Important research from the Science of Early Child Development (SECD) has received a funding boost from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), through the College and Community Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF).

SECD will receive $240,000 over two years for the research project “Science to Practice to Play: Transferring the Best of Early Child Development Evidence to Parents Through Integrated Health Equity Teams.”

“Through this NSERC grant, we now have the opportunity to put SECD to the test with NorWest Co-op Community Health Centre, located in the Inkster community area just moments from RRC’s Notre Dame campus,” said Jan Sanderson, research chair at RRC’s School of Health Sciences and Community Services. “The Nursing Department and the Research Team from Health Sciences and Community Services are very excited to be working right in the Inkster neighbourhood with an organization that is extremely committed to supporting families and improving the outcomes for young children in their community.”

Through a partnership between the College and NorWest Co-op, in collaboration with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and the Province of Manitoba, RRC researchers will deliver SECD training to a community health and social services team. The team will in turn develop and deliver consistent messages, skills and activities to parents of pre-school children in their Bright Start parent/child programs.

“With the collaboration of the WRHA and the provincial government, we hope to learn lessons that can be applied across Winnipeg and around the province,” said Sanderson. “As the project title – Science to Practice to Play – indicates, we will be examining the capacity of SECD as a training and planning tool that can transfer scientific evidence to health/social service professionals who will in turn convert it into engaging, educational activities to support parents – a child’s first and most important teacher. We plan to measure the impact of the intervention on the NorWest Co-op’s planning process, the impact on parents’ knowledge of early child development and their parent/child interactions, and the impact on the children’s development.”

Learn more about SECD here.

A new dust control product has been put to the test on an unpaved gravel compound at Red River College’s (RRC) Notre Dame Campus. Dust Stop Municipal Blend (DSMB) was created in 2016 by Winnipeg-based company Cypher Environmental as an eco-friendly solution to reduce fugitive dust on unpaved roads. The product is the result of a partnership with RRC, as students, faculty, and Cypher staff – many of whom are RRC grads – developed the product using the College’s expertise and facilities.

DSMB was applied to a large storage yard on campus, where heavy equipment is often moved in and out of a nearby building. It was important to limit the amount of dust exposure and tracking inside the building, to reduce contamination and damage to the valuable equipment inside. Despite a hot, dry summer and a cold, wet autumn, the yard has remained stable and dust-free since the application.

The product formula was produced in a joint Applied Research Project, with the help of NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council) and IRAP (Industrial Research Assistance Program), and involved significant in-kind contribution from Cypher. The result was a great success, not only on-campus but worldwide: DSMB was commercialized in 2017 and is now sold and applied in more than 20 countries around the world.

About the product:

Dust Stop Municipal Blend is an environmentally-friendly, non-corrosive road treatment product that can be used to control excess dust and remove moisture from roadways. Comprised of sugars and starches, DSMB is an eco-friendly alternative to road salts such as magnesium chloride and calcium chloride. Since the product is non-toxic, it poses no risks to roadside vegetation and the lack of toxic salts means it will not cause rust on cars. DSMB maintains the integrity of the material it’s added to, and is a cost-effective, non-corrosive, biodegradable and concentrated enough to be shipped globally. Find more information at cypherenvironmental.com.

Red River College (RRC) has once again been recognized as a global leader in applied research and innovation at the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics (WFCP) Awards of Excellence in Melbourne, Australia held on October 9. RRC was awarded silver in the Applied Research and Innovation category for contributions led by Research Partnerships & Innovation (RPI), which was formally established in 2004.

“We’re honoured to receive this award from WFCP. It’s a wonderful celebration of the outstanding work our staff and students do every day,” said RRC President & CEO Paul Vogt. “As RPI enters its 15^thyear of operation, this award is a great way to both recognize the achievements we’ve made and to motivate us to continue reaching for greatness.”

The WFCP Awards of Excellence honour higher standards in applied education institutions. WFCP last honoured RRC in 2014 with a bronze award at a ceremony in Beijing, China.

“This award is another significant achievement for Applied Research at Red River College,” said Ray Hoemsen, director of Research Partnerships & Innovation at RRC. “For nearly 15 years we’ve been dedicated to working with partners to meet the needs of our community and to support community-based economic development. Receiving global recognition for these partnerships speaks to the outstanding quality of the research initiatives that happen at the College.”

Two other Canadian institutions were honoured in the same category – Niagara College was awarded the gold, while Mohawk College took the bronze.

RRC concentrates on four major areas of Applied Research: Advanced Design & Manufacturing, Clean Technology, Digital Technology, and Health, Nutrition & Social Sciences. This award recognizes RRC students, faculty, and staff for several notable projects, including the development of an all-electric transit bus now being sold across North America, delivery of the Science of Early Child Development, and the engagement of International Business students from more than 30 countries to produce Business and Market Intelligence reports for Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The College continues to expand to support market needs in applied research. A new Culinary Research Centre that will empower researchers, faculty and students to collaborate with industry to create new products is currently under construction, while a vehicle test facility called the MotiveLab – that features a climatic chamber that reaches temperature highs of +50 C or lows of –40 C, no matter the outdoor temperature – is set to open at the Notre Dame Campus later this year.

Ray Hoemsen, Executive Director, Research Partnerships and Innovation, Red River College (RRC), Ian Seymour, Board Director, CFI, Paul Vogt, President and CEO, Red River College, Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport, Sue Leclair, President and CEO of The Pretzel Place and RRC alumni, Doug Eyolfson, Member of Parliament for CharleswoodÑSt. JamesÑAssiniboiaÑHeadingly, and Rick Tofani, Director, Applied Research and Innovation Services, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology are photographed after an announcement of a total federal investment of $10,678,322 in research infrastructure funding for recipients awarded in the latest round of the Canada Foundation for InnovationÕs (CFI) College-Industry Innovation Fund (CIIF) competition at Red River College in Winnipeg, Wednesday, January 18, 2012. The funding will support 11 projects at 11 different colleges/polytechnics across Canada. Canadian Press Images/John Woods

On Wednesday, Science and Sport Minister Kirsty Duncan stopped by Jane’s restaurant to announce a total federal investment of over $10 million in research infrastructure funding for recipients awarded in the latest round of the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) College-Industry Innovation Fund (CIIF) competition.

Red River College was one of eleven successful colleges and polytechnics across Canada, and now thanks to the CFI’s investment of more than $1 million, construction is underway to build the College’s first-ever multi-functional culinary research centre. Read More →

Bringing more than 10 years of experience in the agri-food industry, Heather Hill has joined Red River College’s Culinary Research and Innovation team for a six-month term as a Research Manager.

Peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas – collectively termed pulses, are what Heather brings to the table in terms of expertise in food development research. She has worked in partnership with agri-food companies and organizations from Beijing, Switzerland, Morocco, Minneapolis, Steinbach and Portage la Prairie – from large multi-national corporations, to farmers looking to add more value to their crops, and everything in between.

With a Master’s of Science degree in food science, and a background in value-added ingredient development, Heather brings a bold new perspective to the team. She loves being presented with a challenge and providing practical solutions to overcome an issue. In her new role here in Culinary Research and Innovation, Heather will be providing a science-based approach to help with the applied research activities of the department. Read More →

This week, the Business/Higher-Education Roundtable (BHER) released a research partnership guide, aimed to help more companies and firms navigate new partnership opportunities working with Canadian polytechnics, colleges and universities.

This guide is designed to help pave more pathways to successful partnerships and working relationships between firms and post-secondary institutions across Canada, and contains comprehensive and practical information for users on:

• Advice on approaching institutions about an agreement;
• Lists of common terms, including the various types of College partnerships;
• Mock project lifecycles;
• Case studies of successful partnerships; and
• Frequently asked questions and answers.  ‎

Red River College’s Executive Director of Research Partnerships and Innovations, Ray Hoemsen, contributed to the development of the guide and provided further insight to the work that we are doing here at the College. Read More →

Imagine a world where your vehicle drives itself, connects to the Internet, and charges just like your phone.

That’s how Joel Turner, a student in Red River College’s Electronic Engineering Technology program, describes the concept that won his group first place in the 2018 Electric Mobility Canada Kia Student Competition.

This is the first time an RRC team has won the competition, and the second time the College has entered.

“The benefits to our team’s solution are countless. The best of them are reduced air pollution, reduced vehicle maintenance cost, and better learning by having available data,” says Turner, who worked on the project with teammates from RRC’s Electronics Engineering Technology, Electrical Engineering Technology, Mechanical Engineering Technology and Business Administration programs. Read More →

Register now and join industry, business, and applied research leaders for this Lunch & Learn to explore how federal support can bring your work to the next level.
Get a practical snapshot of the spectrum of federal programming available from exploratory applied research, to pre-commercialization, and support for late-stage procurement and testing.
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Look no further than Christopher Basilio to get a sense of where the vehicle technology industry is headed. Chris is the Research Coordinator for the Vehicle Technology & Energy Centre (VTEC) at Red River College.
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Heather Smart, an Applied Research Professional at the Technology Access Centre for Aerospace & Manufacturing (TACAM) based at Red River College, is participating in a panel today at the 17th annual Research Money Conference in Ottawa.
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