St. Thomas University has partnered with NB Power to offer “experiential learning,” said Jeffrey Carleton, communications director at the university.
“In a modern liberal arts education, we have to supplement classroom learning with experiential learning,” Carleton said. “It supplements what’s taught in the classroom, but it adds to it the opportunity for the student to get out in the work force.”
The partnership manifests itself in a few different ways.
The first is a community outreach centre, which NB Power financially coordinates with the McKenna Centre for Communications and Public Policy. include summits, debates and lectures, like last week’s talk by Blair Feltmate on climate adaption.
Jamie Gillies, professor in the communications and public policy department, said in an email they would be looking to host events similar to the Feltmate talk.
“The McKenna Centre and the COPP program makes all decisions about the nature of the programming,” Gilles said. “The mandate of the McKenna Centre is to contribute not only to learning opportunities for students, but also to public policy discussions and dialogue in the larger community. The NB Power partnership is allowing us to continue and expand this work.”
There will also be three scholarships offered each year to communication and public policy students valued at $3,000 each, and NB Power will offer an annual yearlong internship to a graduate in the communication and public policy department.
Carleton said the agreement states that the initiatives and funding will in no way limit the university’s mission statement.
“We make crystal clear to all our partners that we have an academic mission, we believe in academic freedom, we’re not going to engage with any relationship or any partnership that going to bring that into question,” said Carleton.
Carleton said the partnership allows STU to set up a manager position at the university to coordinate more experiential student opportunities for different programs.
“You’re going to start seeing more of these (partnerships),” he said.
