Journal Staff
As Lambton College marks its first 50 years the accolades just keep rolling in.
The college and its growing reputation for applied research and training has soared recently and was capped last fall with two awards of excellence from the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics.
During a gathering of global educators in Brazil, Lambton was awarded a silver medal in Applied Research for addressing real-world challenges.
It also took home a bronze medal in the Entrepreneurship category, won for an innovative international initiative called the One Seed Project.
The awards recognized post-secondary institutions around the world, with the winners selected by a committee of judges from China, Tanzania, United Kingdom and United States.
President and CEO Judith Morris is proud the college is developing a truly international reputation.
“Our work in the areas of applied research and entrepreneurship have had a major impact on economic development, not only in our own community but in Canada and around the world,” she said.
The international awards were the capper on a remarkable year for Lambton, which is Ontario’s second-oldest college.
In November, it placed first in Ontario and third in Canada in the annual ranking of the Top 50 Research Colleges by Research Infosource Inc.
The organization said Lambton also led the country with the highest number of paid research students at a medium-sized college.
Earlier in 2016, Lambton won a national gold award for ‘Innovation in Applied Research Excellence’ from Colleges and Institutes Canada, an organization that representing the nation’s publicly supported colleges and institutes.
And just days before it accepted that award, the college earned an Outstanding Business Achievement Award for innovation from the local Chamber of Commerce.
Mehdi Sheikhzadeh, Dean of Applied Research and Innovation, said the key to success is the school’s collaborations with government and the private sector.
Partnerships give students and faculty advanced training opportunities, and helps business partners achieve their own goals, he said.
Lambton College was founded in 1966 by the Ontario government and opened its door in the former Blue Water Campus with four programs and a grand total of 54 students.
This year, it is offering more than 90 diploma, certificate and degree programs to 3,500 full-time students, 6,500 part-time students and 500 international students.
Lambton is also emerging as a leader in the blending of classroom time and mobile alternatives. In fact, it was one of the first colleges to enable its students to use iPads to access learning software and apps inside and outside the classroom.
Following perhaps its most successful year ever in 2016, residents are about to see two new top-notch facilities rise at the Sarnia campus. Side by side, the $30-million Nova Chemicals Health and Research Centre and the $12-million Athletics and Fitness Complex will take shape in coming months.
Both facilities are expected to open in the fall of 2018.