Edmonton's Colleges and Universities Elevate Area's Global Profile
Increasingly, higher education in Edmonton is also becoming wider education, as many of the city’s universities and colleges expand their vision to reach across Canada and throughout the world.
“There are superior institutions here that attract people to the capital region,” says Dr. Sam Shaw, president of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. “We have become known in places around the world because we bring in students from different countries.”
The University of Alberta is the largest of Edmonton’s 10 post-secondary institutions, with approximately 37,000 students from 138 countries. The university, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2008, offers 200 undergraduate and 170 graduate programs, as well as international student scholarships.
“The U of A’s mission is to create and disseminate knowledge that is of use to Edmonton, Alberta, and the world,” says Indira Samarasekera, president of the University of Alberta. “Edmonton needs and deserves the benefits that a globally recognized institution brings to the community and its citizens.”
The U of A is one of the leading research and development institutions in Canada, with more than 400 research laboratories. The university received $492 million in research funding in 2007-08, ranking it fourth among Canadian universities.
“Corporations are increasingly turning to university researchers, expertise and infrastructure to support the sophisticated research that needs to be done,” Samarasekera says. “The U of A aims to be at the forefront of these kinds of partnerships in fulfillment of our commitment to be responsive to the scientific and technological challenges our society faces.”
There is a similar worldview at NAIT, a career college that specializes in applied research, education and training. Founded in 1960, NAIT has 250 programs – including 35 apprenticeship trades – and more than 1,400 continuing education courses, plus an ever-expanding international presence.
“We have people from around the world attending our institution,” Shaw says. “We have more than 2,500 international students from 60 jurisdictions around the world. We do training for national and global companies. We are involved in places like Madagascar, Vietnam, China and Cuba. Companies come to us because they want superior training.”
For those who are seeking a more cozy educational experience, there is MacEwan College, which was established in 1971 by Dr. J.W. Grant MacEwan, a former lieutenant governor of Alberta. MacEwan has approximately 11,000 students and 3,350 staff members, which means a student-to-staff ratio of 3-to-1.
“We pride ourselves on our small class sizes and our specialization in teaching and learning,” says MacEwan spokesman David Beharry. “What’s important about MacEwan is the relationship the students have with their professors. There is a lot of interaction between students and professors, students and faculty. We really encourage that type of relationship, because we find that the students benefit from that.”
MacEwan offers more than 60 full-time programs, including a Bachelor of Child and Youth Care, which Beharry says is the first degree of its kind available in Alberta.
Among the other post-secondary institutions in Edmonton are NorQuest College, Concordia University College of Alberta, King’s University College, Athabasca University, Alberta College Conservatory of Music, Taylor University College and Seminary, and the University of Lethbridge (Edmonton campus).
