Strathmore Learning and Innovation Center

Adelle Ellis
Times Reporter

 

Bow Valley College (BVC) is investing $394,000 into creating a new campus in Strathmore. The Government of Canada is matching the investment for the new Strathmore Learning and Innovation Centre.
The centre will take residence in the old Co-op building in the downtown area. The BVC build will start in April and they will be the first people in the building. The new location is expected to be open in time for the Fall 2017 semester.
“As the population has been growing in Strathmore and as new employers have come in, we’ve noticed that the needs of the community have changed,” said June Diment, Director of Regional Steward with Bow Valley College. “We find there is an increased demand in people wanting more post-secondary programs and essential skills training. This institution realized they need a bigger space to accommodate the needs for either post-secondary education or for entrepreneurship training.”
The combined $788,000 will go into turning part of the old Co-op building into the new Strathmore campus for BVC. The funds from the federal government will be put into infrastructure changes to make the old retail space look like a campus, including internal wall changes, classroom structure, and incubators. The funding from the college will be going to things such as college furniture, desks and chairs, and to technology such as computers, work stations, and smart boards in the classrooms so they can use technology to link the Strathmore campus with other campuses.
Currently, BVC Strathmore operates out of a single room in the Strathmore Library and offers up only two programs: a one-year Medical Assistant certificate and a one-year Hospital Unit Clerk certificate.
By moving into a larger space, the college will be able to offer up more programs and services to the residents of Strathmore.
Starting in the fall 2017 semester, interested students may also take a two-year Practical Nurse diploma and a two-year Business Administration diploma.
They are currently accepting applications for anyone interested in enrolling in any of the four offered programs. Applications can be obtained at the Strathmore Library for the next couple months, from Bow Valley College administrator, Lillian Au.
Additional programs will be offered starting in the winter 2018 semester.
“We are just kicking off with a few programs and will expand into more programs and probably continuing education classes as well. The point is we want to enable the people in Strathmore to have a higher level of qualifications and skill levels within the local community that enable them to get into a wider range of work,” said Diment.
The regional campus will also be offering four business incubator spaces, which no other regional campuses currently offer. Those spaces, on the campus, will be available to someone who may be a budding entrepreneur or someone who already has a business but is working in their home and would like to move out of working from home.
By the time the center opens they will also be offering a series of adult workshops, events and inspirational activities with outside and local experts to support budding entrepreneurs or people who have already started a small business.
The Wheatland Adult Learning Council is also moving into the space with BVC.
“It’s like a one-stop-shop where you can get all your adult learning needs in one place,” said Diment. “We wanted this to be a community hub. We want this to help promote a really lively downtown hub that all members of the community can access and use in both daytime and evening. We think that having the college in that building will also attract other organizations to come into the building.”
BVC will also be looking at offering programs for seniors, similar to programs they currently offer at other regional campuses.
BVC believes that the need for a larger post-secondary and adult learning institution is past due in Strathmore, and that by creating the Strathmore Learning and Innovation centre and by offering more classes, it will not only benefit the students who will be gaining higher education, but it will also benefit Strathmore’s economy.
“The more people in Strathmore who are highly qualified, the more dynamic the economy will become and we will have more people earning more money and then they can spend it in their local community,” said Diment. “The more new business that come into town the more employment opportunities it creates. But (people) need to have the right skills; the more highly skilled people you’ve got in a town, the more economically attractive that is to new businesses.”
“It’s really a win/win by having a bigger regional campus in Strathmore.”