A group of 22 English teachers from Finland recently visited Prince Edward Island to meet with members of UPEI's Faculty of Education, the Webster Centre for Teaching & Learning and the Department of Modern Languages as part of a Canadian study and professional development tour.

Each year, the Association of English Teachers in Finland organizes a trip to a foreign land to learn best practices in teaching a second language. Dr. Miles Turnbull, an associate professor in the UPEI Faculty of Education and Co-Coordinator of the Bachelor of Education, French Immersion, encountered members of the group last summer in Australia, and learned that in 2010, the group was visiting Canada.

'I met Ari Peltonen, a member of the Association's board, when I was attending a conference in Sydney,' said Turnbull. 'Next thing I know, the President of the Finnish Association was emailing me with a request to come to UPEI. I said ‘yes' right away!'

While at UPEI, the group took part in a keynote address and workshop given by Dr. Turnbull entitled, ‘Open the Windows and Sweep Out the Cobwebs: Initiating dialogue on the first language in second and foreign language teaching, a Canadian perspective that challenges traditional views'. The group also had the chance to meet with various educators working in the UPEI English for Academic Preparation Program in the Webster Centre.

Peltonen, also the tour coordinator, said, 'We've really enjoyed our visit to PEI and appreciate the time we have spent with colleagues, including Doroley Coll in the language lab here at UPEI. Our own English programs are modelled after Canada's French immersion experience, so our group was really interested to meet with UPEI educators who are leading programming in this area.'

UPEI offers innovative programs through the Faculty of Education, Department of Modern Languages, Webster Centre for Teaching & Learning, and Centre for Life-Long Learning that demonstrate excellence in second-language teaching. Some examples include the B.Ed in French Immersion, the Language Lab at Robertson Library, English Academic Preparation for non-native-speaking students, and intensive summer English immersion like the 'Explore' program.

The UPEI School of Business and the London School of Business and Finance (LSBF) signed an agreement June17 that enables LSBF diploma graduates to continue their studies at UPEI in a post-diploma degree program of Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS).

Beginning this September, students who have completed the two-year Diploma in Management Sciences at LSBF will be eligible to enter the third year of studies at UPEI and after completion of 20 designated courses, graduate with a BBS degree.

'This partnership is a great opportunity for our School and the students. It strengthens the international ties of the UPEI School of Business while providing an opportunity for these diploma students to further their education and bring a different cultural perspective into their classes,' says Roberta MacDonald, Dean of the UPEI School of Business. 'The new program provides a unique international experience for these diploma students and allows them to complete a business degree with two years of further study.'

Professor James Kirkbride, Director of LSBF, said this agreement opens up another avenue for students to take their international educational pathway to a new level. 'LSBF emphasizes the importance of a global career focus in all our programs. In our post-graduate degrees, we have been able to partner with a wide range of universities around the globe. This agreement will allow our diploma students to take advantage of the opportunity to enhance their learning and have an international exchange at the same time.'

Kirkbride adds, 'We are excited about the possibilities that this agreement brings to our two institutions. The BBS degree offers a tremendous option for our students to realize both their educational and global career objectives.'

For more information about this agreement for the Bachelor of Business Administration program, contact Alan Duncan, Director of International Business Programs, UPEI School of Business, by phone at (902) 566-0686 or awduncan@upei.ca or visit www.upei.ca/business or www.lsbf.org.uk/programmes/.

The London School of Business & Finance (LSBF) prepares students for creative thinking in an international context. A degree with LSBF is internationally recognized and ranked by the Financial Times, Grenoble Graduate Business School as one of the UK's leading business schools. LSBF provides world-class programming to over 10,000 students at campuses in London, Manchester, and Birmingham with a history of offering innovative curricula in business, finance and marketing.

The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and combines tradition with leading-edge research and learning opportunities. Offering programs in the Faculties of Arts, Science, Business, Education, Nursing as well as Veterinary Medicine at the Atlantic Veterinary College, UPEI has an attendance of over 4,400 undergraduate and graduate students. UPEI's School of Business features a Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Business in Tourism & Hospitality, an executive-style MBA, and several Certificate programs.

The Tourism Research Centre in the School of Business at UPEI has released research results concerning culinary tourism on behalf of Tourism and Culture PEI. The report provides information about visitors' attitudes, motivations and travel behaviour as it relates to culinary experiences when travelling.

The report shows that visitors to PEI enjoy a wide variety of food and food-related activities while on the Island. The four most popular food and food-related activities in PEI were dining at restaurants known for offering local ingredients, attending farmers' markets, dining at highly rated restaurants, and shopping for gourmet foods.

'The fact that dining at restaurants offering local ingredients and attending farmers' markets were rated as the top two activities for visitors highlights the importance of local ingredients to visitors. It may be beneficial for tourism operators to highlight the availability and use of PEI ingredients at their establishments,' said Jeff McCourt, Chair of the PEI Culinary Alliance.

The research showed that visitors to PEI have distinct ideas about what foods best represent the Island. When asked, respondents readily identified three food items - potatoes, lobsters, and mussels - that they associated with Prince Edward Island.

The report identified four distinct types of food tourist based on their motivation and participation in culinary experiences. Approximately 15 per cent of respondents were classified as Deliberate Culinary Tourists or 'foodies'. The second largest group, at 39 per cent, was Opportunistic Culinary Tourists. At 40 per cent, the largest segment was Accidental Culinary Tourists. At 6 per cent, the smallest group is classified as Uninterested Culinary Tourists.

'From a marketing and outreach perspective, focusing attention on ‘foodies' or Deliberate Culinary Tourist and the Opportunistic Culinary Tourist seems a sensible strategy,' said Dr. Sean Hennessey, Faculty Director of the Tourism Research Centre. 'These two groups are the most active when it comes to food and food-related activities. They are an interested and captive audience. For example, on their most recent visit to PEI, over three quarters of the Deliberate and Opportunistic Culinary Tourists purposely sought out a culinary experience.'

While all respondents reported average spending of $54.86 per person per day while in PEI, the highest spending segment of culinary travellers were the Deliberate Culinary Tourists who spent $60.85 per person per day. They also had high participation rates in other non-culinary activities while travelling.

Overall satisfaction with PEI's food and food-related activities, and intention to recommend PEI's food and food-related activities received very positive ratings. Furthermore, the overall quality of PEI's food was rated highly by all respondents.

'The report provides information for government and tourism operators on a niche market that appears to be quite keen on PEI and our food,' stated McCourt. 'The Culinary Alliance is pleased with the findings of the report and we feel that it will help provide direction in planning future food-related activities and promotions.'

The report is based on data collected from December 29, 2009 to January 18, 2010 and is available on www.trc.upei.ca. More information about the report can be obtained from the Tourism Research Centre, School of Business, UPEI, at (902) 566-6096, or trc@upei.ca.

New UPEI Women's Rugby head coach Shannon Atkins announced her coaching staff for the 2010-11 season today. Assistant coaches will be former Panthers, Madelon Cheverie and Dawn Paynter.

Madelon Cheverie graduated in 2006 from UPEI with a Bachelor of Science and went on to the University of Waterloo, receiving a Masters of Science in Health Studies and Gerontology. She is a researcher with the Addictions Research Centre in Montague. While at UPEI, Cheverie played five seasons with the Panthers, was named team captain twice, and maintained Academic All-Canadian status. She has also been active in coaching high school rugby. During her UPEI playing days, she coached the Charlottetown Rural High School team, and this past spring, was head coach of the men's program at Morell Regional High School.

Cheverie had this to say about the upcoming season, "I am so excited to be back at UPEI and involved with the rugby team. I have seen this rugby program evolve over the years and I am really looking forward to getting to know the girls and give back to the club that played such an important role in my life while I was a student at UPEI."

Dawn Paynter has travelled all over Canada to play rugby winning numerous awards. She played for both UPEI and St. FX, was named an AUS All-Star three times, and was part of two AUS championship teams. She graduated from St. FX with a degree in business and is the operations manager at REJ Holdings Inc.

"Having played rugby for over a decade both on and off the Island, I am excited to be returning to the game as a coach. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and experience with the green and black,' commented Paynter.

All three coaches have played together on PEI provincial teams and Atkins and Paynter are both former teammates of Olympian Heather Moyse. The Panthers play their first home game on Saturday, September 11, when they host the Saint Mary's Huskies.

UPEI officials are pleased with high employment and education ‘satisfaction' statistics detailed in a report issued in Halifax today by the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission.

Using data captured in 2008, the study called, ‘Five Years On: A Survey of Class of 2003 Maritime University Graduates', focused on graduates who completed their first bachelor's degree in 2003 at universities in the Maritimes. It examined graduate employment, further education trends, and financial status.

The employment rate for the 2003 first-degree holders from all Maritime universities is 95 per cent and their earnings have increased compared with the last time they were surveyed in 2005.

UPEI also received information outlining its own institutional statistics in comparison with the averages for all Maritime universities in the report.

'What is especially rewarding to see is that, among UPEI 2003 first-degree holders, 87 per cent said their education was worth the time investment, and 79 per cent, worth the financial investment,' said Rosemary Herbert, Acting Vice-President, Academic.

The job satisfaction of all UPEI 2003 graduates surveyed, regardless of whether it was their first degree or not, was 79 per cent. In addition, 89 per cent said their job in 2008 was closely related to their 2003 degree.

UPEI President Wade MacLauchlan said, 'We are very pleased to learn that our graduates overwhelmingly report that they have found satisfying jobs.' He adds, 'UPEI will continue to offer student-focused, leading-edge programs that enable our students and graduates to make a difference at home and around the world.'

The Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission's graduate survey program assesses graduate outcomes in the region and is conducted two and five years after graduation. The next class that will be studied will be that of 2007 in 2012.

Dr. Benjamin Lefebvre, of Waterloo, Ontario and one of the world's leading experts on Lucy Maud Montgomery, was reappointed as Visiting Scholar for the institute bearing the famed PEI writer's name, the L.M. Montgomery Institute (LMMI).

Mark Leggott, Institute chair and University Librarian, announced the year-long appointment during his welcoming remarks at the 2010 L.M. Montgomery Conference taking place at UPEI, June 24-27.

'We are pleased to have Dr. Lefebvre return as our Visiting Scholar and accept this further term. His past year's work with LMMI's governing committee in facilitating and expanding scholarship about L.M. Montgomery and her contemporaries has been excellent. We look forward to seeing what exciting initiatives the next year will bring.'

Lefebvre will continue working with the Institute on projects that will benefit Montgomery's international community of readers, including coediting a collection of essays with UPEI's Dr. Jean Mitchell, a past Visiting Scholar. The collection will be based on papers presented at the 2010 conference, titled ‘L.M. Montgomery and the Matter of Nature,' which begins today.

'I am thrilled to be invited to return, as it gives me further opportunities to support the mandate of the LMMI and to be energized by the dedication of its committee members,' Lefebvre says.

He adds, 'It is extremely rewarding to witness first-hand the community of Montgomery scholars and readers that have built up over time. I am so pleased with the high quality of work and the range of topics pursued at this conference by participants from all over the world.'

The conference features speakers and panellists from the United States, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Japan, China, Australia, Taiwan, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and South Africa and explores Montgomery's writing and thoughts on nature through a number of presentations and papers.

The biannual event also provides a captive audience for the release of another one of Lefebvre's projects, Anne's World: A New Century of Anne of Green Gables. Edited by Lefebvre and Dr. Irene Gammel, this collection of original essays offers 'fresh and timely approaches to issues of culture, identity, health, and globalization as they apply to Montgomery's famous character, and to today's readers.' Anne's World was published by University of Toronto Press this month, June 2010.

Lefebvre has previously published internationally on Montgomery's fiction and life-writing, and on film, television, and tourism adaptations of her work. His edition of Montgomery's rediscovered final book, The Blythes Are Quoted, was published by Viking Canada in October 2009.

Lefebvre's term as Visiting Scholar runs from July 2010 to June 2011. For more information on LMMI and the 2010 L.M. Montgomery Conference, visit www.lmmontgomery.ca.

The Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC) recently selected a paper written by Dr. Sean Hennessey, Dr. Dongkoo Yun, and Dr. Roberta MacDonald for a SIRC Research Award. The paper, ‘The Economic Impact of Golf to a Tourist Destination,' won the ‘Impact of Sport on a Community' category. The award includes a cash prize of $2,000.

'This is great news for both the School of Business and the Tourism Research Centre,' stated coauthor MacDonald, Dean of the UPEI School of Business. 'This is research that supports Tourism PEI's decision in recent years to support and promote our golfing industry and it ties University research directly back to the community.'

In 2005, a study was commissioned by Golf PEI and surveys were distributed to visitors at 24 golf courses which are members of Golf PEI. Over the 2005 golfing season, 3,397 surveys were completed by golfers. The paper focuses on golfing visitors, mainly profiling dedicated golfers, those who played more than 25 rounds annually.

'This is the group of visitors that PEI wishes to attract,' said Hennessey. 'They have higher disposable incomes, and are much more likely to golf, stay, and eat at the more expensive locations. The average amount they spend is also much higher than the amount spent by the average visitor to PEI.'

One interesting result is the importance word of mouth has in the process of gathering information about golf in PEI or for particular golf courses. Almost half of the respondents relied on friends, relatives, or coworkers for this type of information. Less than seven per cent of respondents relied on TV ads and the visitor information package to gather information about golfing in PEI.

'The PEI golf product is viewed very favourably by our golfing visitors,' explained Hennessey. 'Over 95 per cent of survey respondents said their golf experience in PEI met or exceeded expectations, while 80 per cent of golfers were likely to return to PEI to golf in the future.'

For more information, please contact Dr. Sean Hennessey at (902) 566-0523 or hennessey@upei.ca.

About SIRC

SIRC is a not-for-profit amateur sport organization with the mandate to provide information and serve the educational needs of organizations and individuals involved in, or responsible for the development of, sport and fitness in Canada and around the world.

Martha Trivett, a Grade 11 student at Charlottetown Rural High School, is the winner of the 2010 Pearson College Scholarship for Prince Edward Island.

This prestigious award covers full tuition and residence for two years of study at the Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific in British Columbia. The selection committee for the PEI scholarship was comprised of UPEI's Tamara Leary, Director of Student Services; Darcy McCardle, Assistant Registrar; Chris Power, Student Recruitment Coordinator; and Dr. Miles Turnbull, Associate Professor.

A memorial to the late prime minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Lester B. Pearson, the college is located on the shores of the Pacific Ocean at Pender Bay on Vancouver Island. One of 11 United World Colleges around the world, it promotes the cause of international understanding by creating an environment in which students from many countries and cultures come together to study and serve the community. Each year, 200 students from over 80 countries, including representatives from each Canadian province and territory, attend Pearson College.

Trivett, from Stratford, P.E.I., is the daughter of Lana Beth Barkhouse and Andrew Trivett, and is honoured to be this year's recipient, 'The opportunity to live and learn among hard?working and interesting students from all over the world in Pearson's unique atmosphere will be life changing, I am sure.'

'During my upcoming experience,' Trivett adds, 'I hope to discover my true depths and my value in the world, and to build the strength and confidence it takes to change it for the better.'

The demanding curriculum challenges the students to excel and leads to the completion of the international baccalaureate. Over the two years, students complete their last year of high school, and may earn credits toward their first year of university. In addition to the rigorous academic program, they are extensively involved in physical activities, the fine arts, social services and community projects.

'Nominating one candidate for the scholarship is always a challenge. Candidates are highly motivated, very talented and well-rounded individuals,' says Leary, chair of the selection committee. 'Martha is a very strong candidate as an accomplished violinist, an athlete, a stellar student at the Rural and a young woman who is committed to making a significant contribution to the world around her. We are delighted that Pearson accepted our committee's recommendation and are confident that Martha will be an excellent ambassador for P.E.I.'

The Tourism Research Centre in the School of Business at UPEI has released encouraging research on visitors who come to Prince Edward Island to participate in a meeting or conference - further supporting investment in this market.

In 2009, PEI hosted 200 meetings and conventions that contributed almost $19.5 million to PEI's economy. The events were classified into three categories: regional (attendees primarily from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick); national (attendees primarily from provinces outside the Maritimes); and international (attendees primarily from outside Canada). Residents of PEI were excluded from the survey.

Although 99 per cent of regional attendees had visited PEI previously, 33 per cent of national, and 64 per cent of international attendees were on their first visit to PEI.

'One of the most exciting things confirmed in this study was the fact that business travellers are bringing other people with them when they come to PEI,' said Jo-Ann Thomsen, Director of MC & IT Sales, PEI Convention Partnership. 'Overall, the average party size was 2.5 people. About 35 per cent of these business travellers came to PEI on their own, but 31 per cent came with another adult who was not attending the event, 26 per cent travelled as a group of three or more adults, and eight per cent brought their family to PEI.'

While the study shows that meetings and conventions provide an opportunity to bring new visitors to the province, it also reveals benefits to local accommodations operators, retailers, restaurant owners, and others who provide goods and services to this market.

'It is worth noting that it is not only the hotel hosting the conference that sees a boost in occupancy rates,' stated Dr. Sean Hennessey, Faculty Director of the Tourism Research Centre. 'Almost 30 per cent of travel parties chose to stay at an accommodation other than the host hotel.'

Travellers also reported that they, or someone in their travel party, took part in many activities either on their own or as part of the event. The most popular activities were shopping for local crafts/souvenirs/antiques (57%), participating in sightseeing/driving tours (53%), going to a bar/pub/lounge/nightclub (44%), and going to a lobster dinner (41%).

Visitors spent an average of $1,126 per travel party in PEI, or $120.56 per person per night, with almost half of this going towards accommodation expenses, 21 per cent to restaurants, and 13 per cent towards shopping expenditures. This level of spending is much higher than the average party spending of $855.91 and the per person per night spending of $72.26 for all overnight pleasure visitors as reported in the July 2007 to June 2008 PEI Exit Survey.

'We are extremely pleased with the results of this survey, and believe meetings and conventions are helping attract new visitors to the Island,' said Ms. Thomsen. 'It is also very encouraging that delegates expressed a strong intention to revisit and recommend PEI to others.'

The data was collected from May through December 2009 with the assistance of the PEI Convention Partnership and Tourism PEI. For a copy of the report or more information, visit the Tourism Research Centre website at www.trc.upei.ca, call (902) 566-6096 or email trc@upei.ca.

Teams from the Webster Centre and the Department of Athletics competed along with corporate teams at the Rick Hansen Wheels in Motion event at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre on Friday, June 25.

Coordinated by the Canadian Paraplegic Association on PEI (CPA-PEI), the event is part of a national Rick Hansen Foundation initiative to support community projects that impact the quality of life of people living with spinal cord injury. While it was the third annual Wheels in Motion event on PEI, this year marked the first time it was held on the UPEI campus.

Erin Peterson, Adaptive Technology Assistant at UPEI and a local CPA-PEI board member said, 'Knowing that the event was at UPEI, we encouraged as many ‘home' teams to participate. We had tremendous support from the Webster Centre with a total of five teams, made up of EAP students and Accessibility Services staff.'

In the weeks leading up to the event, Webster Centre teams raised almost $900 over-and-above the team entry fee by hosting several outdoor coffee houses that featured hot and cold beverages and home-baked goods.

The culmination of their fundraising efforts was the event itself, where teams turned in their proceeds and entry fees, and participated in a friendly, relay-style race that included some of the obstacles that people with spinal cord injury face every day.Abdulaziz Aldossary, an EAP student, takes a shot for his team.Erin Peterson wheels for the Accessibility Services team.