U of W master’s program welcomed by industry

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This article was published 09/11/2020 (1843 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The University of Winnipeg is launching a new master’s program in environmental and social change at a time when there is an awful lot of that kind of change going on.

It will be only the 15th graduate program at the mostly undergraduate university (and some of those are in partnership with the University of Manitoba). The interdisciplinary program has received strong industry support and will be able to leverage a research centre already at the university allowing students to be well-positioned to take advantage of existing expertise.

Nora Casson, program co-chair, associate professor in the department of geography, and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Influences on Water Quality, said the program was about four years in the making.

The lengthy development phase was partly because of the commitment to collaborate and to bring in people from across the disciplines.

“There is obviously challenges in launching a new program right now,” she said while all classes are being taught remotely. “We also feel like there is no better time to launch a program aimed at addressing large challenges that span natural and human systems.”

While there are other similar graduate programs in Canadian universities, the unique feature to this one is that it has a strong commitment to interdisciplinary training.

“The current pandemic is such a good example of the need for people to have really strong technical training, but also to be able to talk effectively to the public and policy makers,” Casson said.

Industry officials are applauding the development.

Jack Winram, executive director of Manitoba Environmental Industries Association, said there have been longstanding relationships between the sector and the post-secondary institutions in the province, including an active student chapter.

“The environmental sector is only going to grow,” said Winram, who took over as head of the organization just before the pandemic hit.

“The potential for environmental industries is tremendous. You can’t have a Made in Manitoba Climate and Green Plan, which this province has fully committed to without the skills in Manitoba that can work in the environmental science industries. So it is all positive,” he said.

Brent Bencharski, Manitoba Hydro forestry co-ordinator, said: “There is a shortage of skills needed in this industry to conduct our work. On top of the raw biological understanding of trees and ecosystems, we are in need of individuals who are capable of integrating this knowledge with other fundamental skills.”

Students in the program will be trained to address complex human-environmental issues equipping them with skills in both the natural and social sciences.

The initial intake for the two-year programs is expected to be about six to 10 students growing to a stable number of 25 for the two years. They will be drawn from both science and social science undergraduates and regardless of their prior fields of study they will all take interdisciplinary courses.

The program will have five areas of focus — geospatial analysis, forest and environmental governance, water quality, planetary science and urban systems.

Casson said there is a lot of value in having training like this take place in Manitoba, where the per-capita graduate student population is one of the lowest in the country.

“Expanding graduate offerings in the province means that we are going to attract and retain real stars in the environmental field,” she said. “It will also be such a boost for Manitoba’s environmental sector going forward.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca