Capacity Crowd at Inaugural Applied Research & Innovation Day Luncheon

It was a capacity room of nearly 200 hungry guests following the morning Student Research Showcase at Applied Research & Innovation Day on April 6, 2017.

College President Paul Vogt provided opening remarks, praising the Top 4 student competitors who had the guts to speak before such a large crowd, and noting that the morning Showcase was such a success, and that RRC definitely plans on making ARI Day an annual event:

Paul then introduced the Emcee of the event, radio host Ace Burpee. Ace provided lots of laughs throughout the luncheon:

A panel of judges was at the front luncheon table with the challenging task of selecting the first, second, and third place winners along with the best student poster. The Top 4 teams were selected from the 30 projects on display during the morning Showcase.
Thank you to the afternoon judges panel, which consisted of:
Freyja Arnason, Manager of Funding Programs at Research Manitoba
Kristina Braun, Vice-President of the Life Science Association of Manitoba
Martin Cash, Business writer with the Winnipeg Free Press
Jeff Ryzner, President of North Forge

Coordinating the Top 4 Student Quick Pitch Competition was Red River College Vice-President of Strategic Development, Mark Hoddenbagh:

Students gave it their all during the Top 4 Quick Pitch Competition:

While the judges panel went into deliberation to decide the winners, Red River College Executive Director of Research Partnerships & Innovation, Ray Hoemsen, gave a warm speech asking each College research leader to stand and be recognized by applause from the room:

Ray introduced event keynote speaker Todd Burns, CEO of Cypher Environmental, who spoke about working with Red River College (as well as other post-secondary institutions) to address his research and development needs, providing practical guidance on how other businesses can better embrace innovation by partnering with academic research institutions like Red River College and others.
Cypher is now exporting to over 30 countries and are a real success story of what partnerships with the College can look like:

The judges then returned from their deliberations to announce the winners!
1st Place – Dust Stop Municipal Blend, Product Innovation ($2,000 Awarded)
(Teaghan Wellman, John Palson, Naga Ruddarraju, Ishan Patel. Instructors: Michael Judge, Said Hassan)
Working alongside Cypher Environmental, this team helped develop an economical and environmentally friendly solution to problems created by dust from vehicles driving on unpaved roads.
2nd Place – Spence Neighbourhood Association, Data Collection App ($750 Awarded)

(Tyler Syrowitz, Tioluwani Irabor, Iseyas Gebremariam, Paul Kawchuk)
Team members developed an app to support the Spence Neighbourhood Association’s data collection system, reducing administrative workload and allowing more time for community initiatives.
3rd Place & Best Poster – The Mediewiwin Lodge, Indigenous Cultural Tourism ($350 Awarded for 3rd place, $250 Awarded for Best Poster)

(Dinae Robinson, Fatima Feliciano, Hong Ngoc Trinh, Oladimeji Selimat, Patience Ajiamah)
The goal of this social innovation project was to empower Indigenous youth to share their heritage through sustainable cultural tourism.
 
Thank you to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and to Research Manitoba for your support with this event.

Event Photo Gallery