The University of Prince Edward Island is offering a free, five-week course called ‘Experience U' to introduce students to the university experience - and to answer some of the questions often asked by new students.

Designed to be a primer that will give students an overview of university and a context for the preparations and decisions they will need to make, the course is offered over a MOOC (massive open online course) platform and starts Wednesday, October 19. Students can sign up at http://xpu.ca/join.

Hon. Doug Currie, minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, heard about the web-based offering, appropriately, over Twitter, and was quick to endorse the idea, 'It is so important engage our youth in the way they like to connect. Experience U is a fantastic initiative from UPEI to provide students with some of the basic information they need- especially those who might be the first ones in their family to consider university-over a technologically current platform.' After learning more about the program, Minister Currie has arranged for information to be sent to high school principals and guidance counsellors so they will encourage their students to register for the course.

For each week of the course, there is an introductory video that gives an overview of the topics to be covered, a live online event that features discussions with current university students and professors, and an assignment that will engage participants. The course is approximately a 10-15 hour commitment (2-3 hours a week) over five weeks, ending Sunday, November 20.

Themes over the five weeks include: week 1, what's a student; week 2, what's a professor; week 3, what's a syllabus; week 4, what's research; and week 5, how do I succeed at university?

Dave Cormier, manager of Web Communications and Innovations at UPEI, who is leading the delivery of the course, said, 'Not only does Experience U give an overview to prospective university students, it also provides a glimpse of how university courses may be delivered in the future. The course uses new ways of connecting online as the method by which to actually deliver the learning.'

In the case of Experience U, students can choose to work in the online space if they like or they can put their work in their own space at their school or on the web.

UPEI Vice-President Academic Jim Randall added, 'At Experience U, students have the chance to work with professionals and peers in an online environment, but are responsible for their own work-which is likely the most important aspect of university life that new university students face. Students that take the Experience U course will be equipped with this skill before they head off to university.'

The Experience U project is supported by the Office of the Vice President Academic at UPEI through a Strategic Initiative Fund (SIF) that encourages creative student engagement ideas.

More information is available at http://xpu.ca.

Åsa Warnqvist, a post-doctoral scholar at Stockholm University, is the 2011 Visiting Scholar for the L.M. Montgomery Institute at the University of Prince Edward Island, announced institute chair, Mark Leggott.

'We are pleased to have Åsa join us as our Visiting Scholar,' said Leggott. 'It is encouraging to see the number of young, international researchers who continue to select Lucy Maud Montgomery as their subject of interest. We look forward to seeing what exciting initiatives Åsa will launch over the next year. Her work shows the influence of Montgomery on generations of Swedish readers.'

During her year-long position, Warnqvist will work on her present research project 'L.M. Montgomery in Sweden' which aims to investigate the importance of Montgomery's work, especially Anne of Green Gables, in her home country. She will work closely with the organizing committee of, and present her research, at the international L.M. Montgomery Conference which focuses on the theme of 'Montgomery and Cultural Memory', slated for June 2012. Warnqvist has already co-hosted a major international conference on Montgomery in Sweden in 2009.

Warnqvist notes, 'Anne of Green Gables was first translated and published in Sweden as Anne på Grönkulla in 1909, the year after its original publication, making it the very first foreign-language translation. The novel has celebrated a century of success in the Swedish publishing industry and has long been established as a classic.' It is now the only classic girl's story that continuously has been in print in Sweden for 100 years making it interesting to study within the fields of sociology of literature and gender studies.

'Some of the questions that inform my research on the success and impact of L.M. Montgomery's work in Sweden. What are the key factors in the novel's long-lasting fame in Sweden? How has Anne been regarded by publishers, critics, and readers during these one-hundred years? What impact has the story had on Swedish readers and writers during the twentieth century, and how do contemporary Swedish readers relate to the story of Anne?'

Warnqvist's project includes reception studies as well as book market studies and focuses on three different aspects: Montgomery's success in the Swedish book market, the reception of her work among Swedish readers and critics, and her influence on Swedish authors, above all Astrid Lindgren, author of international classic, Pippi Longstocking. One of the aims of her research trip to UPEI is to study the Swedish covers of Montgomery's novels in an international context and she will do so by drawing on the extensive Ryrie-Campbell collection of international editions in the Robertson Library's archives which continues to draw international attention.

Warnqvist arrived on Prince Edward Island on October 17.

Students in two EAP classes held a potluck lunch fundraiser last week to support their entries in this year's Wheel & Win event, taking place on October 20at 4:00 pm at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre at UPEI.

Wheel & Win, formerly the Rick Hansen Wheelchair Challenge, is a fundraising team relay event for the Canadian Paraplegic Association (CPA) that raises awareness about people with disabilities.

Cathy Gillan, UPEI's EAP Coordinator and volunteer with CPA PEI, said, 'In addition to supporting this good cause, our goal is for students to learn valuable cultural lessons and feel engaged in their new community through this event. We want to value their participation and allow them to see themselves as leaders on campus - or as Rick Hansen would say, as "difference makers".

A difference maker herself, Gillan recently ran in the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay as UPEI's nominee. She encourages all members of the campus community to participate in the Wheel & Win event on October 20 and collect pledges, 'It would be wonderful to match or improve upon last year's amount raised.'

Teams of five are invited to register by visiting the CPA PEI website at cpapei.org, or on event day at 3:30 pm at the Sports Centre. Teams will compete against the clock and each other through an exciting obstacle course using a wheelchair. Click here for a registration/pledge sheet.

One hundred per cent of the money raised through this event will remain in PEI and used to assist people with spinal cord injuries and other mobility disabilities to purchase equipment that has no other funding source.

New anti-inflammatory compound shows promise to be more than the sum of its parts

The University of Prince Edward Island today licensed a promising piece of medical technology to Carmel Biosciences, a biomedical company based in Tucker, Georgia. The technology is a 'co-drug' with powerful anti-inflammatory activity.

'This novel compound is derived from naturally occurring products with proven safety and efficacy in humans,' said Dr. Tarek Saleh, chair of Biomedical Sciences at UPEI's Atlantic Veterinary College. 'We've bonded them chemically and created a unique compound. This new compound shows great potential as an anti-inflammatory for use in neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and stroke.'

Dr. Saleh developed the new compound, patent-pending under the name UPEI-100, with Dr. Bobby Khan, a physician and investigator at the Atlanta Vascular Research Foundation and a past visiting Fulbright Scholar to UPEI.

'The Fulbright Scholarship allowed me to meet and build this collaboration with Dr. Saleh,' said Dr. Khan. 'This new technology is one of several exciting yields from this successful collaboration. I'm thankful to John and Judy Bragg, the Fulbright Commission, and Dr. Katherine Schultz for making it possible.'

UPEI-100 is fully owned by the university. Today's agreement licenses the technology to Carmel Biosciences, which will guide it through pre-clinical drug testing.

'We think this compound has an exciting future as a drug for people with neurological disorders,' said Dr. Khan. 'But there are numerous regulatory hoops to jump through before then. I think this partnership is a great step.'

Frank Kelly, a director of Carmel Biosciences and past vice-president of the Coca-Cola Company, said he's impressed by how collaborations around UPEI-100 are helping to streamline pre-clinical research.

'It often takes two years, and more than four-million dollars, to take a drug just through the pre-clinical phases of regulatory approval,' said Kelly. 'Carmel Biosciences has partnered with a well-established contract research organization in India who will be able to do it in half the time, and at a fraction of the cost.'

The licensing deal between UPEI and Carmel Biosciences was negotiated and executed by Three Oaks Innovations Inc., an independent company, and the bridge between UPEI and industry.

'This is another exciting piece of UPEI technology with the potential to make a real difference in people's lives,' said Sophie Theriault, director of Three Oaks Innovations Inc. 'UPEI, through commercialization partnerships such as this one, is a key player in the province's economic development and sustainability. The potential of this agreement is really limitless.'

'Research at UPEI is a driving force behind innovation on Prince Edward Island. This is where creativity and knowledge come together to create exciting new opportunities such as UPEI-100,' said Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz, president of UPEI. 'I want to congratulate Dr. Saleh and Dr. Khan on this exciting day, and I want to thank Sophie and her team at Three Oaks Innovations Inc. for helping to make it happen.'

UPEI-100 is the first of what is expected to be several new compounds from the collaboration between Dr. Saleh and Dr. Khan, and begins a presence on Prince Edward Island for Carmel Bioscience.

UPEI's Relay for life will take place October 28 at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre, giving students, faculty and staff an opportunity to celebrate life and remember those who have survived or died from cancer. The first campus Relay for Life took place in October 2008.

The 12-hour overnight event will get underway at 6 pm and run overnight until 6 am, Saturday, October 29. Everyone on campus is encouraged to attend and contribute-- an especially poignant moment will be the lighting of the luminaries and survivors' walk.

To donate, or for more information, click here.

Dr. Shannon Murray, professor of English and 3M Teaching Fellow at UPEI will be in Halifax, Nova Scotia, tonight to attend the Association of Atlantic Universities' (AAU) annual meeting and dinner, held in conjunction with the AAU Teaching Showcase. Dr. Murray is the recipient of this year's ‘AAU Coordinating Committee on Faculty Development's Distinguished Service Award.'

UPEI President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz said, 'On behalf of UPEI faculty, staff, students and alumni, I extend our congratulations as well as our thanks to Shannon for her dedication to teaching, to the student experience, and to supporting her colleagues through a long commitment to faculty development. We're so pleased the example of high standards in teaching that Shannon has set here on our campus and around the region is being recognized by her peers in this way.'

The ‘Distinguished Service Award' was established to recognize former AAU committee members who have made extraordinary and sustained contributions to faculty development through service. Murray proved her commitment to excellence in teaching by dedicating more than six years to the AAU Committee but has also served as assistant director, presenter, and facilitator for UPEI's Faculty Development Office for many years. In 1996-97, she received the UPEI Annual Award for Excellence in Teaching and, in 2001, was presented with a 3M National Teaching Fellowship.

Murray was nominated for the award by Sue Dawson and Jane Magrath, both UPEI colleagues, and received notice of her recognition from AAU Coordinating Committee on Faculty Development chair, Eileen Herteis. 'Having served with Shannon for some of her time on the AAU Committee, and having witnessed her far-reaching commitment to excellence, I'm delighted she was selected to receive the award,' said Herteis.

An expert in Renaissance literature: Shakespeare, John Bunyan, John Milton and children's literature, especially Early Modern English children's literature, Murray also has research interests in learning communities; active learning; and the senior-year experience. On Saturday, she will share insight into effective learning portfolios at the teaching showcase. This year's AAU event takes place October 28-29 at Mount Saint Vincent University.

UPEI has moved four spots from eighth position to rank fourth overall among ‘primarily undergraduate' universities in this year's Maclean's magazine's annual university rankings. The climb is due in large part to UPEI's strong showing in the ‘student awards' and ‘total research dollars' categories, placing the University in a tie with Alberta's University of Lethbridge.

This is the 21st year for Maclean's annual ranking of 49 Canadian universities. Maclean's divides the schools into doctoral, comprehensive and primarily undergraduate categories and ranks them on performance in class sizes, faculty, resources, student support, library resources and the university's reputation.

UPEI President Alaa Abd-El-Aziz said, 'I am very proud of our community of students, staff, faculty, and alumni, and we are thrilled with this news. While the ranking is important, it's not everything, but more a part of the equation. For us at UPEI, we are going to continue to work hard to ensure that we give our students the best quality education possible.'

President Abd-El-Aziz also commented on education in Canada and how proud he is of Canadian universities. 'The difference between the top university and the bottom university in the rankings when it comes to education in Canada is very small. I'm very proud of the quality of education in all Canadian universities. It's really wonderful to see all institutions continuously working towards higher standards of excellence.'

The fourth place position reaffirms that UPEI is a destination university for students, staff, and faculty. It is also hoped the ranking will help the University build upon its already broad community and connect with more people locally, regionally, nationally, and around the world.

Link to Maclean's article

Because of help from generous donors, UPEI's Annual Fund recently replenished the university's nearly empty campus food bank.

UPEI Annual Fund coordinator, Rose Barbour, and five UPEI students went on a shopping spree with donations designated for the food bank, filling six shopping carts to stock the food bank's shelves. In addition, the Charlottetown Superstore generously donated $500 in gift certificates to purchase perishable food items including fresh fruits and vegetables, and dairy and meat products.

Barbour was proud to see students volunteering their time, 'Seeing a student pitching in to help their fellow students was a very rewarding experience.' She added, 'Through this experience, they have been introduced to philanthropy and volunteerism in a very meaningful way. Our donors made that happen, and we are grateful for each and every one of them.'

The campus food bank, housed at UPEI's Chaplaincy Centre, has been in operation for the past 15 years and has helped roughly 50 students each year. This number continues to grow as students face higher costs of living and other financial hardships. While these latest contributions satisfied the immediate need, it is expected that there will be increased demand in the lead up to Christmas.

The food bank is supported by various groups on campus as well as by UPEI's ever-growing community of friends and alumni, including the Charlottetown Superstore, That's Entertainment and the Charlottetown Christian Reformed Church.

For more information on how to make a donation to the food bank, or to other priorities that the UPEI Annual Fund raises money for, please call (902) 566-0615 or visit www.upei.ca/annualfund.

Use your day away from classes on November 10 to experience UPEI in an entirely different way, at two great events designed to teach, engage, and let you meet up with friends while making new ones.