The Colleges of Trent University are happy to announce that the website for “TrentTalks” is now live at www.trentu.ca/trenttalks.

TrentTalks aim to take the diversity of conversations and friendships made possible by college membership into the realm of social media. Available on Trent’s public website, the talks will give students, faculty, staff, and members of our broader communities the chance to engage with some of the intellectual dynamism a university embodies. According to Dr. Mike Allcott, head of Champlain College, the college heads “hope that people will use TrentTalks to inspire and participate in on-line dialogues.  We hope that people will offer comments through Trent’s YouTube channel, as well as broadly share the talks through social media networks.” 

The talks will feature a diversity of speakers and a full spectrum of topics.  Designed to be web-friendly, any TrentTalk will be a maximum of ten minutes in length, and will aim to inspire discussion, dialogue and learning beyond the confines of the physical university.

TrentTalks are produced by the colleges of Trent. Being a member of a college at Trent gives you opportunities to find your own place in a small community within the larger university. A college is a place to meet fellow students as well as faculty, staff and alumni, and to participate in learning dialogues outside the classroom-and often outside of your own field of study. TrentTalks take those kinds of informal learning opportunities-the kind of learning opportunities that account for the majority of undergraduate learning-beyond the walls of the college, and onto your computer screen.

In the spirit of informal collegial experience and learning, enjoy browsing and watching TrentTalks. And share them freely! We hope they inspire your thinking and learning with your friends.

The first TrentTalks event, entitled “Metacognition and First-Year Student Development - How Thinking About Your Thinking Will Get You Better Grades,” was produced by Champlain College, and includes talks by Brenda Smith-Chant, Cathy Bruce, Nadine Changfoot, Mac Fenwick, and Champlain College head, Mike Allcott.

Gzowski College hosted the second TrentTalks, entitled “Leadership in Sustainability: Emerging Ideas,” featured talks by Trent students, faculty and guest speaker, environment and culture activist, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, who joined the talk via a web video feed.

Each of the colleges will host a TrentTalks event during the academic year.