Many people assume that the value of a university education lies in the knowledge and experiences that you acquire. Of course, those are the obvious benefits, and they can translate into immediate financial gain, such as by landing a great job. But there is another important asset that should not be underestimated that is part of a university education: connections. Being part of the university community-whether student, staff, faculty, or friend-means you instantly become part of a large international network. Your university time builds and strengthens connections that can serve you well in your personal and professional life. These connections will touch you in many ways, such as creating lifelong friends, forming business partnerships, opening doors, and providing numerous other unforeseen and surprising opportunities.
For many of us, connections to our university experiences show up repeatedly throughout our lives. The Fall 2017 issue of Contours gives some examples of connections. They start at the University of Alberta, might follow a meandering path, then end up reconnecting to the university.
Like David Brown, who was inspired by the teachings of biological sciences professor Julia Foght. He graduates, becomes an entrepreneur, wins a Governor General's Innovation Award, then cycles back to the university by crediting Julia for his success. Or physics professor Avadh Bhatia, whose memory is preserved in an endowed fellowship for female post-doctoral fellows. The Bhatia fellowship attracts to the U of A Sharon Morsink, who has now been a faculty member here for nearly 20 years. Or David Silver, who gets his PhD in computing science, works in academia and industry for a few years, ends up at DeepMind in London, and then, because of his intimate knowledge of the artificial intelligence expertise in the Faculty of Science, helps create the new DeepMind Alberta laboratory in Edmonton.
When I started my academic career, there was a belief that everyone was connected by-at most-six degrees of separation. Social media has changed all that: We are now connected by roughly three degrees, making our big world a much more intimate planet. Build and nurture your university connections. The friend you make at the U of A might be one of the three steps to connecting to anyone in the world!