campus leaders need to walk a fine line, respecting tradition and preserving the strengths of the past, while reassuring people that it is also safe to try new things.
Paula uses the metaphor of a marathon: there will always be some pace-setters leading the pack, and others bringing up the rear. The campus leader’s job is “to make sure that everybody is at least in the race.” Paula puts a lot of her own energy into supporting those who are trying to innovate, and believes you need to hire a broad team of visionary leaders to provide direction to the whole college.
Ken points out that research on innovation emphasizes the importance of personal passion in successful innovation, but that there are many obstacles to empowering front-line staff to advance their own ideas. At Lethbridge College, Paula explains that their people development strategy is about finding people’s passions and skills, and unleashing them to benefit the institution. But she also admits that most colleges have far more policies than they really need, and they definitely can be obstacles to innovation.
Paula recommends the “sandbox” model: establish clear parameters, within which staff and faculty can feel free to “play” creatively and innovate. The clear guidelines help to reduce the fear that can accompany experiment. Only when someone needs to step “outside the box” do they need to have a discussion about it. When extreme risk aversion causes us to overly control any environment (a college campus or a schoolyard playground), we inadvertently stifle creativity. Instead, we need to loosen up the rules, and provide a “loose play” structure in which staff and faculty can build and create.
10K will be returning to the question of campus innovation in many more episodes over the months ahead. To be sure you don’t miss them, subscribe today! http://eduvation.ca/subscribe/
Paula Burns served as Provost & VP Academic at NAIT for 5 years before joining Lethbridge College as President & CEO 5 years ago. In addition to a decade of experience in senior administration, she holds a PhD in Education from Toronto’s OISE, and an executive MBA from Royal Roads University with a specialization in leadership.
Shot on location at Lethbridge College in May 2018, by campus videography staff – thank you again! (If you would like to host a 10K Site Visit at your campus, see http://eduvation.ca/twk/site-visits/ for further information.)
This week, Ken Steele continues his conversation with Paula Burns, President & CEO of Lethbridge College, about 5 key ways higher education should be preparing for the decade ahead.
(Last week, Paula described 3 notable innovations in competency-based learning, stackable modular credentials, and the use of VR technology: https://youtu.be/9-kxnnMA8nM)
Students not only need Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) but, Paula argues, will increasingly need “Integrated Work Learning,” allowing working adults to return to college for short periods of upskilling and reskilling while continuing to work. Institutions need to respond with flexible learning and delivery models, to accommodate more and more part-time learners.
Higher ed can’t afford to take months or years to develop programs for new technologies like Virtual Reality, when industry needs our graduates yesterday.
There is worldwide recognition that the skills of the future will be people skills, communication, critical thinking and collaboration skills – so colleges have to ensure that they go beyond the technical aspects of our programs, to prepare our students for the evolving economy.
Colleges and universities need to innovate as a system overall. Collaboration and potentially mergers and integration will be the way of the future, says Paula. “Institutions can’t all continue to do the same thing and think that we’re going to be sustainable.” Technologies should allow global collaboration on research and teaching alike. although “we talk lots about collaboration, but the system is still set up for competition.”
Institutions should try to integrate their traditional full-time academic programs, continuing education and research or applied research labs into a centre of excellence that can reinforce each other. Every college or university might focus on 3 or 4 key areas of strength, to differentiate and focus each institution’s resources on its real strengths.
Paula concludes by observing that the broader world is pushing higher ed to innovate. We can be leaders in our communities, partner to innovate, we just have to “step out of our own box and be part of a wider whole.”
Next week, Ken’s conversation with Paula concludes with some ideas for nurturing a culture of innovation on campus, thinking about lessons learned from the marathon running course and the playground sandbox. To be sure you don’t miss it, subscribe today! http://eduvation.ca/subscribe/
Paula Burns served as Provost & VP Academic at NAIT for 5 years before joining Lethbridge College as President & CEO 5 years ago. In addition to a decade of experience in senior administration, she holds a PhD in Education from Toronto’s OISE, and an executive MBA from Royal Roads University with a specialization in leadership.
Shot on location at Lethbridge College in May 2018, by campus videography staff – thank you again! (If you would like to host a 10K Site Visit at your campus, see http://eduvation.ca/twk/site-visits/for further information.)
This week, Ken Steele talks with Paula Burns, President & CEO of Lethbridge College, about 3 notable innovations in programming, pedagogy and applied research at her institution: competency-based learning, stackable modular credentials, and the use of virtual reality technology.
Don’t let its location in small-town Alberta fool you – Lethbridge Collegeis a born innovator, and the frontier mindset seems to spark plenty of innovation. It opened in 1957 as the first publicly-funded community college in Canada, currently enrols more than 5,000 students and 1,900 online learners, and has been named one of the country’s top 50 research colleges. (For more info, visit https://lethbridgecollege.ca)
Police Cadet CBE:
In partnership with the police forces for Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, and the Blood Tribe, Lethbridge College has introduced competency-based cadet training. Formerly, graduates of the Justice Studies programs had to repeat training on the job in order to satisfy national police board competency requirements, but the College redesigned the program to align with and test those competencies, so students are field-ready upon graduation.
Modular Agricultural Credentials:
Lethbridge College has also been thinking outside the box when it comes to delivering its programs for non-traditional students. For example, it converted the Agriculture Business Risk Management certificate program into a series of one-month modules that students can begin at any time, and take in any order – providing unprecedented flexibility to part-time working students. Moreover, the certificate is “stackable” – leading directly into the College’s own Agricultural Enterprise Management Diploma program, or even a degree program at the University of Lethbridge.
Virtual Reality for Research & Teaching:
In October 2017, Lethbridge College opened a beautiful new 170,000 sq ft Trades Technologies Renewal and Innovation building, including 7,000 sq ft of interdisciplinary multipurpose “innovation space.” Paula describes the current uses, including an irrigation research study and a virtual reality lab being used for research and several programs on campus. Lethbridge College uses VR for its Wind Turbine Technician program, and Interior Design students used VR for their final capstone projects, designing a house for a local industry competition. Lethbridge students also organized “Merging Realities” in April 2018, the world’s first full-day conference aboutVR conducted entirely inVR, which will now become an annual event. (For more info see https://lethbridgecollege.ca/news/announcement/overwhelming-success-lethbridge-colleges-virtual-reality-conference-prompts-plans)
Paula Burns served as Provost & VP Academic at NAIT for 5 years before joining Lethbridge College as President & CEO 5 years ago. In addition to a decade of experience in senior administration, she holds a PhD in Education from Toronto’s OISE, and an executive MBA from Royal Roads University with a specialization in leadership.
Shot on location at Lethbridge College in May 2018, by campus videography staff – thank you again!
Next week, Ken’s conversation with Paula continues with a look forward to the challenges and opportunities that will shape the next ten years of higher ed. To be sure you don’t miss it, subscribe today! http://eduvation.ca/subscribe/
And if you would like to host a 10K Site Visit at your campus, see http://eduvation.ca/twk/site-visits/for further information!
Simon Fraser University is committed to community engagement, so much so that its campus master plan and infrastructure is focused on building communities, in Vancouver, Surrey, and on Burnaby Mountain. SFU is literally setting its vision in stone!
Last week 10K looked at how SFU’s Engagement Strategy has been socialized across the institution, reinforcing efforts at community-based research, cultural engagement, public events and even April Fool’s videos. (ICYMI, check out “Embracing Engagement at SFU” - https://youtu.be/EGWvfBqJEGs ).
In this episode, we look at SFU’s “concrete” commitment to engagement, manifested in its campus infrastructure:
Science Plaza
Although SFU has no Astronomy department, it has constructed the Trottier Observatory on its Burnaby Mountain campus. Several times a month, hundreds of people from the community gather for “Starry Nights” stargazing, and the Science Courtyard incorporates architectural elements to convey a love for science. Ken speaks with Howard Trottier, SFU Physics professor, and founder of the Starry Nights program.
SFU Surrey
SFU opened a major campus in suburban Surrey’s city centre, which is driving the development of a major metropolitan centre from scratch. The main building, designed by Bing Thom, brings together a university, a shopping centre, and an office tower in a mixed-use concept sometimes called “Vancouverism” – and that mixed-use concept is a good metaphor for SFU’s vision of the “Engaged University.” Ken speaks with SFU president Andrew Petter, and VP External Joanne Curry, who for 12 years led the development of the Surrey campus.
Downtown Vancouver
SFU also has the largest presence in downtown Vancouver, including the Segal Graduate School of Business, the RADIUS social innovation incubator, the Harbour Centre, and the Centre for Dialogue. Ken speaks with Shauna Sylvester, the director of the Centre for Dialogue, about the beautiful purpose-built facility and its unique Asia-Pacific Hall.
SFU Woodsworth’s
In the heart of Vancouver’s downtown eastside, SFU constructed a new School for Contemporary Arts in a former landmark, Woodsworth’s Department Store. The development was a vision of Michael Stevenson, former SFU president, to revitalize a troubled region of social and political tension, and built community relationships through music, culture and the arts. Ken speaks with Howard Jang, then the director of the SFU Woodsworth’s Cultural Unit, and Am Johal, the director of SFU’s VanCity Office of Community Engagement.
SFU UniverCity
The most remarkable example of SFU’s community-building is the 65-acre UniverCity development atop Burnaby Mountain, adjacent to its main campus. While the university had a land grant over much of the mountain, they asked the municipality to compress the density of that land grant to a much smaller area. The result is a small town that will ultimately be home to 10,000 people, and some of the world’s most sustainable architecture and community infrastructure. Ken speaks with Gordon Harris, CEO of the SFU Community Trust, which manages the UniverCity development.
10K will revisit SFU’s UniverCity project, the RADIUS incubator, the Science Plaza, the Centre for Dialogue and more in future episodes. To be sure you don’t miss them, please take a moment now to subscribe! http://eduvation.ca/subscribe/
And stay tuned for some bloopers at the end of this episode!