SP0089: Integrated Education Hub

Knowledge mobilization means that information and expertise is shared and deployed in partnership with community stakeholders and in active service to societal concerns. The concept has been used in the academic setting for at least two decades. 

Traditionally there are four spheres of McGill University have been kept very separate: curriculum, research, operations and community outreach. Linking these spheres in the form a public hub for information and opportunity sharing will benefit McGill students, faculty and staff as well as the community abroad. The public can learn much from university research, but the reverse is also true, especially when it comes to understanding the needs of a community. Improved dialogue and collaboration are beneficial for laying out the most productive research topics and methods, which is important to consider when these communities are stakeholders in and funders of research. 

This project explores seeks to unite these spheres and create opportunities for coordinating and expanding applied research and experiential learning at McGill to benefit both the campus and the broader community. The main goal of the project is to identify potential structures for the creation university-wide hub for students, faculty and staff to address learning and research. 

One key strategy for achieving this objective is for McGill to position itself as a facilitator of campus-community partnerships. To do this, the following questions will be posed:

• What opportunities for learning already exist that link the four spheres in question?
• What are the main challenges to linking these areas?
• What structures can we put into place to promote meaningful learning for individuals and McGill as a whole, and to foster mutually beneficial relationships between the campus and the broader community? 

Resources from the SPF have been used to provide a stipend for a part-time research position. Responsibilities of this position include: convening and advisory community to guide the process, identifying a range of community groups active on campus, creating for a through which stakeholders can share information as well as identify opportunities for expansion, and conducting a needs assessment for the expansion and completion of these initiatives. 

The McGill Integrated Education Hub creates a community where every member feels important, valued, and is able to make a contribution to something larger than themselves: their own course of study.