NAIT set to grow from four schools to seven
The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology is shaking up its academic structure to respond to industry needs as it looks towards 2050, a senior leader said.
The polytechnic institute, opened in 1962, will grow from four schools to seven and has targeted July as a launch date, though details like names for the new schools are still being worked out.
"Our School of Applied Sciences and Technology and the School of Skilled Trades are very big and diverse, and a little bit more difficult to navigate for our external stakeholders as well as our students," Peter Leclaire, NAIT's vice-president academic, told Taproot. "The intent of the reorganization is to create stronger relationships and alignment between our schools and important industry sectors within the Alberta economy."
The last time the school restructured its programs was in 2016. NAIT is currently made up of the two aforementioned schools, plus the JR Shaw School of Business and the School of Health and Life Sciences.
Leclaire said plans are in place for one of the new schools to be focused on construction and building sciences. "We know that's a strong element of the economy," he said. "We want to create a greater alignment with that sector, so that it's easier for potential employers but also students who want to get into that environment."
Another change in the works is to bring information technology and digital media programs "front and centre," Leclaire said. The shift is informed partly by feedback from "industry leaders" (Leclaire would not give specific details) that they need more robust skills in tech.
"We're seeing manufacturing companies coming in that are highly automated, where just about everything is robotics," he said. "Those are emerging skills that are required, that are creating great opportunities for people coming out of school, but also people looking to pivot their careers."
One focus NAIT has for this academic restructuring is micro credentials. For example, IT workers may take non-certificate classes in computer programming, or someone working in oil and gas may take a course related to hydrogen to help them succeed in their jobs.
"Some of the heavy equipment (industry), particularly highway transport, is starting to look at options in terms of the diversification of the type of trucks that they use for hauling, and hydrogen and dual-fuel systems are a part of that," Leclaire said. "We've broadened that conversation."
Leclaire added that the academic changes may grow both NAIT's student body and staff. The institution is already Canada's "largest trades training school," Leclaire said. It employs 2,337 people and has more than 34,000 students and apprentices who are enrolled.
The restructuring is part of NAIT's broader academic plan. And that plan is itself tied to a campus development plan. NAIT hopes to change its campus layout and construct new buildings by 2050.
