About IES

At the Institute for Environmental Sustainability we have three key pillars:  research and scholarship, learning, and engagement.  Strategically, everything we do is connected to these areas of activity. In addition, as an important part of Mount Royal University’s research and scholarship agenda, we support and promote collaborative multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary work in environmental sustainability that is applied in practice or policy, and often also theoretical in nature.  This includes research and scholarship but also curriculum development and both internal and external engagement with diverse groups.  Through these pillars, we seek to develop solutions to environmental challenges while acknowledging the complexity these problems entail on the three levels of environment, economy and society.

 

Research and Scholarship

We encourage research and scholarship that includes Mount Royal undergraduate researchers and we also develop events and partner with other organizations to augment/heighten the MRU student experience. Funding supports initiatives across all faculties at Mount Royal - arts; business and communication studies; science and technology; health, community and education; continuing education and extension. To date, almost 60 research projects have been funded by the Institute enabling the work of these faculty and Mount Royal undergraduate research assistants. Researchers disseminate their work at academic and industry conferences, journal publications, media stories and via social media. Researchers at Mount Royal contribute to the academic literature while also bringing knowledge into the classroom and providing practical and applied insights to various organizations. We are proud to support the talented and passionate Mount Royal faculty and students as they develop research an scholarship in environmental sustainability. 

Learning

As part of an undergraduate focused university, the Institute is committed to supporting the student learning experience at Mount Royal. We achieve this foremost through research assistant opportunities and support for dissemination of that knowledge. In addition, we support curriculum development and events for students, both on and off campus in sustainability. Sustainability related courses provide a context of study that encourages critical thinking, recognition of bias and development of solutions. 

Engagement

The Institute supports a number of important engagement initiatives in environmental sustainability. Foremost, we value the insights of our Advisory Committee who provide input and insight to our varied engagement activities. At the Institute, we subscribe to the notion that it takes a village. We are keen to collaborate with organizations within and outside the Mount Royal community on issues of environmental sustainability. 

Core funding of the IES was provided by generous gifts from Encana Corporation and Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc. We are also grateful for financial support from Progress Energy Canada Ltd., Newalta Corporation, Imperial Oil, Shell Canada Ltd and Suncor Energy.

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