Resumen de Evolving into a polytechnic: reflections on a decade of change

Barbara Gustafson

• In 2012, the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, the primary technical-vocational education institution in this Canadian province, was on the cusp of becoming a polytechnic. Beyond a new name, numerous other organizational changes would become evident as this change in form occurred. This paper provides a brief discussion of the history and structure of Technical Vocational Education and Training in Canada, and of the institution within Saskatchewan; the concept of institutional evolution; and the characteristics of a polytechnic. These overviews inform the author’s reflection on this organizational evolution, during the decade from 2012 to 2022, demonstrating change in numerous facets of the institution, reflecting both externally and internally driven changes, toward the new form of post-secondary education.

   Keywords: Vocational, education, polytechnic, organization, evolution.