As part of his course on Arctic environmental change and challenges, ARCTIC 401, professor and Fulbright Canada Visiting Chair in Arctic Studies Andrew Medeiros invited guest speakers from across northern Canada to share their work and perspectives with students.
Jamal Shirley, Director, Innovation and Research at the Nunavut Research Institute, Nunavut Arctic College, joined the course via video to discuss his research.
Video meeting technology allows guest speakers from remote locations, like Nunavut. Photo credit: Andrew Medeiros.
He was previously the Manager of Research Design and Policy Development at the Nunavut Research Institute, a position he has held since 2006. He has sat on multiple national steering committees for northern research, including the International Polar Year (IPY2007), a board of director member of MEOPAR, the steering committee of ArcticNet (A Network Center of Excellence of Canada), and many other local and national initiatives for northern research.
Jamal Shirley has been a leader in promoting northern research, including Indigenous representation in research for several decades. An alumnus of the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University, Mr. Shirley exemplifies an extraordinary contribution to the betterment of Canada. In his capacity, he has supported countless researchers, many of whom were at an early-career stage venturing out to do research in the Canadian Arctic. Beyond the guidance, mentorship, and personal relationships he has built across the research community, he has led initiatives that have increased the capacity for northerners to conduct research in the north. Through multiple successful federal grants, he built one of the only research laboratories in the Arctic with the capability to process samples for DNA, contaminants, water quality, and monitoring of flora and fauna at the Nunavut Research Institute. This has allowed researchers to process samples, build capacity with students, and mobilize knowledge in a two-way knowledge co-production environment in the Arctic.