05-05-2024
The Time is Now for Colleges and Institutes
In her keynote at CICan's 2024 Connection Conference, Pari Johnston, President and CEO of CICan declared that the time is now for colleges and institutes. She emphasized their crucial roles as educators, innovators, and trusted partners in communities across Canada and the tangible impact of college and institute workforce training and applied research and innovation as key drivers of economic growth and productivity. Pari also spoke to colleges' strategic potential in driving challenge-driven innovation to address complex societal issues. These challenges, ranging from housing affordability to environmental sustainability, she argues, present opportunities for collective action, but we must rethink how we approach them. We need an approach that's intentional, integrated, and impactful - one that centres the full capacity of colleges and institutes for greater impact and fosters collaboration with other ecosystem partners.