Get ready to think local, sustainable, and adaptable


By Anne Russell

Horticulturalist Brian Minter is UFV’s chancellor, and thus is the ceremonial head of the university. The chancellor acts as an ambassador for UFV and is called upon to represent the institution at major events both on and off campus.

UFV Chancellor Brian Minter says we all need to think globally, but it's the technically savvy, well-educated, creative graduate who is going to do well in years to come.

At UFV’s Convocation ceremonies in June, Dr. Minter reminded the graduates that the focus of regional universities such as UFV is to develop leaders within local communities. He also told them that they will have to constantly adapt to an ever-changing world, one where emerging economic powerhouses like India and China are producing thousands of well qualified English-speaking university graduates every year. He noted that many of the most in-demand job categories today didn’t even exist five or ten years ago. In some ways, it was a sobering address to graduates, but the news isn’t all bad. We sat down with the chancellor at his Minter Country Garden store in Chilliwack recently to find out what the grads of 2010 can look forward to.

Globalization has had a huge impact on our economy, according to Minter. Roses that he used to buy from the grower down the road now come from South America because it’s cheaper to get them that way. Food, manufactured goods, clothing: it’s all obtained from the cheapest source. But what if far away is no longer cheapest? In Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalization, Canadian economist Jeff Rubin contends that if oil prices soar, and he predicts they will, we will be forced to return to local production on many levels.

“I can see that happening with food and ornamental horticulture production,” Minter says. “The rising cost of transportation will trump the advantages of cheap labour far away, and we’ll shift again. But it won’t be the same old farming. It’s going to be highly intensive farming on less land, with more indoor and hydroponic growing, and increased use of robotics for repetitive labour tasks. The consumer will still demand that it be cheap, but also that it be done in a sustainable manner. As Generations X and Y form the main consumer base, they’ll want organic growing and pest control.”

As the economy shifts, Minter sees a need for a technically savvy, well educated workforce that can adapt quickly to change and solve problems on the fly.

“The very thing that the Globe and Mail’s Canadian University Report rates us so highly for — a focus on student engagement —is what is gives our graduates an edge,” he says. “And the current ‘millennial’ generation is perfectly suited to adapting to changing circumstances – they’re great multi-taskers, adapting new technology is second nature to them, and they’re very open and willing to share ideas.”

Minter’s advice to the upcoming generation of post-secondary students isn’t that far off from what a good general university education can provide them: learn another language; become scientifically and technically literate; and make sure you can speak, write, and present with clarity.

“For our economy to thrive, we need to embrace technical innovation, invest in research and development, and have an educated workforce,” Minter says. “We’ll need critical thinkers to help us keep a competitive edge. When all else is said and done, the creative people will come out on top.”

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