Opinion: Alberta’s post-secondary competitiveness starts with a different question

Alberta invests $6.7 billion each year in higher education. Last fall, when the Government of Alberta established the Expert Panel on Post-Secondary Institution Funding and Alberta’s Competitiveness, its mandate appeared broad enough to reimagine the future of learning in the province.

We were optimistic that this signalled a willingness to take seriously the single most impactful factor shaping Alberta’s future — the development of its people.

The panel’s report stated, “Continuing the status quo — the same historical approach used in the past — will not be sufficient to meet the challenges the province and post-secondary institutions face in the coming years.” We agree.

The future prosperity of Alberta will be defined by its people’s capacity to adapt, learn and contribute to an evolv