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June 16, 2008
Saint Mary University: New Global Learning Commons
Saint Mary's University: More technology, more teaching and study space, and more collaborative learning are arriving at Saint Mary's University. A new 43,000 sq.ft three-story Atrium is under construction with scheduled completion for September 2009. The Atrium will feature a main floor Global Learning Commons to encourage interaction between faculty and students, and to promote community engagement. The second and third floors will house the Computational Sciences research space and offices as well as needed teaching and research space. The Atrium is being constructed to LEED standards and will include an interior bio-wall, a glass roof over the Global Learning Commons, and a green roof.
Source: Saint Mary's University, Nova Scotia

June 2, 2008
Athabasca University Researchers Receive NSERC Grants
Three Athabasca University researchers have been awarded grants by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The awards were announced in Victoria on May 21, 2008 by federal Industry Minister Jim Prentice. Dr. Ken Munyikwa, Dr. Dragan Gasevic and Dr. Oscar Lin will each receive $75,000 from NSERC to continue their research projects at AU. The grants are awarded over a five-year period. Dr. Munyikwa, who is an Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences, is studying patterns of environmental change in central and northern Alberta over the last 20,000 years, using a technique called luminescence dating. Ken, who has been with AU since January, 2006, has carried out field work in southern Africa, Europe, East Asia and North America. Dr. Lin is a Professor at the School of Computing and Information Systems. His research is focused on developing adaptive learning technologies for use in modern distributed learning . Oscar has been with AU since last November. Dr. Gasevic is an Assistant Professor at the School of Computing and Information Systems. Dragan's research is focused on semantic web-enhanced model-driven software engineering with the goal of providing additional tools for software developers while increasing productivity and efficiency. Dragan has been with AU since January, 2007. "We're quite excited that the faculty has received these awards from NSERC," said Rebecca Heartt, Manager of Research Services. "They are a recognition of the very important work being done at AU." Four AU students each received scholarships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Alexandra Carter, Donna Doyle, Laura Dickey and Richard Periera will each receive $17,500 in September to be used towards their studies.
Source: Athabasca University, Alberta