Who Is Training the Next Generation of Agronomists?

from Growing the Future · host Dan Aberhart , Stuart Cullum

Cory Willness put it to Stuart Cullum plainly: nobody in Western Canada is training the next generation of agronomists. Cullum, two years into the presidency of Olds College, agreed with him. Most of this conversation is about what he decided to do about it.Recorded at the first AgSmart, Cullum lays out a seven year plan built on growing enrolment by half, doubling applied research and launching a School of Agriculture Technology. He came to the job by an unusual route, from high school teacher to commercial farmer to an investment company to an airline to applied research, and it shows in how he talks about what a graduate actually needs to walk out with.What's Inside- Why he argues the technical skills a student trains on can be obsolete before they graduate, and what a college should teach instead- The seven year plan: fifty percent enrolment growth, doubled applied research, and a new School of Agriculture Technology- What industry keeps telling him about soft skills, and why creativity and communication rank above the technical task- How a two thousand acre working farm changes what a graduate can do on their first day in a job- Why networking is being written into the academic programs rather than left as an extracurricular- Where AgSmart came from, and the deliberate decision not to make it big out of the gateConnect with Growing the FutureWebsite: growingthefuture.caYouTube: Growing the FutureInstagram: @growingthefuturepodcastLinkedIn: Growing the FutureSubscribe to the Growing the Future Podcast wherever you listen, and register for Convergence Conference 2027 at convergence.ag. Register for the Convergence Conference at convergence.ag and stay updated by subscribing to the Growing the Future Podcast at growingthefuturepodcast.ca.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Nov 5, 2019

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What this episode covers

Stuart Cullum came to the presidency of Olds College by a route that took in high school teaching, commercial farming, an investment company, an airline and a network of technology transfer offices. Recorded at the inaugural AgSmart, he responds to the charge that nobody in Western Canada is training the next generation of agronomists by walking through a seven year plan: half again as many students, double the applied research, and a new School of Agriculture Technology. His argument is that the specific technical skills a student learns may be obsolete before they graduate, which makes critical thinking, communication and the ability to build a network the things worth teaching. The two thousand acre campus is the mechanism.