A message from the Director

Ken Carter

While our province continued to struggle with restrictions due to the pandemic, our office worked tirelessly in 2021 to ensure we carried on our work to connect with, and support, the people, businesses, industries and communities of our region.

We have not only maintained relationships with our partners and collaborators during the pandemic - we have built on them. For instance, we are looking forward to the official opening of the Centre for Research and Innovation, a physical resource in the heart of Corner Brook that will provide the tools, resources and research capacity to enable the development of sustainable and resilient communities in the western region.

Our industry-engaged research projects continued to move forward, most recently with the announcement of a $15 million Marine Biomass Innovation project funded by a Tri-Agency New Frontiers in Research Fund grant. The project will see Grenfell researchers collaborate with Indigenous communities, universities and industry. Work also continued with Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Ltd. to repurpose its waste streams. The Navigate Entrepreneurship Centre re-invented its board of directors and focus, drawing on the expertise and successes of new and long-time entrepreneurs in our community.

Engaged learning continued through our City Studio program, a collaboration with the City of Corner Brook, which gives our students hands-on experience working with city staff to help Corner Brook becoming a better community in which to live. In the near future we look forward to introducing "Rural Studio," which will build on this mandate in rural areas of our region.

Engagement is central to Memorial University's mission, and in 2021, was critical to the continuity of the sociocultural fiber of our province. Actively connecting and maintaining relationships over the past year has been essential as we anticipate moving forward toward a "new normal." The Office of Engagement would like to thank sincerely the faculty, staff and students who have worked diligently to support our mission.

I hope as you read the stories and information contained in this report, you will gain a sense of the purpose we are striving to maintain. Our world is gradually reopening; we look forward to continuing the important work of supporting community-engaged research projects and building new opportunities in the western region.

Ken Carter
Director, Research and Engagement