{"id":51741,"date":"2018-11-12T15:50:48","date_gmt":"2018-11-12T20:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=51741"},"modified":"2025-10-10T15:22:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T19:22:14","slug":"education-city-workshop","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/education-city-workshop\/","title":{"rendered":"Education City"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Education City\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Faculty, executives, staff and students from Ottawa\u2019s post-secondary institutions assembled at La Cit\u00e9 coll\u00e9giale\u2019s new Excentricit\u00e9 studio on Nov. 9, 2018 for an unprecedented gathering: the Education City education and innovation workshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education City, a partnership between Carleton University, Algonquin College<\/a>, La Cit\u00e9<\/a> and the University of Ottawa<\/a>, is a collaborative attempt to develop more integrated \u201cstackable\u201d academic programs and shared research shops that will help find solutions to challenges faced by businesses, non-profits and governments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Education
Former Carleton University interim president and Education City\u2019s executive lead, Alastair Summerlee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Organizers expected 100 attendees but instead drew about 150 people, including representatives of l\u2019Universit\u00e9 Saint-Paul \u2014 a testament to the desire among educators to find ways to provide students with the flexibility they need to thrive in a world where traditional forms of employment are changing rapidly and dramatically.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cNothing that will happen today will be traditional,\u201d La Cit\u00e9 President Lise Bourgeois said in opening remarks.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cOur primary task today is really simple \u2014 can we put on paper educational innovations that we can really implement?\u201d asked Alastair Summerlee, Carleton\u2019s former interim president and Education City\u2019s executive lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summerlee noted that Ontario\u2019s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities supported the pilot initiative with $800,000 over two years and, if it proves successful, the provincial government is open to providing base funding to keep it going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education City\u2019s partners are already working together on the $5-million David C. Onley Initiative for Employment and Enterprise Development aimed at developing knowledge, resources and tools to help students with disabilities advance their careers. Its ultimate goal is to reach the point where graduates with disabilities are employed at the same rate as the general population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have to ensure that our graduates are flexible enough to work in tomorrow\u2019s workplace,\u201d said Summerlee. \u201cAt the moment, our siloed systems are not necessarily supporting that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Education<\/figure>\n\n\n

Defining Expectations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Summerlee told attendees about a survey he conducted near the end of his final term as president at the University of Guelph. He asked a cross-section of students to identify phrases that define the expectations they have for their degrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phrases such as \u201cliberalize society\u201d (create understanding and inquiring minds, appreciate culture and humanity, protect freedom of expression, value tolerance and diversity), \u201cbecome part of society\u2019s conscience\u201d (promote social justice, engage in public service, develop moral purpose, foster social mobility) and \u201cadvance ideas\u201d (do fundamental and applied research, nurture entrepreneurism, commercialize ideas and inventions) came to mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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