For the inquiring mind, UVic presents Ideafest
UVic’s Ideafest is a celebration of learning that offers an eclectic feast for the inquiring mind
Ideafest, anticipated every year by University of Victoria faculty and students and by the community, has established itself as a festival of learning unlike anything in Canada, organizers say.
Lisa Kalynchuk, who arrived in July as the new associate vice-president of research at the University of Victoria, said she has encountered nothing at any other university that equals the excitement generated by Ideafest.
“It struck me very quickly that this is an event that UVic really loves,” said Kalynchuk, whose background includes time at the universities of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, McGill and Dalhousie. “Ideafest is now very much part of the fabric of UVic.”
Ideafest, which runs March 5-10, is entering its seventh year and again will offer 40 sessions with faculty, staff and students talking about their work, their observations and their discoveries. Every session is open to the public for free.
The subjects of the 40 are eclectic. They range from topics such as necessity and progress in Truth and Reconciliation for First Nations and Canada, to the natural movement of biological resources from ocean to land, to the promise and perils of Facebook.
And that’s all on the first day.
Kalynchuk said so many people on campus want to participate in Ideafest that faculty and students lobby her for the chance. It even forced the establishment of a committee to adjudicate who will take part.
Organizers also warned all those interested in participating to be prepared to step out of any Ivory Tower comfort zone they have been inhabiting.
“We even tell our faculty they should not expect to come and just give a traditional lecture,” said Kalynchuk. “That won’t get you on the Ideafest list.”
Nearly half of the sessions feature research subjects led by students. In others, students will take a place on panels of experts alongside professional academics. This diversity of experiences adds freshness to the event.
Historian Paul Bramadat, director of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society, said he has never heard faculty or students grumble about Ideafest.
It’s always regarded as a yearly celebration, something to be enjoyed and anticipated, said Bramadat.
Even the topics, selected not just for their academic worth, but also for their value to the public interest, are a draw, he said.
Researchers, like all people, love to discuss the relevance of their own experiences. So the whole event has become a kind of cross-campus social gathering and exchange.
Professors in a field such as anthropology might step into sessions on research biology, satisfy a casual interest and hear from peers they rarely meet.
Even more important is that members of the public can hear and talk with academics. They can also satisfy their own curiosity and add a viewpoint to the discussion.
Who knows? Some person from an unrelated faculty or the public might raise an issue panelists had not considered while pursuing their own research.
“It’s important to have these events that bring people to campus,” said Bramadat.
“Sometimes people in the broader public can find the Ring Road [that circles the campus] a bit daunting to cross,” he said. “But it really gives us a chance to show that all the research we do is really for the public good.”
“That’s how we understand it,” said Bramadat.