A generous $300,000 gift has been given to Lakeland College and the donor has chosen not to reveal their identity.
The gift will support the rebranding of Lakeland’s renewable energy and conservation program which was launched in 2008.
Mal Dissanayake, Manager of Engineering Technology and Renewable Energy at Lakeland College says with industry input, they developed four new course and renamed the certificate program.
“This money will go for the rebranding process from Renewable Energy Conservation to Sustainable Energy Technology. So that will be rebranded and we will change the program, so part of the money will go towards that.”
Other areas where the money will come in handy include equipment and technology renewal, the digitalization of textbooks, student bursaries/awards and research projects on sustainable technology.
He sees the new program as playing a critical role in today’s economy.
“Most of our students when they graduate, some of them go and work for solar and wind companies and then set up their own businesses. They have a bit of work experience and they become entrepreneurs as well.”
Geoff Brown, Dean of Agricultural Sciences and Environmental Sciences is also happy about the donation as it will support the development of courses and bursaries for Lakeland’s new agricultural sustainability diploma program at the Vermilion campus.
“It’s a brand new program. The first intake will be in the Fall of 2021, so we are excited to see how that goes. This money will be used for some courses. Of course we are using some existing courses that were already being delivered in both schools. We also have some flagship new courses that we are developing and part of this money will go towards development of those new courses.”
The anonymous donation is coming in as Lakeland College is running a fundraising drive called Gifts to Leading, Learning – The Lakeland Campaign. More information is available on their website.