Faculty of Science: The place where curiosity sparks discovery

The 21st century is an exciting and challenging time, with the rapid advancement of human discovery and innovation. Science addresses many of the biggest challenges facing society and is a critical part of creating solutions locally and internationally. The Faculty of Science at the University of Calgary is poised to make major impacts in many of these solutions.

After over a year of inclusive engagement, consultation, and inspiration, the Faculty of Science launched its strategic plan, Curiosity Sparks Discovery, on Sept. 28.

The plan, says Dean Lesley Rigg, takes the faculty in a bold and ambitious direction — one that leverages the faculty’s strengths to position Science as a leader on campus, in the community, and on the world stage.

Says Rigg, “What I was really excited to do was to think about what made us special; what’s really remarkable about Calgary, our university, and Science at the University of Calgary? It was important to me to be able to let people know who we are, what we do, how we do it, why that’s important, and how we can fuel transformational change in the world.”

Curiosity Sparks Discovery 2017-2022

The strategic plan outlines the faculty’s vision, mission, goals, values, and strategic priorities propelling it forward for the next five years.

The Faculty of Science aims to generate curiosity-driven discovery and contribute to solutions to societal grand challenges, from an ambitious mission to catalyze Canada’s transformation to a vibrant and sustainable future, to a mission to work together to advance research, scholarship and innovation, create authentic learning experiences, and inspire careers of the future.

The plan is built upon three strategic priorities:

• Develop and support champions of science
• Advance solutions to our Grand Challenges
• Promote and support an engaged and impactful team

Complementing the strategic plan, four Grand Challenges direct the faculty’s research efforts, and align with the University of Calgary’s Academic and Strategic Research Plans.

Together, the faculty’s strategic plan and Grand Challenges will create and inspire new opportunities for science students and researchers.

Ambitious path an authentic result of collaboration and inclusion

Curiosity Sparks Discovery was developed via a structured yet collaborative process marked by town hall sessions, working sessions, and engagement touchpoints facilitated by the faculty’s senior leadership, consultants Finley and Associates, and a special task team established to reach out to groups across the faculty. From new hires to long-serving members of the faculty and staff to alumni and industry partners, every member of the Science community was invited and encouraged to offer input.

“The planning process that we went through was inclusive, iterative, reflects what we heard from across the faculty,” Rigg says. “It was a listening process that created a plan. We saw a lot of passion, and we really got what we hoped for out of the process.”

Rigg says the inclusive, collaborative nature of the planning process resulted in an authentic product that all members of the Science community can relate to. “Our goals reflect the vision, the mission, and our values,” she explains. “The best part was that people seemed to really want the same outcomes. In general, the essence of what the strategic plan stands for reflects the majority of the input that we received from the faculty.”

A comprehensive implementation plan will be developed over the coming year, a decision Rigg hopes will empower various groups across the faculty to define their own meaningful metrics for success.

Learn more about Curiosity Sparks Discovery and the Grand Challenges.