A message from the Director

Ken Carter

As director of Grenfell's Office of Engagement, I work closely with staff, faculty and students who come together through engaged research, experiential learning and innovation. Through this work, we see the results of dynamic interactions between academia, government, community and industry as we enter multi-directional exchanges of skills, capacities, and knowledge. Engagement is central to Memorial University's mission and, as such, it remains at the core of our work. It leads students, faculty and staff along the path of inquiry and collaboration with local communities and industries to make our campus critical catalyst for the collision of community and academic knowledge. Innovation and entrepreneurship have also become a central component of our Office's approach to engagement in the past few years. Navigate's Entrepreneurship Centre, Incubator and Makerspace support entrepreneurship on campus and in the community.

MUN's model for public engagement acknowledges that meaningful relationships take time and trust. In the past five years, Grenfell's Office of Engagement has strengthened our partnerships with key institutions and entities across Newfoundland and Labrador. Our specific mandate leads us to incorporate a place-based approach and we are excited to collaborate with the Labrador Campus for projects in Labrador and with the Harris Centre in projects across Newfoundland. This approach respects the diversity and unique nature of our myriad of communities, deeply connected to the land and with challenges connected to place.

Grenfell's Office of Engagement has a mandate to build a culture of collaboration between Grenfell and the western region of Newfoundland and Labrador. Whether you are a student, an employee or a member of the public, our office is here to facilitate connections and support partnerships. By implementing our Engagement Framework, our office creates opportunities to mobilize Grenfell faculty, staff and students for engagement. We support community engaged scholarship and experiential learning for our undergraduate and graduate students.

Through our office, we stay connected to communities and researchers, and we remain in conversation with government and industry who bring their strengths and questions to our attention. Because of this vantage point, we can confidently foster conversations and connections for our campus and the public. We are committed to the mission as stated in Grenfell Campus’s strategic plan, Committing to Communities: To continue to grow a student-focused and community-engaged campus that uses its strengths to innovate, to respond to the needs of its stakeholders and to lead in achieving transformative change for sustainability.

Engagement continues to strengthen our identity as a campus, and I am pleased to share with you the stories that have come out of these partnerships. The stories that you will read as you browse through this website are the accomplishments of our communities, industry and government partners, students, faculty and staff. I hope you enjoy reading and navigating through these stories as much as we enjoy being part of them at Grenfell's Office of Engagement.