Province Spurs Innovation at University Campuses

Students in more metro-area universities will benefit from seeing their work come to life in the new 3-D data cave at Saint Mary's University.

The project is another example of how the province's Innovation Fund is helping universities collaborate more, be more efficient, become greener and more competitive with other provinces.

Communities, Culture and Heritage Minister Leonard Preyra, on behalf of Labour and Advanced Education Minister Frank Corbett, said it is critical that Nova Scotia universities continue to draw the best students, faculty and staff, and that they prepare young people for good jobs so they will remain in Nova Scotia.

"If our graduates are to help Nova Scotia achieve prosperity that we have not seen for generations, they need to be up to date on the latest developments in their field of study," said Mr. Preyra. "That's why the province is investing in students, in universities and in the future."

Today's announcement, at the data cave at Saint Mary's University focused on a joint project between Saint Mary's, Dalhousie, Mount Saint Vincent and NSCAD universities. It is an example of four universities working together to improve the learning experience.

The data cave is a three-sided box with two projectors facing each wall; people entering it wear special 3-D glasses that make the brain see width, height and depth, the third dimension. Instead of building expensive prototypes engineers now be able to test designs by walking through a virtual, full-scale computer-generated mode of their design. They could tweak the design, then print to a 3-D printer.

Jared Perry, president of the Saint Mary's Student Association, said the projects will help students develop skills that will give them an advantage in the workplace.

"The opportunity to work collectively with other institutions is important and can result in synergies that aren't available to individual institutions," he said.

Other metro-area projects support:

• greater affiliation between the Atlantic School of Theology and Saint Mary's
• more online courses at the Atlantic School of Theology
• collaboration among Dalhousie, Mount Saint Vincent, NSCAD, and Saint Mary's on a personal and professional development program to match the skills of rural Nova Scotians with job opportunities. Another collaboration is a new leadership management program that was not available in the province
• ongoing affiliation and facility studies, as well as a natural gas conversion project at NSCAD
• a Mount Saint Vincent project to improve student services, including meeting the needs of the diverse student population
• energy conservation at University of King's College and Université Sainte-Anne

"The projects recognize the commitment of the province to innovation in the university system and confirms the co-operation that can occur among our institutions," said Colin Dodds, president and vice-chancellor of Saint Mary's University.

The Halifax-area and Université Sainte-Anne projects have a combined value of about $3 million.

On March 25, Premier Darrell Dexter announced several Innovation Fund projects that will benefit all universities across the province. These include plans for a one-stop, on-line student application process to all universities, national and international student recruitment, shared IT services, shared library services and easier credit transfers.

A $25-million Innovation Fund, established in 2011, is helping universities deliver high-quality education while exploring ways to reduce operating costs. Each university is receiving Innovation Fund investments this year to enhance learning opportunities and services for students.