Over 600 Attend First-Ever Event

Red River College welcomed over 600 visitors to the first-ever Applied Research & Innovation Day on April 6, celebrating student achievements in applied research and innovation while recognizing the College’s innovative research partnerships.
“That was the most exciting event I’ve been to in many years,” said Jeff Ryzner, North Forge President and guest Student Quick-Research Pitch judge, immediately following the event.
“It’s not news that RRC is focused on applied research, but it has never held such a public demonstration of its commitment to that mode of learning,” wrote Winnipeg Free Press business reporter, Martin Cash.
College President Paul Vogt participated in the event and said that judging by what he’d seen, this may be the inaugural event, but it certainly won’t be the last.
CLICK HERE to read about the capacity luncheon with guest Emcee Ace Burpee, keynote speaker Todd Burns and winners of the Top 4 student project Quick Pitch Competition.

Energy in the Room

There was a palpable energy in the College as the inaugural event commenced, with media camera lights shining and the bustle of hundreds of guests and students interacting.
ARI Day opened with a Student Research Showcase that saw students representing 30 applied research projects pitch their work to nearly 30 showcase judges from the public and private sector.
Each project was presented by students or recent grads and many of the projects were based entirely on partnerships with private companies or community organizations.
“It wasn’t just a pitch competition, it was evidence of some 30 industry partnerships and several projects with immediate commercial value,” said Ryzner of the competition. “The judges must have had an impossible time selecting the top 4.”
The Top 4 projects were announced that morning amidst loud applause inside the College’s Prairie Lights Restaurant, but the Top 4 had little time to celebrate.
They were entered into the Quick Pitch Competition that afternoon with over $3,000 up for grabs, having to pitch their research to a panel of guest judges to a capacity luncheon room of nearly 200 guests.
Facility tours of the campus were taking place simultaneously. Guests enjoyed these facility tours:

• TOUR 1: Vehicle Technology & Energy Centre / MotiveLab
• TOUR 2: Building Envelope Technology Access Centre Tour / Centre for Applied Research in Sustainable Infrastructure
• TOUR 3: Technology Access Centre for Aerospace & Manufacturing / Automation and Robotics Lab Tour

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 Album