Inuit Nunangat University is closer to finding a home for its main campus, after Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) shortlisted eight communities, following a review of their readiness and infrastructure.
ITK President Natan Obed has said the university will help reduce barriers to post-secondary education for Inuit by being closer to home and rooted in Inuit worldviews.
Based on ITK’s draft overview, selection of the main campus is expected in 2025, with infrastructure planning beginning in 2026. The university aims to open in 2030, housing about 100 students and employing 80 staff.
Inuit Nunangat University will feature seven faculties—including governance, Inuktut, social work and education—and will be supported by regional knowledge centres to ensure each Inuit region is integrated into its programming.
The shortlisted communities are Iqaluit, Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet and Arviat in Nunavut; Puvirnituq and Kuujjuaq in Nunavik; Inuvik in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region; and Nain in Nunatsiavut.
Those communities will now be invited to confirm their interest with their municipal councils before engaging with ITK about local capacity and needs.
“The first thing that comes to mind is, wow. We made the top eight,” Arviat Mayor Joe Savikataaq Jr. said in an interview.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done. It just means the eight communities now have the opportunity to submit a proposal explaining why they should be selected,” he said.
He added that Arviat has the infrastructure needed to host the facility.
“We justified [to ITK] that we have enough land, enough gravel. Our water capacity can handle the demand,” Savikataaq said. “There are no issues with sewage or garbage. Everything is within our limits.”
Savikataaq also pointed to Arviat’s strong use of Inuktitut and its nearly completed modular home factory as assets.
The project would be a “win-win” for the community, bringing in business and helping local enterprises, he said.
“With a big building and people coming in, that brings benefits to the community,” he said.
In the Kitikmeot region, Cambridge Bay’s chief administrative officer Jim MacEachern said the community has already proven it can handle major development projects.
“When you look at the Canadian High Arctic Research Station, [Cambridge Bay] has demonstrated that we’re ready and eager to take on large-scale projects, and that we can adapt to the growth in the community,” MacEachern said.
“The hamlet’s location makes it an ideal hub for students and researchers traveling from across the North and southern Canada,” he said. “We have daily flights to the Northwest Territories and Yellowknife, easy connections to Edmonton, Toronto, Vancouver—all the main hubs.”
MacEachern said hosting the university would bring both short-term and long-term economic benefits.
“There will be a construction boom, not just in terms of the university itself but all of the ancillary infrastructure that would be needed,” he said.
In Nain, Mayor Tony Andersen said the proposal will soon go before council.
“We have to be honest and consider—do we have the infrastructure here? Do we have the transportation in and out of our community that would be acceptable for hosting the main campus?”
He said he was encouraged to hear that communities not selected to host the main campus will be considered to host one of the three University’s knowledge centres.
Andersen said Nain continues to look for ways to strengthen its infrastructure and transportation systems but emphasised fairness in the process.
Source: Nunatsiaq News