President's Report 2017

It has been five years since the Public Engagement Framework was approved by Memorial’s Senate and since then, hundreds of projects and initiatives across our campuses have offered a living example of the benefits of collaborating with the public. This year saw more applications for public engagement funding than ever before.

Two projects were honoured with the President’s Award for Public Engagement Partnership: the Double Mer Point project in Rigolet, Labrador, and the Extra-Judicial Measures project in partnership with the provincial RCMP.

Memorial’s strength in publicly engaged work, and all things COASTS, also contributed to the success of the Ocean Frontier Institute, which was awarded the largest single federal investment for research in Memorial’s history.

The Battery Facility is well on its way to becoming a public engagement hub. In 2016 the graduate student accommodations were completely full, including a wait-list. Renovations continue to prepare the site to become an accessible, provincewide resource for public engagement and innovation. The Battery Facility will be cost-neutral to the university and is being developed by Memorial as a revenue-generating entity that will recover all costs related to its operation. The grand opening is planned for fall 2018.

In addition, the Office of Public Engagement has begun work on an evaluation of the impact of public engagement at Memorial to better understand the past five years, and to prepare for the next five.