Engage Memorial aims to build capacity in public engagement at Memorial by offering new knowledge, skills/abilities, or opportunities to participants

2016 Events

Engage Memorial supported a series of workshops and events that ran from July through December.

Summer 
Ideas Garden
Location: MUN Botanical Garden, St. John’s
Contact: Norman Goodyear, norman.goodyear@mun.ca, 864-2076

Description: By invitation. This workshop will actively encourage partnerships in community-based research, teaching and learning, in and for the outdoors. Workshop participants will be inspired by the setting of the Botanical Garden to focus ideas during walking meetings, and nutrition breaks. Themes of the workshop will reflect the participants, to include Aboriginal spirituality and land use, food security, horticultural therapy and wellness, and the positive effect of the outdoors on student and staff wellness.

October 
Strategic Doing for Public Policy
Location: St. John’s Campus, McCann Centre (ED-2030B), Education Building
Contact: Michael Clair, mclair@mun.ca, 864-7963

Description: This half-day workshop on "Strategic Doing," a hybrid between strategic planning and social innovation design, will be led by Ed Morrison of Purdue University, a world-renowned leader in this field. The workshop will bring together 50-60 people who are interested in leading change initiatives within Memorial University, the Provincial Government, other organizations and society at large. "Strategic Doing" has been shown to be a successful method for harnessing the energies and creativity of large groups of people interested in tackling an important issue.

Business, Research and Community
Location: Goose Bay
Contact: Martha MacDonald, martha.macdonald@mun.ca, 709-896-6213

Description: During Small Business Week, Labrador Institute researchers will present their current work with a view to making connections with industry and shaping their research outcomes to help fill the needs of businesses and community. This event will demonstrate the ways in which the university's work connects with community needs to help build stronger economic opportunities in Labrador. 

Speed Networking with Community Partners
Location: St. John’s Campus
Contact: Lisa Russell, lisar@mun.ca, 864-8819

Description: This "speed networking event" will bring Memorial's faculty and student researchers together with diverse community partners to explore opportunities for community-engaged learning and research projects. Researchers will be able to network with up to five community partners to discuss possible experiential learning and research activities and collaborations. There are no expectations for congruence: the more diverse the mix, the better for engagement, innovation, and creativity.

MI Presents
Location: Marine Institute
Contact: Brian Feltham, brian.feltham@mi.mun.ca, 778-0571

Description: The Marine Institute is hosting a discussion panel on topics of interest to industry and the public that will aim to cover a variety of topics related to the research being conducted here at MI. The event will be highly interactive with emphasis placed on audience questions and discussion. Networking will follow.

Creating Community-University Connections
Location: Labrador Straits
Contact: Marilyn Forward, mforward@grenfell.mun.ca, 709-637-6207

Description: Participants will learn about innovative opportunities for engagement and collaboration. Through a series of snap-shot presentations, community and campus partners will discuss current or planned projects and how they would like to connect with participants. This networking session will be a part of the Harris Centre's Regional Workshop in Labrador Straits.

November 
Moved to Action: Event Design for Long-term Change
Location: St. John’s
Contact: Taylor Stocks, tstocks@mun.ca, 864-2908

Description: What does it look like to move from a group of people interested in a subject to a sustainable community of action? Using a combination of complexity and emotion theory, this workshop explores how to design events that provoke individuals and groups to undertake community-oriented work and evoke the emotions needed to do so. The workshop will focus on oft-forgotten metrics of event success and deliver practical tools that can be used to address gaps within current engagement models. The event will culminate with a hands-on activity where small groups will serve as peer support and development for those wanting to develop a workshop on site

Graduate Student Focus Groups about Public Engagement Supports
Location: St. John's Campus, UC Landing (UC-3018)
Contact: Sandy Brennan, sbrennan@mun.ca, 864-4741

Description: By invitation. Memorial's Office of Public Engagement (OPE) wants to hear from graduate students about how the OPE can support graduate students doing public engagement. We are holding several focus groups to hear from students directly about what would be helpful to them in their programs. Sessions will be informal and will include light refreshments. If you would like to learn more and participate, please fill out the form at the link above. Space is limited.

Experiential Learning Lunch and Learn
Location: Grenfell Campus
Contact: Marilyn Forward, mforward@grenfell.mun.ca, 709-637-6207

Description: Students will share concrete experiential learning projects and their observations, reflections and interpretations of their experiences. By presenting on their learning projects, this lunch and learn event will enhance experiential learning opportunities as well as discuss the support and encouragement students received while participating in the activities.

Creating Community-University Connections
Location: Stephenville
Contact: Marilyn Forward, mforward@grenfell.mun.ca, 709-637-6207

Description: In this event, participants will learn about innovative opportunities for engagement and collaboration. Through a series of snap-shot presentations, community and campus partners will discuss current or planned projects and how they would like to connect with participants. This networking session will be a part of the Harris Centre's Western NL Regional Workshop in Stephenville.

December
Knowledge Mobilization and Engagement through Community Archaeology
Location: St. John’s Campus
Contact: Catherine Losier, closier@mun.ca, 864-8806

Description: This panel will engage the MUN archaeology community (faculty members, students and researchers) and people from communities to speak about the impact and the lessons learned from the practice of “community archaeology” in fieldwork. We will put emphasis on projects that have taken place in Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, Newfoundland and Labrador. This discussion will help to understand how engaging a community is a way to ensure good governance and implement best practices regarding heritage.

2015 

Engage Memorial supported a series of workshops and events that ran from February through June.

Feb 13
Harris Centre Speed Dating
12:00pm-3:00pm
The Breezeway, MUN, St. John’s Campus
Organizer: The Harris Centre

We're playing match-maker, but instead of sparking romance, we're helping Memorial students network with some of the most influential and exciting people in this province.

Feb 18
A Newfoundland Chinese Family’s Experience
1:00pm-2:00pm
QEII Library, 3rd Floor
Organizer: MUN Libraries

This event is part of the Library’s Check it Out, a series in partnership with various community stakeholders designed to connect and inspire people and develop areas for future collaboration between Memorial and the vital community of citizens it serves. This session features a riveting personal account by Gordon Jin of his family’s struggles as they made Newfoundland their home. Librarian Dean Seeman will discuss the Digital Archives Initiative collection “The Chinese Community in Newfoundland.” 

March 11
Lunch & Learn: Quick Start Fund for Public Engagement

1:00pm-2:00pm
Beatrice Watts Boardroom (IIC 2014, Bruneau Centre for Research & Innovation), St. John's Campus
Videoconference with Grenfell Campus in AS 275 (Arts and Sciences)
Contact: engagement@mun.ca
Organizer: Memorial’s Office of Public Engagement

This session will introduce participants to the Quick Start Fund for Public Engagement. All students, staff, and faculty interested in applying for the fund are welcome. For more information, visit the Funding for Public Engagement webpage.

St. John’s Drug Users’ Group: Inaugural Meeting
6:30pm-8:30pm
Street Reach, 68 Queen’s Road, St. John's
Contact: peoplewithlivedexperience@gmail.com

A first meeting towards developing a Drug Users’ Group that can help researchers, policy makers, and service providers engage people with lived experience of drug use in order to develop effective and responsible policies and programs relating to harm reduction and treatment.

March 24 
The Impact of Experiential Learning: Lunch and Learn Session
12:00pm-1:30pm
AS 2011 (Arts and Sciences), Grenfell Campus
Contact: Ken Carter, kcarter@grenfell.mun.ca
Organizer: GO Engagement

A discussion of lessons learned from students engaged in experiential learning projects at Grenfell.

March 26 
Talking to the Public about your Research
2:00pm-3:30pm 
PE 2028, St. John's Campus
Dr. Max Liboiron
Organizer: Memorial’s Office of Public Engagement

How do you present your work so it is understandable but does not lose complexity? Which public is your public? Come learn communication techniques and best practices for talking to the public about your research. Seating is limited; RSVP today.

March 30
Building Capacity: The Memorial Heart and Stroke Student Chapter
12:00pm-1:00pm
Room 103, Southcott Hall, 100 Forest Road, St. John's
Contact: April Manuel, admanuel@mun.ca, 777-6319
Organizer: School of Nursing

This session, which is open to nursing students and faculty at the Centre for Nursing Studies, is aimed at forging partnerships between nursing students and the Heart and Stroke Foundation to solidify a joint commitment to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease.

April 22 
Building Community Relationships through Youth Volunteerism
7:00pm-9:00pm
The Landing (UC-3018), University Centre, St. John's Campus
Organizer: Department of Political Science

This workshop will focus on debriefing some key findings related to youth volunteerism in rural Newfoundland, and what steps we can take to better engage youth with community organization in the region, and beyond. Join members from the Department of Political Science, Radhoc Youth Leadership and Newfoundland and Labrador Office of Public Engagement as they talk barriers, successes and best practices in engaging youth volunteers in community organizations. Please register at the link above.

April 28
Engaging the Public: A Town Hall Event to Talk About Health Research
7:00pm-9:00p
St. Teresa's Parish Hall, 120 Mundy Pond Road, St. John's
Contact: dale.humphries@med.mun.ca
Organizer: NL Support, Faculty of Medicine

Who sets the course of health research? It could be you; it should be you. Join us to discuss the future of applied health and patient-oriented research in Newfoundland and Labrador. Help shape the future of health research.

April 29 
Community Engaged Learning: Curricular Learning Beyond the Classroom
1:00pm-2:30pm
The Landing, University Centre, St. John's Campus
Contact: Lisa Russell, lisar@mun.ca
Organizer: Career Development and Experiential Learning

Bringing faculty members together with community partners and learning about experiential learning and its value to the academy. Faculty members can meet up to five community partners to discuss possible experiential learning activities and collaborations.

May 4 
Building Engagement Capacity Between the Faculty of Medicine and Health Care Stakeholders
9am-12pm
Main Auditorium, Medical School, HSC, St. John's
Contacts: Rochelle Baker, 777-8990 or Fran Kirby, 777-6653
Organizer: NLCAHR and School of Medicine

Healthy Collaboration: Building engagement capacity to improve health and wellness in Newfoundland and Labrador. By invitation. Webcasting available.

June 10 
Notes from the Field: Working Together to Reveal Local Knowledge on Fogo and Change Islands
7:00pm-8:30pm
The Rocket Room at Rocket Bakery & Fresh Food, 272 Water Street, St. John's
Contact: engagement@mun.ca
Organizer: Memorial’s Office of Public Engagement

Join Memorial’s first Public Engagement Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Pam Hall, as she presents about Towards an Encyclopedia of Local Knowledge, a collaborative project with individuals from Fogo and Change Islands. She’ll share her experiences and work, including excerpts from the work-in-progress, insights about the challenges and opportunities of working in rural communities. A lively conversation about the role of public engagement in art and research will follow.

June 13 
The Food in This Place: A Workshop and Neighbourhood Walk to Explore Healthy Food Environments
9:00am-1:30pm (lunch will be provided)
The Rocket Room at Rocket Bakery & Fresh Food, 272 Water Street, St. John's
Contact: Catherine Mah, catherine.mah@mun.ca

An interactive workshop on how to assess your food environment, and how we can work together to make it healthier. Registration needed for this event.