The University of Winnipeg is touting the rollout of its first doctoral program as a way to recruit and retain more public-minded scientists in Manitoba.
Starting this fall, U of W is introducing a PhD in bioscience and policy — a major milestone for a campus that has long been known for its undergraduate options and has been funded accordingly.
Candidates are expected to conduct original research, reflect on its public value and learn how best to communicate their findings to a wider audience.
Craig Willis, a biology professor who has spent the better part of the last decade working on the proposal, said Manitoba has been an outlier because it has only one PhD-granting institution.
Willis suggested the province has lost out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in research grants, if not millions, as a result.
“This is really allowing us to take things to the next level,” he said. “And that’s not just important for eggheads in the ivory tower, professors like me. It’s really important for the province and society as a whole because PhD students help make the discoveries that lead to great benefits for society.”
In addition to working on a major research project, every student will study the policy development process and translate their thesis into plain language.
Willis said the communication training is especially important, owing to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and growing mistrust in scientists.
The rollout also addresses timely concerns about “Manitoba’s knowledge economy” and nationalism that has emerged from the Canada-U.S. trade war, he noted.
Last year, Manitoba sold $1.3-billion worth of medications to the United States, its largest trading partner, per the latest trade update from the province’s bureau of statistics.
Manitoba-made medicine represents about nine per cent of all international trade flowing south of the border. These manufactured products remain among the largest export commodities, despite U.S. demand dropping 41 per cent from 2023 to 2024.
Andrea Ladouceur, president and chief executive officer of Bioscience Association Manitoba, said the local life-sciences sector is often underestimated.
“It’s not just test tubes and what we intuitively think of when we think of science,” Ladouceur said, adding that her industry encompasses projects that “heal, feed and fuel the world.”
There are 770 companies and organizations in the industry that generate nearly $6 billion to Manitoba’s gross domestic product every year, per the association’s 2022 workforce survey.
The major employers include Steinbach-based Bausch Health, IVC Vita Health in Winnipeg and Pfizer Canada’s manufacturing facility in Brandon.
Ladouceur said there are many diverse and well-paying jobs, with the average salary 20 per cent higher than the provincial average.
It’s “an employee’s market,” she added, noting that there is estimated to be four job opportunities for every skilled employee in Manitoba by 2029.
U of W’s new PhD option, the only one of its kind in Western Canada, builds on its master of science in bioscience, technology and public policy.
University administration held a launch event on March 18. Its inaugural cohort of three is slated to begin studies at the end of the summer.
The plan is to slowly scale-up and accept eight to 12 candidates annually, said Willis, who oversees his department’s graduate program.
Graduate students represent about three per cent of registrants compared to 12 per cent at the University of Manitoba, one of Canada’s top 15 research-intensive schools.
“For the size of the institution, the scale and the scope and the impact of the research being done here is as strong as anything I’ve seen anywhere,” said Kyle Devine, the new dean of graduate studies at U of W.
There are currently 10 Canada Research Chairs on the campus in downtown Winnipeg that focuses on small classes and tight-knit relationships.
What makes the PhD in bioscience and policy unique is the “and factor,” Devine said, referring to the public policy component that aligns with U of W’s wider focus on social engagement.
University spokesman Caleb Zimmerman said U of W plans to seek support for new graduate programs, including PhD programs, to complement and expand existing offerings.
Zimmerman noted the program does not require any financial support because the necessary courses and professors are already in place.
