The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, recently announced that 45 social sciences and humanities research projects have been awarded federal funds to assess and mobilize knowledge in the areas of emerging technologies, energy, and natural resources in Canada. Among the successful projects is one by Dr. Sean Wiebe, associate professor of education at the University of Prince Edward Island. Dr. Wiebe’s proposal, “Re-Envisioning Education for Individual, Community and Societal Well-being in a Digital Era,” will be supported by a $25,000 Knowledge Synthesis Grant (KSG) from the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Dr. Wiebe will work in collaboration with the Learning Partners Advisory Council and other education stakeholders to explore how education can best prepare students for the realities of the perpetually evolving and potentially enigmatic knowledge-based economy.

“UPEI’s Faculty of Education has been at the forefront of digital economy research for some time,” said Dr. Wiebe. “This work builds on important efforts initiated by Dr. Martha Gabriel, Dr. Ron MacDonald, Dr. Sandy McAuley, and Dr. Barb Campbell.”

This project is in response to a changing economy that is increasingly difficult to create strategies to educate and train workers for. Gone are the days where higher skills earn better jobs creating a better economy. As domestic labour trends move towards part-time, contract, and precarious work, and decreased unionization, education needs to focus on a new set of skills, unlike those required for 20^th century success.

“Dr. Wiebe is an internationally recognized leader in innovative approaches to education in the digital age and, as such, it is encouraging and appropriate to have his work supported by SSHRC,” said Dr. Robert Gilmour, Vice-President Academic and Research at UPEI.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council is the federal research funding agency that promotes and supports postsecondary-based research and training in the humanities and social sciences. Through its programs, SSHRC contributes to innovations that will improve the lives of Canadians, and works to develop talented leaders for all sectors of society. SSHRC disburses more than $345 million in funding annually to support more than 8,300 research projects.

Dr. George McRobie died in Charlottetown on Friday, July 2. The trajectory of his remarkable life took him from his birthplace of Moscow (1925), through his childhood in northern Scotland, his highly successful career in London and throughout the world, and finally here to Prince Edward Island, his half-time home since 2009. He was a man of great personal warmth and charm, much beloved by his many friends on the Island.

McRobie achieved fame through his close association with the British economist E.F. Schumacher and what could be called the “Small Is Beautiful” movement. They first met while Schumacher was Economic Advisor to the National Coal Board. For Schumacher, international attention came with the publication of Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered, in 1973. This seminal work has been named by the Times Literary Supplement as one of the 100 most influential books published since World War II.

As well as being a fine theorist, Schumacher was also a remarkable man of action, and in McRobie he found a willing and capable colleague. Together they were founders of the Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) in 1966, a UK-based NGO specializing in creating small-scale technology for developing countries. In 2005, the ITDG changed its name to Practical Action, and today it claims that “every year we help over one million people out of poverty.”

Schumacher and McRobie both served stints as President of the Soil Association, the main British organization promoting the use of organic agriculture.   

For rather obvious reasons, the book Small Is Beautiful found a ready audience in Prince Edward Island. In 1975, McRobie first visited the Island, where he spoke to the Legislative Assembly at the invitation of Premier Alex Campbell.

With Schumacher’s death in 1977, the mantle of leadership fell on the shoulders of McRobie. In 1981 he published his book Small Is Possible – a “factual account about who is doing what, where, to put into practice the ideas expressed in E. F. Schumacher’s SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL.” McRobie’s purview encompassed the whole world; and in the chapter on Canada, he lauded the Island’s Institute of Man and Resources as one of “the two most striking and imaginative programmes” he had encountered in our country.

In later years, McRobie’s ties to the Island were strengthened when he was invited back on several occasions, at the invitation of the Institute of Island Studies, as an advisor on worker co-operatives and sustainable agriculture. In 1989, he was awarded an Honorary Degree by UPEI.

Dr. McRobie also has a close association with the Sir Andrew Macphail Foundation. This began in 1990 when he was tasked by the Institute of Island Studies to write a report outlining a vision for the Homestead in the demonstration and promotion of sustainable farming and forestry. Since 2011, the Homestead has hosted an annual George McRobie Lecture on the subject of sustainable agriculture – and George attended all five of these. The guest speaker at the inaugural McRobie Lecture was Patrick Holden, founder and head of The Sustainable Food Trust, and a friend of McRobie’s during the years they worked together at the Soil Association.

On a more personal note, George’s residency on the Island in recent years is entirely due to the sustainable devotion of his wife Susanne Manovill, friends since he visited here in the 1980s. In 2009 George was a widower, and Susanne invited him to return for a visit. Since then, Susanne and George have been inseparable.   

Harry Baglole of Bonshaw is a former Director of UPEI’s Institute of Island Studies.

UPEI hosted the first international workshop on a new proposed technology called “dew computing.” Dew computing is a computing model which appeared after the wide acceptance of cloud computing. Cloud-dew architecture is a proposed technology which makes web surfing possible, even when not connected to the Internet. This architecture can also be used in Internet of Things (IoT) and other areas. DEWCOM 2016 brought together researchers in this exciting new field July 7 and 8 on the UPEI campus.

While cloud computing uses centralized servers to provide various services, dew computing uses on-premises computers to provide decentralized, cloud-friendly, and collaborative micro services to end-users. Dew computing is an on-premises computer software-hardware organization paradigm in the cloud-computing environment, which is complementary to cloud computing.

Dew computing has just gone through its emerging stage. A few research groups contributed to dew computing from different angles. With dew computing being an emerging and fast-growing research area, it is necessary to bring researchers in this area together to exchange progress and to envision the path ahead.

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact, and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.

The Wekimün School Project, a collaboration of UPEI and the Williche Council of  Chiefs of Chiloé, is entering its fifth year of improving the quality of life of Williche indigenous youth of the Los Lagos region of Chile. Wekimün is a school for and with indigenous youth and communities, which integrates traditional-indigenous and western-scientific knowledge into two programs of study with project-based curriculum and teaching. The project was designed to provide improved educational opportunities to some of Chile’s most marginalized and disenfranchised people.

The curriculum for Wekimün was carefully designed to suit the needs of the youth in the area. Indigenous youth were trained to conduct interviews with more than 100 members of their Williche communities to find out what they needed to learn. With this knowledge and that of official statistics and trends, three major teaching areas emerged: traditional language (Mapudungun) history and culture, sustainable community and environmental development, and traditional health and medicine.

The term “Wekimün” means “to bring together traditional and modern knowledge and practices.” That is the aim as new courses are developed; each is based in traditional practice with input from modern knowledge. Curriculum design is supported by Canadian university faculty members, with input from elder educators who teach and provide traditional knowledge. The school operates both on site and in the community so that when the students go home they continue to learn and engage in projects to support their livelihoods. 

“This project is an intense collaboration across countries, cultures, languages and disciplines,” said Dr. Kate Tilleczek, Canada Research Chair in Young Lives in Global and Local Contexts and co-lead of the Wekimün School Project. “It gathers together young people, elders, teachers, NGOs, communities, universities and governments. It has been a remarkable privilege to work with this team and to learn from the Williche people of southern Chile. The school has been carefully crafted to attend to equity for indigenous youth and women in every aspect: curricular design, student selection, hiring practices, governance and inclusive learning materials. Helping to develop this unique, inclusive school has been a true honour. The tremendous talent and dedication of the Chilean team, the Williche people, the Canadian faculty, volunteers, and project management team is inspiring.”  

The Wekimün School officially opened in May of 2015, offering two programs of study, Intercultural Health and Sustainable Development, and Intercultural Education and Sustainable Development. Classes in each program include language, human and indigenous rights, Williche worldview, sustainable community development (agriculture, natural resource management, etc.), and health (traditional and non-traditional practices, medicinal plants and treatments, etc.).

“Wekimün Chilkatuwe (Wekimün School) is a space in which our identity as indigenous people is strengthened, where students are re-enchanted by life (their own and those of their communities and territories). They look again toward the territory where Williche life and culture has developed for thousands of years. The Wekimün School produces a new commitment amongst the youth that has too often gone unnoticed,” said Mr. Manuel Munoz Millalonko, co-lead of the Wekimün Project in Chiloé. “It is exciting to learn from Wekimün. The construction of new kinds of knowledge comes true every day. And a significant intercultural development is happening here that helps all indigenous people, a dynamic model were the Williche worldview harmoniously interacts with other worldviews from a place of dignity and deep honouring of our Mapu Ñuke (Mother Earth). Our elders acknowledge and participate and we have an engaged relationship with the Canadian faculty who support our community and students in a virtuous circle of knowledge that impacts our work in very distant places on the planet.”

“It is an incredible opportunity to work with and for these communities,” said project manager Debbie MacDonald. “Our project partners, the WCC, are a dedicated and passionate group of community leaders with whom we are working to make their vision of Wekimun School a reality. Their continued focus, despite the many challenges they face in their communities, is admirable and the results for their people are clear.”

The hard work of the first four years of the project is reflected in the current scale-up of the curriculum for certification and in the school site itself. The existing buildings were extensively renovated to provide space for the local health centre (which runs traditional heath services from the school two days a week), office space for teachers and staff, a demonstration kitchen, a state-of-the-art language lab designed for the instruction of indigenous language), classroom space, and outdoor teaching areas including spaces for reflection among an old growth forest. More than 350 youth and community members have already taken part and the team has developed five collaborative agreements with other universities and/or government agencies who support and assist with the work.

Wekimün has received substantial financial support from Global Affairs Canada to develop curriculum, operate the school, provide infrastructure, and establish and strengthen professional relations with various Canadian researchers to create an interdisciplinary team in Chile and Canada. The Embassy of Canada to Chile, Governor of Chile, Minister of Sustainable Development and Minister of Education for Chile have all visited the school site and very much support this initiative.

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and St. Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.

University of Prince Edward Island Women’s Hockey Head Coach Bruce Donaldson is pleased to announce that Montreal, Quebec native Caroline Daoust has committed to the Panthers for the upcoming 2016-17 season.

For the past three seasons, Daoust was a student-athlete for CEGEP Saint Laurent Patriotes. In 21 games last season, the defenceman scored one goal and added five assists for six points. The Patriotes finished second in the provincial championship, and had a regular season record of 20 wins, 2 losses, and a shoot-out loss (the Patriotes won the provincial championship in 2015).

Daoust is excited to begin her CIS career at UPEI and looks forward to playing with longtime friend and AUS All-Star goalie Marie-Soleil Deschenes.

Coach Donaldson comments, “Caroline comes from a great CEGEP program that offers a strong transition to CIS hockey. Caroline plays a strong physical game with great first pass and ability to make quick decisions. She will add size, experience, and a strong understanding of the team concept.”

Daoust has been accepted into the Faculty of Science at UPEI.

About UPEI Athletics and Recreation
• Nine varsity sports and six club team programs
• Proud member of the AUS and CIS
• Athletic facilities include: Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, UPEI Alumni Canada Games Place
• Home of Panther Sports Medicine
• Other facilities available to students and the community at large include: fitness centre, squash and racquetball courts, competition and leisure pool with hot tub, and two ice arenas

Two distinguished members of the UPEI community were among the recipients of The Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers, awarded yesterday by David Johnson, Governor General of Canada. Colleen Bannon, Clinical Nursing Instructor and Continuing Education Program Coordinator for UPEI’s School of Nursing; and, Dr. William Whelan, Professor of Physics, were recognized to their commitment to their communities through volunteering and service.

The citations from the Governor General read:

Colleen Bannon is a strong supporter of the Heart and Stroke Foundation and represents the organization at health fairs across Prince Edward Island. As a volunteer and ambassador, she performs blood pressure checks and educates the public on cardiovascular health throughout the province.

William Whelan has been involved with the Canadian Cancer Society for over 10 years, as well as the Prince Edward Island (PEI) Science Fair and the PEI Home and School Federation. He has promoted dialogue between individuals and expanded community involvement in the province.

“On behalf of the entire UPEI campus, I congratulate Colleen and Bill on this special recognition and thank them for their contributions to our community,” said Jackie Podger, UPEI’s Vice-President of Administration and Finance.

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.

Two prominent Canadian aboriginal women will be the keynote and plenary speakers of the second annual UPEI Multidisciplinary Graduate Research Conference (UMGRC) held from August 11-13 at UPEI. Last year’s conference included more than 70 presentations from graduate researchers from across the country. This year’s edition, working under the theme, “Different ways of knowing,” offers graduate students a rare opportunity to share interdisciplinary research and gain valuable skills and networking opportunities.

Keynote speaker: Rebecca Thomas

“Do you see what I see? Can you? Contemporary world-view and perspective through the eyes of an indigenous poet and scholar,” by Rebecca Thomas, August 12, 9 am, Alex H. MacKinnon Auditorium, Don and Marion McDougall Hall.

Rebecca Thomas is a Mi'kmaw woman living in Dartmouth Nova Scotia. She is the daughter of a residential school survivor whose family is rooted in Lennox Island First Nation, Prince Edward Island. Rebecca is outspoken when it comes to confronting aboriginal stereotypes, as well as educating her colleagues and the general public about cultural safety and integrity. Through her work as coordinator for Aboriginal Student Services at the Nova Scotia Community College, and also as a Slam Poet, Rebecca encourages people to think before they speak. Having captained the Nova Scotia Slam poetry team for the third year in a row, she was able to bring her voice, along with three other Nova Scotians, to the national stage. Having been named HRM's most recent poet laureate, most of her work focuses on the relationships between Canada's First Peoples, their relationship with the federal government, and how First Nations' people are perceived publicly. Rebecca is on a lifelong journey to promote understanding and empathy for indigenous people and marginalized communities.

Plenary Speaker: Julie Bull

“Research is Relational: From Principles to Practice in Reconciliation,” by Julie Bull, August 12, 4 pm, Alex H. MacKinnon Auditorium, Don and Marion McDougall Hall.

Julie Bull is an award-winning researcher of mixed Inuit descent and is a member of NunatuKavut, Labrador. She teaches in the Aboriginal Studies Program at the University of Toronto, the School of Public Health and Social Policy at the University of Victoria, and is an invited lecturer and speaker at many events throughout Canada and around the world. Julie is active in both academic and grassroots indigenous initiatives and sits on national committees working in the area of indigenous health research and research ethics, such as the Secretariat on Responsible Conduct of Research. She remains connected to her home community in Labrador by sitting on the NunatuKavut Community Council Research Advisory Committee and continuing to facilitate relationships between that community and academic researchers. She is also a mentor in the Indigenous Women in Community Leadership program at the Coady International Institute at St. FX University. Julie was instrumental in bringing together the first annual Connecting Aboriginal Cultures workshops in 2008 and the opening of the Mawi’omi Aboriginal Student Centre at UPEI.

Presentations at UMGRC will be compiled into a peer-reviewed publication, available after the conference. For more information on the conference workshops and schedule, visit the UMGRC website.

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and St. Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.

Relive “the good old days” at the Barn Reunion, August 6, from 9 pm—12:30 am at UPEI’s W. A. Murphy Student Centre. For one night only, generation of Panthers who spent much of their student life in the Barn will come together to recall old memories and create new ones at the Barn Reunion.

Music will be provided by special guest DJs Blake Doyle, Joel Ives, and Scott Ferris. The evening will feature a special tribute to the Class of 1991, who are celebrating 25 years since their graduation. There will be a memorabilia display, music, door prizes, and more!

“I'm looking forward to seeing lots of friends from the past and helping to create a Barn Reunion that will be reminiscent of the good old days,” said Blake Doyle, one of the evening’s guest DJs. “I am excited to assist alumni and friends of the barn to reconnect, socialize, and celebrate all the development and changes of our prized provincial university.”

Details about the Barn:

• home of the student union from 1972—2002
• venue for some of Canada's biggest bands through the 80s and 90s
• destroyed by fire in 1982 and rebuilt
• home to CIMN campus radio
• housed the campus pub (Panther Lounge) and hosted memorable annual events such as end-of-semester pub nights, Hallowe’en pubs, Friday night movies, Pig and Whistles, Main Events, pool tournaments, and more
• demolished in 2002, replaced by the W. A. Murphy Student Centre

Tickets are $15 dollars, and can be purchased by visiting upei.ca/barnreunion.

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and St. Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.

Singing impacts lives in positive ways from birth until senior years. It also impacts communities. A workshop entitled “Singing, Song, and Community” will take place Friday, July 22, from 1 pm—4:15 pm in UPEI’s SDU Main Building Faculty Lounge. It begins with a keynote presentation from Rachel Heydon of the University of Western Ontario’s Faculty of Education and coordinator of the Early Childhood Education master’s program. She is also a longstanding research leader within the UPEI-led Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing (AIRS) project and a former faculty member of the UPEI  Faculty of Education. She will speak on “Singing-Infused Multimodal Intergenerational Curricula: (Re) Conceptualizing why Multimodal Literacy Matters,” based on a book co-authored with Susan O’Neill of Simon Fraser University.

The remaining program will include short presentations from leaders of local community organizations who will describe their mandates and suggest how singing connects directly or indirectly with them. The speakers are Jane Arbing (Chances Family Centre PEI), Corrine Hendricken-Eldershaw (Alzheimer Society of PEI), Mark Sandiford (Culture PEI), Pamela Campbell (voice teacher, performer, conductor), and Nathan Hood (president, UPEI Student Union).

After refreshments, the following psychology students, who are conducting research on singing at UPEI, will make brief presentations on their work:  Hailey Arsenault, Quincy Beck (visiting from Brown University), Eric Da Silva, Kyle Dutton, and Julienne Lecky.

The AIRS UPEI Multicultural Choir and Song Circle will close the workshop. Throughout the afternoon, there will opportunity for audience discussion and participation.
The event is under the auspices of the  UPEI-led AIRS project (supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council), the UPEI Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, and the UPEI Faculty of Education.

Anyone with an interest in community, music and well-being is encouraged to attend. This event is free.

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and St. Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.
 

Dr. Robert Gilmour, Vice-President Academic and Research at the University of Prince Edward Island, today announced a new UNESCO Chair in Island Studies and Sustainability. The chair will be co-held by Dr. James Randall, a geographer and coordinator of UPEI’s Master of Arts in Island Studies (MAIS) program, and Dr. Godfrey Baldacchino, a professor of sociology at the University of Malta and an Island Studies teaching fellow at the University of Prince Edward Island.

“The UNESCO Chair is a singular achievement for the university, particularly for the program in Island Studies,” said Dr. Robert Gilmour. “The chair formalizes and reinforces the combined efforts of our former Canada Research Chair, Dr. Baldacchino, and the current coordinator of UPEI's MAIS program, Dr. Randall, and, as such, significantly enhances the international impact of one of the university's signature initiatives.”

The UNESCO Chair in Island Studies will work to establish and expand academic and research programmes on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Sub-National Island Jurisdictions (SNIJs). It will operate from the premise that SIDS and SNIJs are innovative, entrepreneurial, and connected, not vulnerable, lacking, and isolated. The chair is one of 700 UNESCO chairs around the world and is the first in Atlantic Canada.

“The relevance of islands to our world at the moment is unparalleled. From political turmoil in the South China Sea, to the impacts of climate change, to refugee movements through Europe, to the role of offshore financial centres, stories about islands and islanders seem to be in the news every day,” said Dr. James Randall. “This Chair brings together the people and the organizations doing island studies research and learning in order to help us solve some of the great challenges facing our world.”

The principal long-term mission of the Chair of Island Studies and Sustainability is to contribute to the sustainable development of SIDS—a UNESCO priority since the articulation of the Millennium Development Goals in 2000—and to extend this priority to SNIJs. The chair proposes to harness the insights and experience of island studies scholars, students, governments, and organizations worldwide, many of which the co-chair-holders, the Institute of Island Studies, and partners and supporters have already established.

“It is a great privilege to be the co-holder of the UNESCO Chair Program at UPEI along with my colleague Dr. Jim Randall,” said Dr. Godfrey Baldacchino. “UPEI has made huge investments in island studies over almost four decades and has developed a world class and world renowned reputation and expertise as a result. Most island studies roads lead to, or pass through, Charlottetown; the UNESCO Chair is a natural transition which now allows us to take the game to the next level, whether in public engagement, cutting edge scholarship, or research funding.”

“It is most edifying to see the strong relationship between the University of Prince Edward Island and the University of Malta cemented with this prestigious UNESCO Chair appointment—a first for both our institutions,” said Professor Alfred J. Vella, Rector of the University of Malta, in Malta. “In this way, our respective expertise in the study of islands and small jurisdictions is better recognized. I look forward to an even stronger island studies program, driven by the competitive advantage that our two institutions enjoy in this field.”

This chair is created through the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme, which has promoted international inter-university cooperation and networking since 1992 to enhance institutional capacities through knowledge sharing and collaborative work. The programme supports the establishment of UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks in key priority areas related to UNESCO’s fields of competence–i.e. in education, the natural and social sciences, culture, and communication.

The University of Prince Edward Island prides itself on people, excellence, and impact and is committed to assisting students reach their full potential in both the classroom and community. With roots stemming from two founding institutions—Prince of Wales College and Saint Dunstan’s University—UPEI has a reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and creating positive impacts locally, nationally, and internationally. UPEI is the only degree granting institution in the province and is proud to be a key contributor to the growth and prosperity of Prince Edward Island.