UNBC president Dr. Geoff Payne called it the biggest project the university has undertaken in at least 25 years.
He unveiled the University’s new five year strategic plan to a lecture hall full of staff and students this afternoon (Thursday), a project that has been in the works for nearly a year.
According to the university, “The plan outlines how UNBC is ready to take on some of the most pressing challenges facing northern B.C., Canada, and the world, ranging from climate change and clean energy production to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and communities, to food and water security.”
It is broken down into four key components:
- Cultivate Curiosity
- Act on Truth and Reconciliation
- Empower Northern Communities
- Foster Local Solutions for Global Impact
The plan is called “Ready.”
“Be ready to learn, ready to act, ready to listen,” Payne explained to My PG Now after the presentation. “Ready to be whatever needs to be done in order to move society forward.”
UNBC launched a survey on the strategic plan earlier in the year, which Payne said received more than 1000 responses.
“The amount of people that were involved in this was amazing,” he said. “It took a team, it took a community to get us here today.”
While the plan was unveiled today, Payne said the work is just beginning.
“They are just words today, we have to make sure we are demonstrating through metrics and outcomes that we are actually achieving what we set out to do, and then take those words and actions and continue to move us forward,” he explained.
People within the University will be able to apply for a brand new, one-time fund totaling $250,000 with “new and innovative ideas that align around the plan.”
Payne said details around this funding will be shared in the next couple of weeks, and he hopes the funding will be handed out by early next year.
“When we started this and we wanted people to share their voice, I had hopes and aspirations – they were exceeded today. The voices become the fingerprints of our strategic plan now, and it really is a community coming together.”
You can find the full strategic plan here.
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