| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 92.73 |
| Liaison | Emmanuelle Jodoin |
| Submission Date | Oct. 24, 2022 |
Université de Sherbrooke
EN-10: Community Partnerships
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Emmanuelle
Jodoin Sustainable Development Accountability Officer Office of the Vice-President, Administration and Sustainable Development |
Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Which of the following best describes the partnership?:
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? :
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability:
Through Sherbrooke Ville en Santé (SVS) [EN: Sherbrooke, Healthy City], the Université de Sherbrooke participates in structuring projects to make Sherbrooke a sustainable, inclusive, and healthy place to live.
The University is a long-standing partner of Sherbrooke Ville en Santé. SVS promotes the quality of life and well-being of citizens through numerous environmental, social equity, and economic projects. Over the years, several projects were created in Sherbrooke as part of this initiative. Here are some examples:
• Training sessions to familiarize people with public transit.
• Thematic conferences for seniors and retirees.
• Sherbrooke’s Initiative sherbrookoise en développement des communautés (ISDC) [EN: Initiative in Community Development] elaborates several projects related, for instance, to food security, intercultural ties, and citizen mobilization, with the aim of preventing poverty, encouraging, and supporting the educational success of young people, while putting citizens at the heart of the process by encouraging and valuing their participation.
• The project Alliance sherbrookoise pour des jeunes en santé [EN: Sherbrooke Alliance for Healthy Youth] promotes healthy lifestyles among young people.
• The Politique municipale en matière d’alcool – Jeunesse (PMMA-Jeunesse) [EN: Municipal Alcohol Policy - Youth] program is a cross-sectoral initiative to reduce alcohol-related harm among youth. Each year since 2018, the Université de Sherbrooke's Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé (FMSS) [EN: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences] and many other partners, including the Post-Secondary Education Partnership - Alcohol Harms (PEP-MA), have joined in this program.
• Récupère-don ton vélo [EN: Recycle by donating your bike] project provides safe bicycles and helmets to underprivileged children and youth each year and is overseen by SVS. In 2021, as part of the “ADM651: Moi, gestionnaire socialement responsable” [EN: Me, a socially responsible manager] course at the Université de Sherbrooke's Business School, a group of students conducted a brief analysis of the current situation, a search for ideas to ensure the sustainability of the Récupère-don ton vélo project and a benchmark of potential partners. (In addition, outside of the partnership with SVS, as part of this course, students work with local organizations to help them turn the corner of responsible management and develop their social responsibility, whether it's assessing their strengths, fuelling their ideation, facilitating their thinking, finding innovative solutions to their current and future management challenges, or helping them diagnose, implement, deploy, and adjust their projects or practices.)
The Université de Sherbrooke contributes financially to the SVS; thus the University formally adheres to the partnership's objective of promoting and supporting the sustainable development of healthy living environments.
Furthermore, Pr. Pierre Cossette, President of the Université de Sherbrooke, sits on the Board of Governors. Several other players representing universities and colleges, school boards, and the CIUSSS Estrie – CHUS (Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux [EN: Integrated Centre for Health and Social Services]) – (Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke [EN: Hospital of the Université de Sherbrooke]) (which includes Sherbrooke's University Hospital, child and youth protection centres, and rehabilitation centres) are also present on the Board to address the social, environmental, and economic issues of the Ville de Sherbrooke. The Board of Governors receives, initiates, supervises, and adopts projects, promotes the concept of a healthy city, and develops inter-network collaborations.
https://www.sherbrooke.ca/fr/vie-municipale/programmes/sherbrooke-ville-en-sante
Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (2nd partnership):
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
The Université de Sherbrooke is part of the Pôle régional en enseignement supérieur de l'Estrie (PRESE). This hub seeks to address common needs shared by five Sherbrooke higher education institutions through collaboration and pooling of resources and expertise. The five institutions which comprise the PRESE are: Université de Sherbrooke, Bishop's University, Cégep de Sherbrooke, Champlain College and the Collégial du Séminaire. As mentioned at the launch of this new regional higher education hub by Professor Pierre Cossette, President of the Université de Sherbrooke, the PRESE not only makes it possible to create links between the colleges and universities to ensure that the training paths are well aligned, but also to establish multiple collaborations in order to bring about new projects for the benefit of the Estrie community.
https://prese.ca/en/
https://www.usherbrooke.ca/actualites/nouvelles/details/39128
PROJECTS
The PRESE supports projects and facilitates collaboration in several areas such as “Build a Sustainable World”, “Advocate with and for Indigenous Peoples”, “Community Service”, and “Support Student Success” (https://prese.ca/en/projects/).
The project “Fight against light pollution: Towards the first Dark Sky Reserve in an urban environment around the Mont-Bellevue Park Natural Reserve in Sherbrooke” is a great example. In the long term, it aims to allow the Sherbrooke population as well as the academic communities to benefit from access to the first Dark Sky Reserve in an urban environment, a unique place in the world offering opportunities in the field of astronomy, education, research and recreational tourism development.
This project mobilized some fifty college, graduate, and undergraduate students as well as six professors from the Cégep de Sherbrooke, the Université de Sherbrooke and the Bishop's University. Partners from Hydro-Sherbrooke, the Astrolab of Mont-Mégantic, and a street lighting company are also involved. It received financial support from the PRESE of $49,834 in the 2019 call for projects, and $50,000 in the 2020 call for projects.
https://prese.ca/en/projects/pollution-lumineuse/
https://www.oasisnuitetoilee.org/copie-de-projet-%C3%A9ducatif-et-r%C3%A9gional-1
THE LEARNING WITH YOU PORTAL
The PRESE’s Learning With You portal brings together the school clinics and hundreds of projects that allow the Estrie population to benefit freely or with a moderate cost from specialized services offered by the college and university student community.
This portal offers, for example, the possibility of entrusting an environmental or sustainable development issue to university students, recruiting future physicians for volunteer work in an organization, or obtaining occupational or physiotherapy care for a child or teenager.
Overall, PRESE projects have had an impact in 2021-2022 on approximately 4000 students and have mobilized 1000 stakeholders (in member institutions + external partners). A total of 65 external organizations have collaborated with the five institutions which comprise the PRESE.
Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (3rd partnership):
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
The CIUSSS Estrie – CHUS (Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux [EN: Integrated Centre for Health and Social Services]) – (Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke [EN: Hospital of the Université de Sherbrooke]), in partnership with the Université de Sherbrooke, CRB Innovations, and MGA Environnement, has initiated a pilot project in 2020 for the upcycling of procedure masks. The specific aim of this upcycling is to transform the masks into a sustainable composite so that they do not end up in the landfill.
https://www.usherbrooke.ca/actualites/nouvelles/details/44566
A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:
The Université de Sherbrooke has several other community partnerships. Here are some of them:
THE M8WWA ᒪ ᒧ MAMU COMMITTEE, A RECONCILIATION PROJECT WITH THE FIRST PEOPLES
The M8wwa ᒪ ᒧ mamu Committee is among the various outreach and inclusion initiatives underway at Université de Sherbrooke around indigenous realities and knowledge. This committee, which was initiated in 2019, is a reconciliation project with the First Peoples bringing together the Grand Council of the W8banaki Nation (GCNWA), the Kiuna Institution, the First Nations Education Council (FNEC), the Kativik School Board and the Faculty of Education of the Université de Sherbrooke. The committee has as its mission to raise awareness and support the faculty community towards the inclusion of Aboriginal realities, knowledge and perspectives in teacher education through a collaborative approach based on respect and reciprocity of Aboriginal partners.
Here are some of the contributions of the M8wwa ᒪ ᒧ mamu committee:
• Launch of a series of six public conferences addressing various avenues for thinking about and implementing the inclusion of First Peoples knowledge and perspectives in the initial education of future teachers.
• Co-development and co-production of the course PAE403 - Perspectives autochtones en éducation [EN: First Peoples Perspectives in Education] using a holistic and innovative approach. The course is designed as a guided reflective pathway for student engagement.
https://www.usherbrooke.ca/autochtones/enseignement-et-initiatives/faculte-education
https://www.usherbrooke.ca/actualites/nouvelles/details/46072
INNOVATION PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN BELL, STACE, AND THE UNIVERSITÉ DE SHERBROOKE TO REDUCE THE CARBON FOOTPRINT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE COMMUNITY
In 2021, the Université de Sherbrooke's Institut interdisciplinaire d'innovation technologique (3IT) [EN: Interdisciplinary Institute for Technological Innovation], Bell, the company Stace, and the Nanotechnologies and Nanosystems Laboratory (LN2) have joined forces to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the stand-alone telecommunication towers in remote areas. To achieve this, solar energy will be integrated into the stations that will have to be deployed for the implementation of the cellular network to maintain telecommunication service in remote areas. Currently, stations isolated from the electricity grid are powered by diesel generators, which are constantly running and emit high levels of GHGs and pollutants.
https://www.usherbrooke.ca/actualites/nouvelles/details/45019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZuOOI4JRdo&ab_channel=Universit%C3%A9deSherbrooke
A PERMANENT OBSERVATORY TO MONITOR THE WATER QUALITY AND HEALTH OF LAKE MEMPHREMAGOG
In 2021, the Université de Sherbrooke, in partnership with the Ville de Magog and the Ville de Sherbrooke, has initiated the establishment of a permanent observatory to monitor the water quality and health of Lake Memphremagog. The observatory will mobilize an interdisciplinary team of researchers who will analyze the health of the lake and its various environmental issues. Lake Memphremagog is an important source of drinking water for over 175,000 people in the Estrie. Interested citizens will also be invited to participate in the data collection by distributing measuring instruments.
https://www.usherbrooke.ca/actualites/nouvelles/details/45617
ACTION PLAN FOR YOUTH AND THEIR FAMILIES
The Plan d’action pour les jeunes et leur famille en Estrie [EN: Action Plan for Youth and their Families] is the result of collaboration between the CIUSSS Estrie – CHUS (Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux [EN: Integrated Centre for Health and Social Services]) – (Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke [EN: Hospital of the Université de Sherbrooke]), the Université de Sherbrooke, the Estrie community and external partners (early childhood centres, community organizations, schools, etc.). The goal is to weave a social safety net around each young person. The results of the consultations, combined with certain premises, and an analysis of the best practices, have made it possible to identify 44 actions that will be carried out in three stages: the first six months (January to June 2021), the first year (2021 to 2022) and subsequent years (2022 to 2025).
https://www.usherbrooke.ca/actualites/nouvelles/details/44522
SAQ CHAIR IN GLASS RECOVERY
The Université de Sherbrooke and its partner for the past 16 years, the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) [EN: Liquor Control Board of Québec], announced a new five-year funding for the Chair, in partnership with Hydro-Québec, the Ville de Montréal, the Ville de Sherbrooke, Éco Entreprises Québec, Prodexim International, Techo-Blocet and the University Foundation. The project to recycle glass in concrete contributes to the sustainable development of this essential building material and achieves a balance between environmental protection constraints and economic and social considerations. This project was implemented for the construction of the Darwin Bridge in L'Île-des-Sœurs, about 50 SAQ store floors, and several kilometres of pavements in Montreal.
https://www.usherbrooke.ca/actualites/nouvelles/details/45060
https://www.usherbrooke.ca/actualites/nouvelles/details/43312
PROGRAMME HORS-PISTE [EN: OFF-TRACK PROGRAM]
The Université de Sherbrooke took the initiative in the spring of 2016 to develop university clinics integrated with the health and social services networks, schools, and community organizations in the field of youth mental health. The University presented the project to RBC Royal Bank, which agreed to fund the project for five years. With this grant, the Centre RBC d'expertise universitaire en santé mentale [EN: RBC Centre for Academic Mental Health Expertise] for children, youth and young adults was launched in September 2016.
Based on evidence-based practices and evaluated by an interdisciplinary team of researchers, the HORS-PISTE program is one of the initiatives of the RBC Centre for Academic Mental Health Expertise. The program aims to act on anxiety in young people. Through the development of psychosocial skills and the promotion of psychological well-being, it aims to prevent anxiety disorders and other adjustment disorders, from preschool to post-secondary school. The HORS-PISTE program was developed in collaboration with stakeholders from schools, the CIUSSS de l’Estrie (Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux [EN: Integrated Centre for Health and Social Services]), communities and universities. Parents and young people also contributed to its co-construction.
https://www.usherbrooke.ca/actualites/nouvelles/sante/details/47497
Website URL where information about the institution’s community partnerships to advance sustainability is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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