It might not quite be “Star Trek”-level futuristic, but new technology on the way to Seven Generations Education Institute (SGEI) sounds like it will be close.
In an announcement at its Fort Frances campus on Friday afternoon, Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford announced that the organization will be receiving $2.25-million in order to equip several classrooms with high-tech equipment as part of the college’s “Connected Classroom” project.
The funding for the project comes through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) and will be going towards the purchase and installation of telepresence, immersive technology and video conferencing equipment, according to Rickford.
“I should be the last person explaining this, but it’s a video experience designed to deliver the feeling that you’re in the same classroom as that person on the main campus,” he said.
“When using a telepresence system, all participants are visible in life size high definition and no one’s view is blocked by any other participant. In a nutshell, this innovative equipment is being used to administer programs such as the nine-month all nation nursing entry program and four-year bachelor of science in nursing program.”
In addition to those two programs, the Connected Classrooms can be used for a number of other classes, such as culinary arts and mobile driving training simulators. The bigger impact, Rickford said, will be in how it allows students to stay closer to home to pursue their education.
“The Connected Classroom project allows students to study close to home in a culturally sensitive environment where they’re most likely to succeed,” Rickford explained.
“The project reduces, importantly, the barriers to obtaining future employment by providing a, simply-put, easier access to post-secondary education.”
One of the ways the program is aiming to help keep students close to home is by partnering with Lakehead University to increase some of the programs available to students at SGEI. With the use of the new technology, professors and teachers stationed in Thunder Bay can teach courses to SGEI students across the district much more efficiently than with older videoconferencing methods. Rickford enthused that students using the technology would feel as if their teacher was in the room with them, as opposed to on the other side of the region.
Rickford also stressed the importance of the project being able to provide more indigenous students with an entry into the healthcare profession, something he noted was lacking in our area compared to others.
“I was a nurse in the north myself, and I’m happy to report that this is also going to serve and address the demand for more indigenous professionals working in the healthcare field,” he said.
“That couldn’t be more important. As someone who’s worked in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and the High Arctic, I have to tell you folks that this region here has the lowest number of indigenous health professionals working in their region, and that is a matter of fact, so anything we can do to change that, we have to get busy with.”
SGEI CEO Brent Tookenay spoke to the crowd following the funding announcement and thanked those involved with securing the money for the project.
“We really work well together with NOHFC, we share a vision and that comes from our leadership from our communities. We’re just the ones that put it into play,” he said.
“Having a vision doesn’t just come sometimes when I’m watching Calgary lose, but it takes a people, and you need to work together, and that’s what we’ve done here is work together identifying barriers and needs and we’ve been able to address those. Seven Gens will continue to work with our communities and partners to provide the best opportunities for everyone in Treaty #3 area.”
Tookenay also noted that the level of collaboration and commitment from each of the parties involved in securing the funding is an embodiment of reconciliation.
“This is what it looks like,” he told the crowd.
“It’s our first nation organizations and leadership helping guide this, it’s various levels of governments, it’s our non-indigenous partners, like the Town of Fort Frances, the City of Kenora, our partners, Lakehead and other mainstream institutes. It’s all the stakeholders working together for a common goal, and that’s to help people in our area, and that’s what reconciliation is.”
While the room is currently waiting to be set up, the installation team is currently doing work at the Kenora and Sioux Narrows campuses. Tookenay said the tech will be installed and ready to go well in advance of fall.
“This [installation] should be fairly easier because a lot of those are older buildings so we’re kind of retrofitting some stuff, but this will be a pretty easy fix,” he noted.
“They’re going to be in full use come September 2020, but they’ll be ready. I don’t want to give too much of a hard timeline, but probably springtime we’ll be able to test them because there’s also one that has to be installed at Lakehead University. As soon as you give a date, it goes three months later, but it’s happening right now.”
In a separate announcement at the Fort Frances Civic Centre the previous day, Rickford also said that there were plans to eventually address the shortage of student housing in the area, particularly as SGEI’s program offerings and appeal continues to grow across the district.
“We’ve had some discussions at Seven Generations, there is some opportunity there with some existing buildings and we have a delicious opportunity in Kenora with the Seven Gens Institute there to put some infrastructure there,” he said.
“My vision is to see a college and/or university opportunity that can attract not just local students, but students prospectively from afar, if they so wish. But have a place to stay for them, especially given an overall lack of adequate housing across the region.”
