UWinnipeg co-hosts international forum in Kyiv on October 30 and 31
WINNIPEG, MB – A delegation from The University of Winnipeg with expertise in sustainable development practices is heading to Kyiv, Ukraine to co-host an international forum with colleagues from the National Technical University of Ukraine – Kyiv Polytechnic Institute and the Kyiv School of Economics. The two-day forum on October 30 and 31 brings together government, the private and post-secondary sectors to explore best practices aimed at achieving tangible results in creating greener campuses through community engagement.
UWinnipeg presenters at the conference include Dr. Neil Besner, Provost and Vice-President, Academic & International; Sherman Kreiner, Vice-President (Student Life) and Managing Director University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation; Wab Kinew, Acting Associate Vice-President, Indigenous Affairs; and Alana Lajoie-O’Malley, Director, Campus Sustainability Office. Bill Balan, Vice-President Finance and Administration and Chief Administrative Officer, who is fluent in Ukrainian, is a forum facilitator. In addition Kyle MacDonald, Building Systems Manager, Physical Plant will give a video presentation to a special seminar of KPI technical staff the day before the forum. Dr. Ian Mauro, renowned academic, filmmaker and UWinnipeg faculty member (Geography) has created a short documentary showing UWinnipeg’s sustainable practices in action which will premiere at the Kyiv forum.
“We have a long-standing and deep relationship with the Ukrainian community and it is a privilege to be cementing stronger ties with leading educational facilities and others committed to sustainable development,” said Besner. “This forum will allow us to share and learn from each other in ways that will benefit our faculty, our students and just as importantly, the broader community.”
The University of Winnipeg is an environmental leader among Canadian universities guided by a comprehensive sustainability strategy. Last year it achieved its Kyoto commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 6% below 1990 levels. This is particularly significant because during the same period, UWinnipeg’s campus added 36% in new space. All new building construction targets minimum Silver LEED status and campus projects engage and provide benefits to the surrounding community, for example, townhouse apartments in McFeetors Hall for neighbourhood students with families, and significant free access to the new UNITED Health and Recplex.
National Technical University of Ukraine – Kyiv Polytechnic Institute was founded in 1898, combining natural sciences, physics, mathematics, chemistry and general engineering. Among the graduates of KPI are world-famous designer of airplanes and helicopters Igor Sikorsky, creator of turbojet engines Arkhip Lulka, designers of space rocket and aviation technology specialist Sergei Korolyov and Vladimir Chelomei, and designer of plane engines Olexandr Mikulin. Today KPI is the largest technical university in Ukraine and among one the leading universities in Europe and the world, with30,000 students.
Kyiv School of Economics (KSE), founded in 1996, is a world-class academic institution with a reputation for excellence both in Ukraine and internationally. KSE ranks among the top schools in Central and Eastern Europe, producing the future generation of world-class economists. In doing so, it helps to improve the economic, business, and policymaking environments of Ukraine and its neighbouring countries.
BACKGROUND
Interaction of Post- Secondary Institutions, Government and the Private Sector for Sustainable Community Development, International Forum – October 30 and 31, 2014 Kyiv, Ukraine
The University of Winnipeg Participants
- Sherman Kreiner, Vice-President (Student Life) , UWinnipeg Managing Director UWCRC
Sherman Kreiner’s responsibilities include real estate development, management of non-academic business units and business development capacity building for First Nations and Metis Organizations. As Vice-President of Student Life his responsibilities include management of student advisory and support services, admissions, awards and financial aid, micro community support services (Aboriginal student services, International Student Services), counselling, and campus living. Also responsible for development of Health Campus policy (co-chair of Healthy Campus Advisory Committee).
Two presentations:
- “The University as a Living and Learning Laboratory for Sustainable Development Along Four Dimensions – Environmental, Social, Economic and Cultural”
- “The Role of the University in Fostering Sustainable Community Development – The Story of Diversity Foods”
- Wab Kinew, Acting Associate Vice-President, Indigenous Affairs
Wab Kinew is a one-of-a-kind talent, named by Postmedia News as one of “9 Aboriginal movers and shakers you should know”. In 2012, he hosted the acclaimed CBC Television series “8th Fire”. His hip-hop has won an Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Award. His journalism has won an Adrienne Clarkson RTNDA Award, a Gabriel Award and been nominated for a Gemini Award. He has a BA in Economics and is a member of the Midewin.
Two presentations:
- Mitakuye Oyasin/We Are All Related: Indigenous perspectives on relationship building and community sustainability
- “Indigenous resurgence – a brief history of Indigenous relations in Canada and a contemporary environmental scan”
- Alana Lajoie-O’Malley, Director, Campus Sustainability Office
Alana has spent nearly ten years championing and supporting UWinnipeg’s sustainability goals, first as a founding member of a student group that lobbied UWinnipeg to establish a sustainability initiative and later as the Director of the University’s Campus Sustainability Office. She has been involved in drafting the University’s sustainability policies, designing its sustainability management framework, and leading an institutional sustainability strategic planning process. She is a certified LEED Green Associate and holds both a BSc and a BA from UWinnipeg. She also holds an MPhil from The University of Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar.
Two presentations:
- Establishing a campus sustainability team: a UWinnipeg case study
- Planning, Management & Measurement Tools for Institutional Success
- Kyle Macdonald, Building Systems Manager, Physical Plant
Kyle Macdonald is implementing smarter building system technology on UWinnipeg’s campus. He was a co-recipient of the Campus Sustainability Award for his efforts to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Kyle has been involved in building system design and integration for over nine years while having worked on numerous green building projects in Winnipeg.
- Smart Building Technologies on our Campus – Video Presentation
- Dr. Ian Mauro, Faculty, Geography Department
Ian Mauro is a pioneer of multi-media methodologies, scholarship and education. His interdisciplinary work weaves the social and ecological sciences together recognizing the important synergies between scientific and Indigenous knowledge. His ongoing research in the Arctic, Atlantic and Prairie regions of Canada helps us listen to the language of the land, and offers strategies for healthy human interaction with the biosphere. Mauro is a renowned academic and filmmaker whose projects focus on food security, sustainable agriculture and climate change.
- Video – The Creative Campus: Living Sustainability
- Dr. Neil Besner, Provost and Vice-President, Academic & International
Dr. Besner has taught Canadian literature at UWinnipeg since 1987. He was Chair, English Department, 1993-2000; Dean of Humanities (2002-05); Dean of Arts (2005-06); Associate Vice-President, International (2006-09); Deputy Provost and AVP International, (2008-09); Vice-President, Students and International (2009-2010); Vice-President, Research and International (2010-12); and Vice-President, Research, Recruitment and International (2012).
- Greetings & Moderator
- Bill Balan, Vice-President Finance and Administration and Chief Administrative Officer
Bill Balan joined UWinnipeg in 2007 after working for the Government of Canada for 29 years. He has been part of a transformation of the University that includes over $210 million in capital developments and a 50% enrollment growth, especially from the Aboriginal and new immigrant and refugee communities of Winnipeg’s inner city. His responsibilities include the corporate management of financial and technical services, conferences and events, facilities management and a number of strategic initiatives related to the growth and development of the University.
MEDIA CONTACT
Diane Poulin, Senior Communications Specialist, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135, E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
