In the Brian Mulroney Hall rotunda, St. Thomas University students, faculty and community gathered for the 21st Annual Student Ideas Research Fair held on Mar. 14.
The positive energy and excitement in the room was palpable as students anticipated their presentations.
STU President Nauman Farooqi shared his feelings in his opening remarks.
“[It] is absolutely amazing … when you walk into a room, you can feel the energy and the excitement and that’s what I feel walking into the room … the anticipation of presenting,” he said.
“Important ideas, findings and insights must be shared both within and beyond the university for their impact and potential to be fully achieved … you are well on your way to putting your liberal education to work in your fields and in your respective communities,” said Farooqi.
Savannah Simon, fourth-year history student, introduced her presentation which focused on understanding community-led research as an evolving paradigm that has not been achieved.
“It is a work in progress and it is the beginning of a new pathway for researchers and communities to foster better relationships with one another,” she said.
Simon explained the idea repositions the community as a research partner rather than a research subject, which in turn hopefully reforms the relationship between researcher and community.
This gives the community more agency to have research serve their questions and needs, rather than the researcher — which is often what happens.
Simon emphasized care principles that are rooted in Indigenous rights, data sovereignty and collective benefit, authority to control, responsibility and ethics.
“Historical mistrust and power dynamics remain a significant barrier in community-led research because Indigenous communities feel as though they’ve been researched to death and they feel that much knowledge has been taken without consent and has been used for external benefit.”
This approach ensures that research isn’t done for the community, but with them, which benefits both.
Another presentation exemplified the community-led research discussed by Simon: The Promise of Home project done by Shelby Harnish, Juliet Orji-Oba, Caitlin Sawler and Rebecca MacMullin, all third-year social work students.
The project is led by professors Gül Çalişkan and Sophie Lavoie.
They presented on fostering Inclusivity in Fredericton: Insights from Pop-Up Café Discussions in The Promise of Home — a four-phase, community-based narrative research project which is part of the social work program’s social action initiative. The project explores newcomer experiences of belonging in Fredericton.
“It aims to foster inclusivity with two main principles. That is, immigrants’ lived experiences help to create retention strategies and building relationships between immigrants and locals strengthens the community,” said Orji-Oba.
The project gathers the stories of immigrants, refugees and newcomers in Fredericton through hosting pop-up cafes and discussions. Then, the stories are compiled and shared to foster community awareness and discussion.
By sharing these stories, The Promise of Home hopes to build relationships between immigrants and locals and strengthen community inclusivity.
“[I am an] immigrant myself,” said Orji-Oba. “I’m helping other immigrants trying to know these resources to want to help them and understand more … I’m really honored to be doing this.”
Charles Furlotte, assistant professor of social work, served as moderator for the community-led research sessions.
He said he especially enjoyed the community focused presentations and he appreciated being able to “take that bird’s-eye view of active research that’s happening at St. Thomas University.”
“I’m a social worker. I particularly enjoy students’ abstracts that highlight strong community engagement and meaningful involvement with community members. For me, that reinforces what we learn in the social work classroom: respecting and putting communities first.”
Furlotte appreciates the opportunity for undergraduates to engage in research, which benefits their future academic and professional development. He believes this early involvement empowers students to contribute back to their communities.
“Reading, writing, critical thinking, presentation skills and community networking skills — we maximize those opportunities for our students engaged in research.”
“[It’s] very inspiring to see our students … at such an early stage in their careers, contributing to research endeavors,” he said.
