Designing a culture of co-learning:Mobilizing knowledge about KMb amongst graduate students

Andrea LaMarre*, Kate Bishop-Williams*, Tylar Meeks*, Megan Racey*, Lindsay Day* & Anne Bergen*** University of Guelph **Knowledge to Action Consulting

How did it all begin?

What have we done?

What challenges have we faced?

What have we learned?

We are an interdisciplinary group of graduate students interested in knowledge mobilization, translation, transfer & exchange (sometimes referred to as K*). Our large group is comprised of 106 members, with representation from each of the University of Guelph’s 7 colleges. Our steering committee has 5 members from 3 colleges.

Anne Bergen put out a call for students interested in knowledge mobilization, translation, and exchange in fall 2013. 49 graduate students attended, and dreamed up their ideal resource and idea sharing opportunities.

After the initial meeting, we formed a steering committee to help guide the group, moving forward. Steering committee members helped to populate our online learning environment, Courselink, with resources, and to plan events for the larger group.

Who are we?

Images from planning sessions, infographic symposium and our Courselink site.

Attendance at events: Despite strong reported interest, students are not always able to attend sessions we have planned.Fear: Students may be interested in knowledge dissemination and exchange, but often do not feel that they have the expertise to contribute to discussions around knowledge mobilizations, resulting in lack of engagement.Overcommitment: Particularly during busy times of the semester, keeping the knowledge flowing can be difficult.

Collaboration is key.

Feel the fear, do it anyway.

Our most successful events have taken place in collaboration with other student groups. For example, by joining forces with the EcoHealth Community of Interest, we reached a much broader audience of students wanting to learn about visualizing data.

“Walking the talk” of knowledge mobilization has involved stepping outside of our comfort zones and trying new things- all in the name of creating a culture of knowledge mobilization that is creative and open to working together.A little goes a long way

Just getting students talking about, and providing resources around knowledge mobilization has been a helpful strategy. Members have appreciated Courselink & list serv updates on available training and employment opportunities and resources.

Since our group began in fall 2013, we have held 4 successful events:

• A panel discussion on career paths in KTT-KMb with 30 attendees

• A panel discussion on KTT-KMb projects with 20 attendees

• A workshop on creating infographics with 93 attendees

• A symposium showcasing 17 student-created infographics with 70 attendees; infographics were judged by representatives from academia, government and private sector

We collaborated with the EcoHealth Community of Interest, to secure funding for the Infographics training and symposium through the University of Guelph Student Life Enhancement Fund, the Community Engaged Scholarship Institute, and the Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses.

One of our greatest successes has been our ongoing cross-disciplinary commitment. We are working to shift culture toward knowledge sharing within, between, and beyond disciplinary silos, to reach different stakeholders using appropriate methods.

To support members, we update our Courselink site with opportunities related to K*, including:• Employment and training opportunities• Resources (articles, blog posts, webinars)• Conferences & calls for papers

We gather these postings from membership on Canadian & international list servs related to K* and community engagement and through our connections across and beyond campus. We also send out regular updates with the most recent postings to our members.

Moving forward, we are working to create events oriented toward training interdisciplinary graduate students in doing (instead of just talking about) K*. For example, our next event will focus on mobilizing through arts-based practice.

Living up to rhetoric: It is easy to get caught up in buzzwords, but translating the jargon and delivering on what is promised (e.g., training, skills and resources) has proven more challenging.

Thank you!Pour une traduction, contactez Andrea LaMarre, alamarre@uoguelph.ca