Demand for Mount Royal University (MRU) programs is growing as the province needs more health and science professionals. A proposed Health Science Innovation Centre will provide MRU room to expand and enhance critical health education and support to help address this need.
The Centre and its building on the MRU campus will unite health, science and technology, including MRU’s new school of computing sciences and mathematics, to advance learning, research and community well-being.
“From the beginning, Mount Royal has responded to community needs. The Health Science Innovation Centre will train critically needed health workforce professionals and scientists, breaking down silos and nurturing collaboration between the frontline workers, data analysts and researchers,” says Dr. Tim Rahilly, PhD, president and vice-chancellor of MRU.
Mount Royal’s faculty of health, community and education prepares students to work in community, primarily in the helping professions. The high-demand bachelor of nursing, launched before MRU officially became a university, was Mount Royal’s first full degree program.
“When you look at what is happening in our province, what our students require, what health and science fields require and how they rely on Mount Royal University to produce graduates in these professional settings, it is perfect timing to launch a plan for a new building so we can serve even more students,” says Melanie Rogers, vice-president of community engagement at Mount Royal.
Work to bring optometry education to MRU also continues with the University of Waterloo. This prospective partnership, subject of a 2025 memorandum of understanding, is supported by the Alberta Association of Optometrists and the Alberta College of Optometrists and may lead to the first optometry school in Western Canada and only the third nationally.
MRU is currently in the planning phase for the Health Science Innovation Centre, working closely with government and community members.
“It’s very much going to be a multidisciplinary, interprofessional space. We know that we can’t solve complex problems and prepare professionals in silos and that we need to be attacking and looking at questions in different ways from different perspectives,” says Dr. Chad London, PhD, provost and vice-president, academic, at Mount Royal.
Initial plans for the building include experiential immersion labs for simulations and training; computational and data labs; instruction labs and classrooms; interprofessional education spaces; and public spaces and amenities.
“Alberta expects an increase of more than 39,000 students by 2033, with nearly half of that growth here in Calgary,” says Dr. Jonathan Withey, DPhil, dean of the faculty of science and technology. “The Health Science Innovation Centre is our answer. It’s not just a building; it’s a commitment to increase our capacity by 25 per cent by 2040 to ensure more Albertans can access the education they need.”
Learn more about the proposed Health Science Innovation Centre and the vision behind it at mru.ca/Grow
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