The University of Prince Edward Island has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) today with three Kenyan universities: the University of Nairobi, Kenyatta University, and the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

The MOUs are the first step in establishing formal exchange programs and collaborative research/study opportunities between UPEI and the three African institutions.

'UPEI has had a long-standing relationship with Kenya, with many students and faculty being engaged in that country," said Dr. Tim Goddard, Dean of Education and Lead Dean-International. 'With these MOUs, we are now able to extend our relationship to include scholarly exchanges, joint research projects, and other initiatives which will partner both students and faculty from UPEI and these three important Kenyan universities.'

His Excellency Simon Nabukwesi, the Kenyan High Commissioner, who visited UPEI twice in the fall of 2010, was instrumental in organizing today's visit and bringing the three Vice-Chancellors of the Kenyan universities to PEI to sign the agreements with UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor, Wade MacLauchlan.

Nabukwesi said, 'After many meetings and talks with our friends at UPEI, I am very pleased to see this signing come to fruition. These relationships will be mutually beneficial for Canadian and Kenyan students, faculty, and researchers for years to come.'

UPEI has long had a partnership with Farmers Helping Farmers, a local NGO on PEI, and has developed strong links to a number of Kenyan communities. Students and faculty from the Atlantic Veterinary College have been involved in a number of initiatives including the establishment of a very successful dairy operation, student teachers from the Specialization in International Education program have been completing their final practicum in Kenyan schools for over ten years, and students from the School of Nursing and the Department of Family and Nutritional Science work in hospitals and community health centres.

After the signing, the Kenyan delegation of Vice-Chancellor George Magoha, University of Nairobi; Vice-Chancellor Olive Mugenda, Kenyatta University; and Vice-Chancellor Mabel Imbuga, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology met with UPEI students, staff, and faculty to explore potential program collaborations.

About the Kenyan Universities

The University of Nairobi (UoN) has a great variety of disciplines within its wide array of academic programs. These disciplines include: Humanities and Social Sciences; Natural and Mathematical Sciences; Engineering and the Built environment; Arts and Design; Computing and Informatics; Law and Business Studies; Medicine and Health Sciences; Agriculture and Food sciences; Veterinary and Animal Sciences; and Education.

Kenyatta University (KU) offers academic programs under the following Schools: Education, Pure and Applied Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, Graduate School, Economics, Environmental Studies, Applied Human Sciences, Business, Health Sciences, Visual and Performing Arts, Agriculture and Entrepreneurship, Engineering and Technology, and Law.

The Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) has academic programs cutting across various disciplines including Engineering, Science, Agriculture, Information Technology, Applied Science, Health Sciences, Social Sciences, and Business.

Webster Centre staff invites the campus community to receive free hugs on Tuesday, February 8 when they revive a campaign started two years ago.

The 'FREE HUGS Campaign' is a social movement that began in Australia and involves individuals giving hugs to strangers in public places. The hugs are meant to be random acts of kindness to make others feel better. The Webster Centre joined the campaign in 2009 when they offered free hugs to students, staff, and faculty as shown in this Youtube video.

This year's event will take placeTuesday, February 8, 2011 from 1:00 to 2:00 pm, outdoors at the centre of campus, and near the W. A. Murphy Student Centre, Kelley Memorial Building, and Main Building.

The Canadian Commission for UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has appointed Dr. Ann Howatt to the Sectoral Commission on Culture, Communication and Information.

Dr. Howatt is a research fellow of the Institute of Island Studies and a lecturer in the Environmental Studies program at the University of Prince Edward Island. Both an educator and conservator of cultural property, she has taught and lectured at several universities in Canada and internationally in cultural conservation, and in the fields of visual media, environmental representation, and technology.

Over the past year, Dr. Howatt has been participating as a member of an inter-university specialist advisory panel, commissioned by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The panel is tasked to identify and test a methodology for mapping socio-cultural landscape values in Canada. With colleagues at UPEI and the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women, she contributed to submissions to the PEI Commission on Land Use and Rural Development.

Also, she researched and co-authored Charting A Course: The PEI Heritage Study, a comprehensive study and series of recommendations for the Province of Prince Edward Island's management of its natural and cultural heritage resources.

Released by provincial department of Innovation and Advanced Learning.

A new educational partnership will preserve UPEI's status as Prince Edward Island's only university while allowing the Province of Prince Edward Island to host the Homburg Group Global Education Project's continuing plans for real estate focused university education to the province, says Allan Campbell, Minister of Innovation and Advanced Learning.

'The memorandum of understanding signed today commits government to working with Homburg and the University of Prince Edward Island in order to bring world-class, university accredited real estate education to the Island,' said the minister.

Homburg will establish a real estate university, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, with academic partners around the world. The Homburg Institute, an institute for research and corporate information, will host the summer schools of Homburg University, Switzerland, on Prince Edward Island.
UPEI and Homburg will work together to develop po ssible avenues of cooperation including: exchanges of students and academic staff; joint conferences, training and seminars; and collaboration on research, consulting and program development.

Jim Randall, Vice President Academic at UPEI, said that, 'The University has established an international reputation for high quality research and academic programming. With this agreement, we look forward to working with the Homburg Group and the province to establish collaborative research and study opportunities in the area of real estate that will be of benefit to Islanders.'

The memorandum of understanding is valid for a period of five years. Future partnerships and ventures between UPEI and Homburg will be governed by their own agreements.

'Homburg is launching a unique global educational institution, with simultaneous development in Zurich, a world financial centre, and Prince Edward Island, the birthplace of Confederation. Along with an international network of academi c partnerships, Homburg can provide the world's best learning opportunities to students as it leverages its 42 years of experience in real estate to build academic excellence,' says Richard Homburg, Executive Chairman of the Homburg Group of Companies.

The new arrangement will not require changes to the University Act.

'This memorandum recognizes the central role the University of Prince Edward Island has played and will continue to play in higher education on the Island. At the same time, we are opening the door to students from around the world and establishing an important centre of research and study in the real estate industry,' said Minister Campbell. 'I congratulate both parties for their vision and for their willingness to cooperate.'

Catherine Fournier, a second year student enrolled in the Business Co-operative Education program at UPEI, is keen to contribute to the success of Wiebel Aerospace over the next few months. Fournier is completing her final work term in the co-op program as the Marketing Coordinator for the emerging aerospace company. Wiebel specializes in the manufacturing of precision machined components for aircraft landing gear and flight controls and currently employs 29 people at their facility in Summerside.

Fournier is responsible for assisting the company find new customers and new avenues of business. She will also work on bringing a fresh look to Wiebel's existing website and create some new marketing materials for the company. Fournier began her work term at Wiebel on January 17, 2011, where she will be employed for 16 weeks.

'We thought the Marketing Coordinator position would be an ideal experience for a UPEI Business Co-op student and we will certainly benefit from Catherine's fresh insights and enthusiasm,' said Charleen Hanlan, Customer Service Manager at Wiebel Aerospace. Hanlan added, 'The funding has allowed Wiebel to dedicate resources to a priority project within the company. Our experience with the UPEI Business Co-op program has been a win-win opportunity.'

Wiebel is one of numerous private sector businesses benefitting from funding made available through the Business and Science co-op programs at UPEI. The project, funded by Skills PEI through the Canada-PEI Labour Market Agreement, has developed quality work terms for students in the private sector. The funds are used in the form of wage incentives - up to 50 per cent of a co-op student's hourly wage - for approved private sector businesses on PEI. Employers are eligible to receive this assistance for up to 16 weeks.

Co-operative education offers an integrated educational program, combining academic studies with practical work experiences outside the university environment. The programs are founded on the principle that students apply theoretical knowledge from course studies and return to the classroom with related professional experience. At UPEI, ‘co-op' is available for students enrolled in Business, Physics, and Computer Science. Students complete four 12-16 week work terms during the May-August, September- December, and January-April periods.

Anyone interested in more information can contact Jessica Gillis, Project Coordinator of the Private Sector Business and Science Co-op Development Program, at (902) 894-2830 or jpgillis@upei.ca.

From Atlantic University Sport

UPEI Panthers swimmer Kaylynne Parkes was named the inaugural recipient of the AUS Student-Athlete Community Service Award for the sport of swimming at the recent 2011 Subway AUS Swimming Championship luncheon held at Dalhousie University.

The Atlantic University Sport Student-Athlete and Community Service Award has been among the major awards handed out for other AUS sports in recent years, and recognizes achievement in athletics, academics and community involvement. This year marks the first time the award has been included in the post-season compliment of awards for all sports, and Parkes is the first recipient from AUS swimming.

"With so many of our AUS student-athletes excelling in the classroom, in their respective sports and in the community, it is appropriate that we honour these individuals in all of our sports," said Phil Currie, Executive Director of Atlantic University Sport. "Kaylynne is a great ambassador for her sport, UPEI and Atlantic University Sport and we are proud to be able to recognize her with this inaugural award."

Parkes, a fourth-year student at the University of Prince Edward Island, is a native of Mississauga, ON, and is currently completing a Dietetic Internship. She has achieved Dean's List status at UPEI in each of the past three years and has also been recognized as a CIS academic all-Canadian.

Over the past year, Kaylynne has been fortunate enough to have had many volunteer opportunities, including the chance to travel to Kenya for three months to volunteer with local women's groups and five different elementary and high schools. While in Kenya, she worked with the schools to improve their school gardens and consequently their school lunch programs, making the meals served to students more nutritious. She also worked with women's groups to educate the women on methods to improve family nutrition and improve complementary feeding practices.

Since returning home, Kaylynne has been able to use her experience to educate community members about food security issues and their link to agriculture through sharing her experiences with various groups through formal presentations, from students and faculty on campus, to various church groups, and a variety of other community organizations.

Kaylynne also volunteers with school breakfast programs in Charlottetown, with the Prince Edward Island canoe/kayak program and within the UPEI Department of Family and Nutritional Sciences.

Parkes will be the AUS nominee for the CIS Student-Athlete Community Service Award later this month at the 2011 CIS Championship, February 24-26 at the University of Calgary.

Parkes along with fellow graduating UPEI student-athletes, Mikhala Brinklow-Mcknight and Carrie Mills, were also recognized with a gift from the host organizing committee at the luncheon.

The University of Prince Edward Island signed an agreement today to host Environment Canada's climate change data for Atlantic Canada. The Atlantic server node is part of Environment Canada's Canadian Climate Change Scenarios Network, which supports climate change impact and adaptation research.

'The Canadian Climate Change Scenarios Network server node is an invaluable tool for researchers and communities investigating climate change,' said Dr. Katherine Schultz, UPEI's Vice President of Research and Development. 'These are data that will benefit the entire region. I'm proud that UPEI is partnering with Environment Canada in making this resource available.'

'The Adaptation and Impacts Research Section of Environment Canada is pleased to welcome UPEI into the national partnership of the Canadian Climate Change Scenarios Network,' said Neil Comer, Environment Canada Climatologist and Manager of the network. 'Along with other academic institutions across the country, UPEI will strengthen a proven successful collaborative effort to provide Atlantic Canadians with the best available climate change science information.'

Dr. Sheldon Opps, Associate Professor and Chair of UPEI's Department of Physics, initiated the discussions which led to the agreement with Environment Canada after identifying a need for access to climate data on Prince Edward Island. In his own research, Opps will use the data to track changes in migration and distribution of birds, as an indicator for climate change.

'Although birds make up a major part of the animal diversity on the Island, we know very little about how current and predicted future changes in the environment may affect them,' said Opps. 'These data will allow us to model possible scenarios, identify solutions, and monitor the progress and change.'

The announcement follows a two-day workshop and training session put on by Environment Canada for potential users of the node.

'As we have observed during recent storm surge events, Prince Edward Island is very vulnerable to the consequences of climate change,' said private environmental consultant Don Jardine. 'The intent of these workshops is to learn about tools which are available to help us better prepare for similar future events.'

The data within the Atlantic node of the Canadian Climate Change Scenarios Network are publicly available at the website atlantic.cccsn.ca. The site provides researchers, policy makers, and the general public access to information and tools to understand and plan for climate change.

The University of PEI is pleased to announce that a team from the School of Business won the Atlantic Canada Global Investment Research Challenge (IRC) sponsored by the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute. The team from UPEI was one of five Atlantic Canada teams that presented a research report on the subject company, Dollarama.

The Global IRC is an educational initiative in which business students from the region spend a semester researching, valuing, and finally, making a recommendation on a pre-selected publicly traded company.

UPEI's team included Ashley Adams, Jeff MacKenzie, Graham McNabb, and Kyle Smith who analyzed all available information about the company, determined its value, and wrote a 10-page financial analysis that was submitted to judges from the industry. A requirement was to include a buy or sell recommendation on the company, and set a target price for investors.

On February 4, the team travelled to Halifax to deliver a presentation to a judging panel of four Halifax-based CFAs. Marks were awarded to each team on the basis of their investment report, the presentation of their analysis, and their ability to answer and respond to detailed questions from the judges.

As the winning team, UPEI now qualifies for the CFA Institute's Americas Regional Final of the Global IRC which takes place in Omaha, Nebraska, April 7-8, 2011. There, they compete against teams from 40 universities across North and South America. If the students win the regional event, they will advance to the Global Finals taking place the following day.

'Competing in the Global IRC was a great way to take the tools that we have learned and apply them to real-life business scenarios,' said Jeff MacKenzie. 'We had a phenomenal team for this competition who all brought different strengths to the table. Having a good team as well as the immense support that we receive from faculty is very motivating. We are looking forward to representing UPEI against the top finance teams around the world at the regional final in April.'

'We are so proud for our students,' said Dr. Roberta MacDonald, dean of the School of Business. 'This win highlights the quality of our students. It is just one more indication that our students can compete successfully against their peers from larger programs. It is always fantastic to see students link what they have learned in the classroom to something that can be utilized after they complete their studies.'

This is only the second time UPEI has participated in the Global IRC and the third time this semester a team from UPEI has won a competition against their peers. The other four student teams were from Saint Mary's, St. Francis Xavier, University of New Brunswick, and Memorial.

'Graham, Kyle, Ashley, and Jeff put in a lot of extra time preparing their analysis for the Global IRC,' said Dr. Sean Hennessey, the team's faculty advisor. 'This competition is a great opportunity for students to meet people in the industry, practice their presenting skills, and learn how to tailor their writing for a specific audience. I also wish to thank Chad King, a CFA who is Vice-President & Portfolio Manager at Seamark Asset Management based in Halifax. Chad was the industry mentor for the team and is a graduate from the School.'

The team is now eagerly awaiting further information about the regional final.

About Atlantic Canada CFA Society
Atlantic Canada CFA Society is an association of local investment professionals. There are members in all four Atlantic Provinces and the membership consists of portfolio managers, security analysts, investment advisors, and other financial professionals.

About CFA Institute
CFA Institute is the global, not-for-profit association of investment professionals that awards the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and CIPM (Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement) designations. There are over 92,000 CFA charter holders, in 134 countries around the world.

Robert Dawson, a 2009 cohort in the executive-style MBA program at UPEI, recently was named 2011 Student Entrepreneur Prince Edward Island Champion in a national competition operated by charitable organization, Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE).

As a provincial champion, Dawson will now move on to represent Prince Edward Island in the regional round of competition taking place at the 2011 ACE Regional Exposition in Halifax on March 11, 2011.

Since 2008, Dawson has owned and operated Top Search Result, an online marketing company specializing in assisting other companies with search engine marketing (promoting websites on Google) and managing various social media presences (facebook, twitter, LinkedIn).

'I am extremely honoured to be given the opportunity to represent the Island at the regional round of competition in Halifax,' commented Dawson. 'I am looking forward to meeting other Atlantic Canadian student entrepreneurs and receiving constructive feedback from the judges.'

Dawson's largest business accomplishments to date include: having clients on his roster from across the country, being recently designated as a 'Google Adwords Qualified Professional'-meeting the standards set by Internet giant Google-as well as earning enough income for Dawson to pay for his university education and hire an intern.

'With today's ever-changing economic situation, ACE is proud to continue its work developing leaders, creating connections and building a better Canada,' explained Amy Harder, president of ACE. 'We are confident that our 2011 Student Entrepreneur Provincial Champions will make meaningful contributions to the country and its economy for years to come.'

Provincial champions will each present their business to a panel of entrepreneurs and industry professionals who will determine two regional champions, who will each receive a $1,000 cash prize and move on to the final round of competition at the 2011 ACE National Exposition in Toronto on May 11, 2011. The national champion will receive a $10,000 cash prize and have the opportunity to represent Canada at the international level of competition, the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards.

About ACE
ACE is a national, charitable organization that is teaching and inspiring young Canadians to create brighter futures for themselves and their communities. ACE delivers a team-based program called Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) and an individual-based program, Student Entrepreneur. ACE students created 540 jobs, logged 273,000 volunteer hours and directly impacted 114,000 people in the past year alone. In the past three years, students have generated over $80,000,000 in economic opportunity. ACE is currently established on over 55 post-secondary campuses across Canada.

About the executive-style MBA program at UPEI
Launched in September 2008, the executive-style MBA program allows students to pursue their graduate studies while they continue to work. It uses an integrated approach, peer-to-peer learning and an emphasis on developing global perspectives to prepare graduates to act as leaders and innovators in the changing business environment.

For more information on Dawson's company, visit www.TopSearchResult.ca.

UPEI's sessional instructor in saxophone, Kevin MacLean, will present a saxophone recital on March 4 at 7:30 pm at the Dr. Steel Recital Hall as part of the UPEI Recital Series. The recital will feature a variety of works for the saxophone, and involves the collaboration of over 30 musicians - professional players, university students and music faculty from UPEI.

The first half of the recital will feature MacLean with Frances McBurnie (piano) performing Max Bruch's 'Kol Nidre', a hauntingly beautiful work which is based on the prayer which begins the service of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Dan St. Amand (trumpet), Frances McBurnie and MacLean will perform Aaron Copland's 'Quiet City', a trio originally written for English horn, trumpet and piano. The first half will conclude with an exciting new trio for saxophone, flute and piano by composer Russell Peterson, with flutist Morgan Saulnier and pianist Frances McBurnie.

The centerpiece of the recital is David Maslanka's 'Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Wind Ensemble'. The work will be conducted by Dr. Karem J. Simon. Maslanka is a world renowned composer who specializes in wind compositions. MacLean has been in close contact with the composer regarding the piece, and is very excited to bring this unique work to the Island stage.