In an effort to help boost student experience and education, Georgian College has received over $900K from the Canadian Government.
Funded through the Government’s Future Skills Centre, the college’s multi-year, multi-phase project seeks to use the funds for three different pilot projects:
-college-wide transformation, to increase its capacity and work spaces, as well as establishing a virtual campus
-departmental transformation, enhancing student learning in existing health, wellness, and science courses and gain access to virtual environments and simulations
-program transformation, addressing barriers for women and indigenous people entering construction trades, and launching a personalized adapting learning model to assist with student learning
Dr. MaryLynn West-Moynes, Georgian College president and CEO says in a statement that the Covid-19 pandemic has only helped accelerate their plans, “Georgian is an early innovator and this significant investment from the Future Skills Centre will help to enhance our digital learning resources and student services to position Georgian for success now and into the future.”
According to Georgian College in the release, regional growth and new digital demands are causing many industries like health, manufacturing, high-tech, and trades, to change rapidly, and the demands for graduates with advances digital skills in various outlets while working remotely is rising.
Dr. West-Moynes notes, “at the same time, we know technology can play a significant role in making education more accessible in the communities we serve and that today’s employers are increasingly looking for graduates with a digital innovation skill set.”
The announcement of the funding is the result of the Future Skills Centre being originally announced by the Canadian Government in February 2019, a product of the 2017 budget to establish a new organization to support skill development in Canada.