Twice as nice: Brandon post-secondary institutions team up again to welcome students

Continuing the success of a campaign launched last year, Brandon’s two post-secondary institutions are joining together to welcome students to Brandon for the new academic year.

Through boulevard signs, banners, and a social media and advertising campaign, Brandon University (BU) and Assiniboine Community College are once again taking advantage of the back-to-school season to showcase and celebrate the importance of students to the community.

This year’s theme, “Great Chemistry,” highlights the ongoing partnership between the two institutions as well as the benefits that the two institutions — and especially their students — have for the city of Brandon and wider Westman.

“Thousands of students every year choose either to come or to stay in Brandon for their post-secondary education because of the quality and options that we are able to offer,” says Assiniboine President Mark Frison. “Brandon is a destination for post-secondary education, and this benefits our entire ”

“A post-secondary education is a proven and effective way to increase and share prosperity while broadening opportunities for all, including opportunities for Indigenous reconciliation,” says BU Interim President Steve Robinson. “Students bring new perspectives and ambition to our community, which benefits us socially, culturally and economically. As they graduate and move full-time into the workforce, their skills and learning continue to benefit us all in the future.”

Many of the opportunities and resources that are developed for students are also community resources as well. Supported by large student populations, BU and Assiniboine are able to offer facilities and events for everyone — from the annual events held at the Manitoba Institute of Culinary Arts at Assiniboine’s North Hill Campus to BU’s performing arts spaces, research laboratories and the Healthy Living Centre.

“It is relatively rare and a huge advantage for a community of our size to boast both a university and a college as options for students,” Robinson says. “Our two institutions work collaboratively together and engage with our partners in all levels of government, with business and with community organizations to leverage this advantage every day. Together we offer a huge range of learning, research and training opportunities that is beyond what we could do separately.”

“September is the traditional start for many of our programs, and we are warmly welcoming students from far and wide, and from close to home, as they embark on or return to their studies,” Frison says. “It is heartening to see so many in the community who recognize the value and energy that students bring to Brandon, and who are choosing to welcome them and to cheer them on and support them as they start their academic year here.”

The “Great Chemistry” campaign is being boosted by people, community organizations and businesses who have volunteered to host the distinctive signage in their offices or storefront, or who have placed signs in their yards or windows.

Any organizations that want to participate can request a sign or banner be delivered to them simply by emailing either institution at communications@assiniboine.net or communications@brandonu.ca.

This year’s “Great Chemistry” theme builds on last year’s successful “Welcome Students” initiative. The joint campaigns also help demonstrate the deepening tradition of collaboration between Assiniboine and BU. In 2014 the institutions, along with the Province of Manitoba, signed Growing Together – Vision 20/20, a memorandum of understanding aimed at fostering collaboration between the two institutions to meet student, community and social needs.

With ongoing partnerships that include students sharing residence space and transferring credit through 2+2 programs, the institutions continue to make Brandon a city where students can find the options, flexibility and amenities that they are looking for when pursuing their post-secondary education.

Assiniboine Community College has been providing exceptional learning experiences for more than 55 years. For staff and students alike, Assiniboine offers unparalleled learning environments, following the philosophy of ‘learn by doing’, which combines theory with hands-on learning inside classrooms, labs, kitchens, shops, fields and the college’s Sustainable Greenhouse.

Brandon University, founded in 1899, promotes excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship, and educates students so that they can make a meaningful difference as engaged citizens and leaders.

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