A number of participants identified growing need for graduates who could combine health, social service, and
counselling expertise with information technology skills. Growing trends, including online counselling and training,
health-related appdevelopment, and healthcare systems design, require graduateswith new skills.
Participants emphasized the importance of mental health and wellness initiatives and community engagement to
both community and student health and success. They suggested increasing peer mentorship opportunities, early
recognition training for faculty, enhanced advising, and inclusion of mindfulness practices in co-curricular
programming. They also connected issues of university and housing affordability and concerns over employability
to mental health, as these are major stressors in students’ lives. The University also plays an important role in
getting research about mental health to practitioners, and to community members more generally. Participants
saw an important opportunity to build relationshipswith public health institutions for research translation andwork-
integrated learning.
A number of participants felt that the University should engagemore systematically with secondary students on a
variety of levels, from creating learning communities involving both high school andUniversity students, toworking
on mental health initiatives, to working with students in early secondary school to help them envision themselves
as university graduates and to ease educational transitions. They also felt this work was important to enhancing
theUniversity’s reputation and community awareness of itsmany strengths.
Participants encouraged the University to incorporatemore explicit training in working in contexts of diversity, and
in particular, greater depth of knowledge of the implications of cultural diversity in the effective provision of public
sector services. Connected with this, some participants also noted the region’s significant Francophone
community, and advocated for fresh approaches tomeeting their educational needs.
It was also noted that there are at times disconnects between educational offerings and employer requirements,
and that there may be ways to improve this fit. There is also demand for opportunities to acquire further
recognized credentials as part of university education, or as part of continuing education. Hiring effective
instructors and institutional emphasis on teaching were considered to be important. Bringing more expert
practitioners into the classroom was generally seen as a good step towards helping students make better
connections between theory andpractice, always a key concern in professional programs.
Specific research, curricular, andprogrammatic needs identified:
•
Aging communities
•
Enhanced requirements for community andpublic
service
•
Enhanced technology skills related toprofessions
•
Greater integrationof professional program
curricula
•
Enhanced integrationof community and
institutional expertise in education
•
Centre of Excellence inPalliativeGeriatricCare
•
Small business inhealthcare sector
•
Intersectionof culture, language, diversity, class
withpublic services
•
Mega-hospital integration health-education and
research centres
•
Promoting and valuingour community
•
Integrationwith colleges, trades
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