Unleashing our potential: President Florizone on Dal's role in the Nova Scotia economy

Two years ago, Richard Florizone was in the midst of being considered as Dal’s next president, and deep in discussions with his family about packing up their lives in Saskatchewan with an eye towards Canada’s Atlantic Coast.

“As I looked east towards Dal and Halifax, what I saw was an important Canadian and provincial institution in an amazing place with an incredible quality of life,” he told attendees at Wednesday’s Halifax Chamber of Commerce luncheon. “And I saw enormous potential, both at the university and in the region. I could also see a very lively community of thinkers, business people and citizen who were wrestling [with] and looking for ways to develop that potential.

“The idea of being part of unlocking that potential — the potential of Dal, the potential of Nova Scotia —was enormously enticing to me then, and still is now.”

Dr. Florizone’s talk before a capacity crowd at the World Trade and Convention Centre was part of the Chamber’s Distinguished Speaker Series, which welcomes influential leaders in business, government and other sectors discuss important topics with the city’s business community. The speech, Dr. Florizone’s first address to a Chamber audience, was titled “Unleashing our potential” and discussed Dalhousie’s role in the Nova Scotia economy.

There’s good reason why Dr. Florizone chose such a topic for his first Chamber address. Since the publication of the Now or Never report in February and the launch of the One Nova Scotia Coalition, the provincial conversation — both inside and outside the halls of power — has focused on the need for a shared vision of Nova Scotia and its economy. Dr. Florizone noted that when you consider these developments alongside Halifax’s new “Be Bold” municipal brand and Dal’s own reputation research and Strategic Direction/100 Days of Listening, a common theme begins to emerge.

“This is a great place, a great university — and set of universities — in a great city and a great province,” he said. “But there is untapped potential, and we need to work together to unlock it.”

Keeping students, offering opportunities

What role does Dal have to play in unlocking that potential? Dr. Florizone outlined an emerging strategy for Dal to contribute to advancing Nova Scotia’s economy, linked with Dal’s core mission (teaching and learning, research, service) and based on three broad areas: student recruitment and retention, entrepreneurship and co-op education, and development of economic clusters around Dal’s research strengths.  

In terms of student recruitment and retention, Dr. Florizone explained the important role Dal plays in attracting more students to our region — and keeping them here. He noted that Dal welcomed more than 4,000 new students this fall, with Alberta as its fastest growing market, and that more than half of Dal students now come from outside of Nova Scotia.

“I can tell you from my own experience in post-secondary: that number — the fact that over half are from out of province — I know other jurisdictions who would give their eye teeth to get those kinds of numbers,” said Dr. Florizone.

The opportunity to live and study in a city like Halifax is a big reason why students come to Dal, and why anywhere between 20 and 30 per cent of graduates stay. He wants to see that number higher, though, which is why Dal has partnered with other universities and colleges in a new Memorandum of Understanding with the city focused on retention of international students.

When it comes to keeping graduates in the province, co-op opportunities during their studies are a big part of the equation, giving students practical skills and a foot in the door. Last year, Dal placed more than 1,600 students in co-op positions, 60 per cent of them with companies and organizations here in the province.

“I’d like to be able to double or triple those opportunities, but I’ll need your help to create more co-op placements in Nova Scotia businesses,” Dr. Florizone told the crowd.

He also cited initiatives like Starting Lean and Dal MBA’s “Make a Difference” program as ways the university is helping students find new ways of tackling problems and gain skills that will help them start not only their careers but, hopefully, new businesses and community organizations as well. 

Building on Dal’s strengths

The third economic opportunity Dr. Florizone discussed was cluster development: looking to regions like Waterloo and Boston where universities have built on their research strengths to develop key roles within an entire ecosystem of small- and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs and government partners.  

“For both MIT and the University of Waterloo, the city, province or state, the university and — this is essential — the private sector all had roles to play, with the universities acting as hubs, if you will, of innovation and exploration,” he said. “All the partners work together to attract students, to foster entrepreneurship both on campus and beyond, and to make their universities and their cities beacons of research and economic activity.”

Dr. Florizone outlined a model in which hubs of activity would form around some of Dal’s leading research strengths: not only priorities like oceans, health and wellness, or advanced materials and clean technology, but emerging strengths like agriculture and information communications technology. Already, several Dal-linked initiatives fit this model, including the Life Sciences Research Institute, the Province of Nova Scotia’s new sandboxes and many of Dal’s oceans initiatives.

Now, it’s up to Dalhousie and its partners to build on these collaborations and start new ones, with Dr. Florizone noting two oceans projects in development along these lines: a potential “Ocean Innovation Hub” on the former Coast Guard base in Dartmouth and an ambitious proposal for an Ocean Frontier Institute akin to the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo.

Before taking questions from the crowd about topics ranging from student enrolment to obstacles to economic development, Dr. Florizone asked attendees to take note of the set of business cards on their tables. The takeaway was both practical and symbolic: practical, in that the cards contained key contacts for the folks behind Starting Lean and the Industry Liaison and Innovation Office, among others; symbolic, in that it demonstrated Dal’s openness in being a partner in helping advance Nova Scotia’s economy.

“We all have a role to play in unleashing our potential in this region,” he concluded. “And it’s only by working together that we’ll become strong. That’s the only way we’ll build a stronger Dal, a stronger post-secondary system, a stronger economy and a stronger Nova Scotia — one Nova Scotia, together.”