Oh The Places You Will Go
It’s not the first time we’ve borrowed from Dr. Seuss. As Congress is winding down and there are some quieter moments for reflection, it is nice to look back on the week that was and this eighth year for RIR at Congress which is soon to pass.
This year, Congress was in Ottawa. O-Town (the city, not the boy band) has been a wonderful place to meet with academics, colleagues and interested parties in knowledge mobilization. And to the University of Ottawa, you have opened yourself up to over 8000 academics and showed yourself very well. This is my first visit to U of O and I’ve enjoyed the experience.
Yet again, we site the insightful Dr. Seuss in our work in knowledge mobilization
Next year, Congress will be at the University of Calgary. The city and the university help to shape and define Congress in a very important way. I’ve attended the past eight in whole or in part. All have some memorable moments, both within and beyond the workday.
Congress is an important place for RIR to showcase our strengths and leadership in knowledge mobilization across the country. I recall that first year at University of Saskatchewan where it was just York University and the University of Victoria and we were so new in this work. The tone and breadth of conversation has changed over the years and the leadership which SSHRC and CIHR have demonstrated to KMb (and KT) has been very enabling for our work. RIR members have also had chances to showcase themselves. In addition to University of Saskatchewan, Congress has taken place at University of Victoria, Carleton and at Laurier over my tenure as a knowledge broker.
This year, RIR enjoyed rich conversations with Mitacs, SSHRC, Research Matters and The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. We had our usual inquiries about our work, some academics from partner institutions who took business cards of their broker colleagues and some international interests from Africa. I look forward to some worthwhile follow up.
Congress is unique each and every year. As Dr. Seuss so aptly penned, Oh The Places You Will Go. Yes indeed, see you next year in Calgary!