WATERLOO, Ont. (Monday, Nov, 21, 2011) - A ground-breaking graduate diploma aimed at advancing Canada's capacity to respond to our most pressing social and environmental challenges will be celebrated during an official launch event at the University of Waterloo on Friday, Nov. 25.
The new Graduate Diploma in Social Innovation (gradsi.ca), which enrolled 34 multi-sector leaders from across Canada, is focusing on three key issues - aging, new comers to Canada and mental health - in its inaugural year.
The program offers students opportunities to learn about social innovation, which requires thinking and working in innovative ways to support positive change in complex social systems. It draws on the expertise of world-renowned academics at Waterloo, as well as other institutions and expert practitioners and thought leaders from across the country.
The new graduate diploma program will receive significant financial support over a three-year period from the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation.
"To successfully address the complex problems we face as a society, it is essential that we learn to work collaboratively among the private, public and community sectors," said Stephen Huddart, president of the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation. "The J. W. McConnell Family Foundation is pleased to support the Graduate Diploma in Social Innovation and looks forward to the new partnerships, fresh thinking and actionable solutions that emerge from this talented group of faculty and students."
Dr. Kellie Leitch, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour, will be a featured speaker at the launch event, hosted by Social Innovation Generation, University of Waterloo (sig.uwaterloo.ca).
DATE: Friday, Nov. 25
TIME: 3 p.m.
LOCATION: Environment 3, main atrium
"In the 21st Century, as society becomes increasingly complex and interconnected, we face unprecedented demand for innovative responses to our most intractable social problems," said Frances Westley, J.W. McConnell Chair in Social Innovation at Waterloo. "In direct response to this, students in the new graduate diploma program will learn concepts and theories that frame ideas related to social innovation, form small tri-sector teams focused on an issue and then apply new ideas to design strategies to address these challenges."
Other speakers at the event include: Feridun Hamdullahpur, president of the University of Waterloo; André Roy, dean of the faculty of environment; Frances Westley, J.W. McConnell Chair in Social Innovation, Waterloo; and Stephen Huddart, president, J.W. McConnell Family Foundation.
About the University of Waterloo
In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's Technology Triangle, has become one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities with close to 34,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Waterloo, as home to the world's largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow. For more information about Waterloo, visit www.uwaterloo.ca.
Contacts:
Sam Laban, Social Innovation Generation, University of Waterloo, 519-888-4567 ext. 38680 or slaban@uwaterloo.ca
Renjie Butalid, Social Innovation Generation, University of Waterloo, 519-888-4567 ext. 38681 or renjie.butalid@uwaterloo.ca
John Morris, Waterloo media relations, 519-888-4435 or john.morris@uwaterloo.ca
Waterloo news release no. 68
