A new health and social science research hub will find a home at UNB Saint John.
Dr. Petra Hauf, vice-president of UNB Saint John, says the campus is the ideal location for a proposed cluster of health, social innovation, research, collaboration and teaching activity.
It will also be the home of new academic programs that will prepare New Brunswick’s next generation of health professionals, explains Hauf.
“The state of the arts structure that we are aiming for will serve as a provincial hub to support and facilitate innovative and effective health initiatives that are a priority not only to UNB but also to the province,” she said during a presentation to council.
Hauf explains the centre would be a space for health leaders from UNB, Dalhousie Medicine NB, NBCC, Horizon Health, and Saint John Regional Hospital to collaborate on issues facing New Brunswickers.
“New Brunswick is faced with urgent health and social challenges. The problems presented by an aging population, chronic illness, low literacy levels and pockets of high poverty take an enormous toll on our provincial and regional economy,” she said.
The hub will create a number of new jobs, both in the new facility and in the construction and design field during the building phase.
It’s all part of strategic growth initiatives for the university, which has been working on growth investments for a number of months.
“A growth agenda for the university means a growth agenda for the city,” said Hauf.
Total project costs are estimated at $36 million, which UNB says it hopes to fund with help from the province.