Shaping the debate
Building a more prosperous and just future for New Brunswick
As New Brunswick’s national comprehensive post-secondary institution, the University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a trusted voice in major discussions and debates across our communities. UNB drives economic growth, social development, and community sustainability by collaborating with government, industry, and community partners to turn ideas into action.
Our Shaping the Debate initiative serves the public good by convening important conversations to help build a more prosperous and just future for New Brunswick. Through public dialogue and roundtable discussions, Shaping the Debate provides a platform for critical exchange of views to ensure positive action that will benefit communities, the economy, and lives of New Brunswickers.
Public dialogues
We have been pleased to host a series of virtual and in-person public dialogues around key challenges impacting our communities, province and country.
- Sept. 15-16, 2025: The Knowledge Industry Shift: Centering Human Intelligence in a Time of Transformation
- May 12, 2025: Boosting Productivity: Working Together to Drive Change
- March 11, 2025: Boosting Productivity in New Brunswick: The Road Ahead
- Jan. 24-25, 2023: Defining a decade of inclusive and sustainable growth for New Brunswick
- June 14, 2022: A Growing Opportunity: Atlantic Bubble to Atlantic Boom
- Nov. 9, 2021: Innovating for Sustainability in Health Care: A Health and Technology District for Saint John
- Nov. 3, 2021: Enabling Growth: Building a sustainable, technology-based knowledge economy for Atlantic Canada
- Sept. 13, 2021: Public dialogue on political literacy
- July 14, 2021: Virtual town hall on immigration and international education
- May 3, 2021: A sustainable future for health care in NB
Roundtable events
Our strategic vision
Shaping the Debate helps guide our UNB Toward 2030 'Engagement and Impact' priorities to:
- Engage globally to translate research knowledge for community well-being,
- Expand external partnerships to enrich student and professional learning opportunities and research collaborations,
- Engage national and international university partnerships to boost collaborative research toward major societal challenges, and,
- Invest strategically to tell our story to the world.
