UPEI partnerships make powerful impact at home and abroad

The University of Prince Edward Island, through its community and institutional partnerships across PEI, throughout Atlantic Canada, and around the world, is building a strong foundation for a 21st-century success story.

UPEI President Wade MacLauchlan delivered that message during his annual update, on November 26, to the campus community and members of the public. Through an illustrated presentation that featured a map of PEI and a map of the world, he highlighted the powerful impact that UPEI, with its many collaborators, makes at home and abroad through education, research, and service.

'UPEI's advantage of scale and sense of mission translate into big things for our province, our region, and our world,' said President MacLauchlan. 'If you ask experts around the world about aquatic epidemiology, they will tell you about UPEI. The Premier of Nunavut will tell you about the array of UPEI projects and partnerships in Canada's North. Our work in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and elsewhere addresses important issues of community, health, and environment, and builds on a confident sense of who we are at home.'

In addition to shining the spotlight on innovative UPEI-related initiatives across PEI and beyond, President MacLauchlan presented information about the continued growth of student enrollment and research activity that conveyed the increasingly diverse and dynamic nature of the UPEI community. Twenty per cent of first-year students now come from other Canadian provinces and 10 per cent of the total student population comes from outside Canada.

While focusing firmly on UPEI's pivotal role in the present and future prosperity of Prince Edward Island, President MacLauchlan also acknowledged the important influence of the University's historical development.

'UPEI raised its own flag this year, embracing the heritage of our founding institutions, Prince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan's University, and celebrating how we come together through learning, as symbolized by the open book. Knowing who you are, how you are differentiated, and what difference you make starts at home,' he said.

'We get up in the morning knowing the importance of what we do, and the difference that it makes to have a great university with a sense of place and mission. That happy sense of purpose and impact carries over into our work and relationships throughout Canada and around the world.'