Red River College has launched a new website in support of its Technology Access Centre (TAC) initiative, serving aerospace and manufacturing organizations at home and abroad.
Funded in part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC’s) Community and College Innovation Program, the TAC supports both large and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by providing enhanced access to RRC’s technological assets, subject matter expertise, and specialized facilities and equipment. Organizations benefit by gaining access to technology and expertise that was previously unavailable directly to industry.
The new website provides an industry portal through which aerospace and manufacturing organizations can view RRC’s resources, including: information on full-time student programming (from which they can draw their future workforce), information on hiring co-op students and interns, information on facilities and equipment available to assist them in projects, and information on how the College can support industry through applied research, technical services and training activities.
The site also highlights success stories and student projects, along with an events calendar listing upcoming seminars and events, and an area for posted tips and tricks helpful for practitioners in the workplace.
“This new website continues to promote the valued partnership we have with companies like StandardAero and our industrial campus, the Centre for Aerospace Technology and Training (CATT),” says Don MacDonald, Dean of RRC’s School of Transportation, Aviation and Manufacturing. “This new resource will ultimately mean more opportunities for industry, and for our students studying in these areas.”
Visit the new website to learn more about the Technology Access Centre.

Connecting the dots…Imagine an event where academic researchers and firms seeking research assistance can develop research partnerships and learn about and initiate applications for federal funding at the same time…
Imagine no more! Industry-Researcher Matchmaking and Funding Application Day aims to do just that with the support of knowledgeable administrators with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

REGISTER HERE

For Researchers: Industry representatives will be on hand and making presentations on successful researcher collaborations. You will be able to make immediate use of your newly enhanced pitch skills in networking opportunities with prospective partners.
For Industry: You will have the chance to share your R&D needs with some of Manitoba’s best researchers and to initiate federally-funded academic research partnerships on the spot.
Those who attend this event will also be presented with case studies from private sector firms who have successfully engaged with academic researchers on research projects, as well as learn of other organizations and programs that can provide assistance.

Funding opportunities abound!

NSERC project/funding administrators will be on hand to help consult prospective industry-research partners as to the range of funding opportunities available to support their research. These opportunities include Engage Grants, Applied Research and Development Grants, Idea to Innovate Grants and more.
Engage Grants: Up to $25,000 to support six months of research costs of academic researcher-Canadian company projects. No cash contribution required from the company, but the company must collaborate on the project and be able to exploit the research results. This grant applies to new business/research relationships only. More info can be found here.
Applied Research and Development Grants: Three different levels of grants, from up to $25,000 for up to six months, and between $25,000 and $75,000 or between $75,000 and $150,000 per year for up to three years. These are designed to support applied research and development projects undertaken by college research with private-sector partners. Industry partner in-kind/cash contribution varies depending on grant level. More information can be found here.
Idea to Innovation Grants: These grants support college-university collaborations working with a company partner(s) to accelerate the development and commercialization of promising technologies. The college and university can share up to $250,000 per year based on company contribution of $125,000 (NSERC will match company contributions 1:1, so if the company contribution is $50,000, both the college and university can receive up to $50,000 each). More information can be found here.
Collaborative Research & Development Grants: These grants support one to five year projects undertaken by university researchers and their private-sector partners. The industrial partner must contribute to the direct project costs in an amount equal to, or greater than, the amount requested from NSERC. More info can be found here.

 

Shawn Wilson, B.Sc. (U of Manitoba, Canada), M.A. (U of Alaska, USA), PhD. (Monash University, Australia).

• Assisting aboriginal communities through applied research
• Engaging more members of the aboriginal community in applied research opportunities at Red River College

Watch the video presentation!
Dr. Shawn Wilson is an Opaskwayak Cree from northern Manitoba, Canada. His main area of expertise is in research methodology and epistemologies, particularly in ways of knowing and conducting research used by Indigenous peoples. He has applied these methodologies and epistemologies within the contexts of Indigenous education, counselling and counsellor education, Indigenous mental health and general Indigenous studies through comparison between Indigenous peoples internationally. His current role is in building research capacity with primary health care workers. In his previous book Gwitch’in Native Elders: Not just knowledge but a way of looking at the world, he began to document some ideas about just what an Elder is and how they can be supported. Dr. Wilson’s more recent book Research is Ceremony: Indigenous Research Methods (2008) examines some of the similarities in philosophy underlying Indigenous peoples’ research methodologies in Canada and Australia. In addition to further articulating Indigenous philosophies and research paradigms, his research focuses on the inter-related concepts of identity, health and healing, culture and well-being.

To celebrate 10 years of applied research at Red River College and recognize many of the relationships that have made it all possible, we created this professionally designed publication with the support of our partners and distributed in the Winnipeg Free Press on Feb. 22, 2014.  Click below to read about some of our more engaging and important initiatives that are happening now.

Red River College (RRC) is pleased to announce its partnership with CANARIE, a vital component of Canada’s digital infrastructure supporting research, education, and innovation to support the incubation and growth of ICT-based businesses in Manitoba.
CANARIE’s Digital Accelerator for Innovation and Research (DAIR) program provides free cloud-based compute, network, and storage resources for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to develop, test, prototype and demonstrate next-generation products.
“This partnership provides RRC students with opportunities to engage in applied research that requires the utilization of cloud resources,” said Ray Hoemsen, Director of Applied Research & Commercialization at RRC.  “Students can engage in meaningful applied learning and research, while businesses directly benefit from accelerated product development at no additional cost.”
In addition to the tangible benefits of the DAIR program with RRC, the partnership seeds fertile ground for additional research/business alliances between the organizations, strengthening the Manitoba innovation ecosystem as a whole.
“DAIR is an asset which will provide RRC and our private sector partners with access to new virtual resources in our community and region; which will accelerate applied research activities to everyone’s mutual benefit,” said Hoemsen.
“CANARIE’s focus is to provide Canadians with access to transformative technologies that will drive the evolution of our knowledge economy,” said Jim Ghadbane, President and CEO of CANARIE.
CANARIE’s national research and education network (NREN) partner in Manitoba, MRnet, provides the critical connectivity to DAIR for RRC users.
Interested in potentially utilizing DAIR in your research or product development?
Please contact:
Ray Hoemsen, FEC, P. Eng.,
Director, Applied Research & Commercialization | Red River College
1-204-632-2523 | rhoemsen@rrc.ca
Learn about DAIR in 120 seconds!

Want to learn more about what Red River College’s Technology Access Centre (TAC) for Aerospace & Manufacturing is all about?
Check out our new video!

Join Red River College (RRC) on a chartered mission to northern Manitoba for an in-person introduction to the water quality, quantity, availability and access issues facing northern Manitoba communities and industries. 

By participating in this mission, you will:

• Learn form northern Manitoba representatives on the water-related issues they deal with on daily basis
• Gain unique insights into the regional, biophysical and technical elements of northern Manitoba’s water issues

Who should attend?
Small- to medium-sized Manitoba companies that are involved in providing solutions for water quality, quantity, access and availability problems, as well as those firms and agencies that support the sector.

REGISTER HERE
Transportation
Through support from the National Research Council Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program, RRC is able to offer a chartered bus between Winnipeg, The Pas and surrounding areas.
Space is limited, so register early.  Preference will be given to those companies and agencies that are directly involved in the development and/or application of solutions to water problems.

Shawn Wilson, B.Sc. (U of Manitoba, Canada), M.A. (U of Alaska, USA), PhD. (Monash University, Australia).

• Assisting aboriginal communities through applied research
• Engaging more members of the aboriginal community in applied research opportunities at Red River College

You can attend this presentation either in person or view it live through streaming video.

Dr. Wilson has agreed to be available to Red River College faculty and staff for one-on-one meetings, as well as in-class lectures for the entire week of March 3 to 6.
Please contact Eric Wilson (no relation) at erwilson@RRC.CA to coordinate further meetings or lectures ahead of his March 3rd presentation.
Dr. Shawn Wilson is an Opaskwayak Cree from northern Manitoba, Canada. His main area of expertise is in research methodology and epistemologies, particularly in ways of knowing and conducting research used by Indigenous peoples. He has applied these methodologies and epistemologies within the contexts of Indigenous education, counselling and counsellor education, Indigenous mental health and general Indigenous studies through comparison between Indigenous peoples internationally. His current role is in building research capacity with primary health care workers. In his previous book Gwitch’in Native Elders: Not just knowledge but a way of looking at the world, he began to document some ideas about just what an Elder is and how they can be supported. Dr. Wilson’s more recent book Research is Ceremony: Indigenous Research Methods (2008) examines some of the similarities in philosophy underlying Indigenous peoples’ research methodologies in Canada and Australia. In addition to further articulating Indigenous philosophies and research paradigms, his research focuses on the inter-related concepts of identity, health and healing, culture and well-being.

ENRICH YOUR RESEARCH PITCH

Researchers are invited to join Innovate Manitoba’s experienced pitch coaching team to learn and practice the art and science of the research sales pitch.
 
“You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.”
~ Lee Iacocca
Manitoba’s academic researchers are producing world-class innovations and discoveries, but their ideas are often lost in translation when it comes to pitching to potential business partners.  This is resulting in missed opportunities, not only for the individual researchers, but also for Manitoba’s communities and the economy.
Researcher Pitch Coaching: Enrich your Pitch! is an interactive and focused event designed to transform attendees’ research pitch skills and techniques.  This workshop will provide those who attend with everything they need to know about delivering a successful pitch to potential business partners.

Researcher Pitch Coaching: Enrich your Pitch! is Part 1 of the three part IndustryCONNECTS program designed to enhance connections between researchers and industry to accelerate innovation and help Manitoba firms be more competitive and productive.
Part 2: Researcher Pitch Practice gives researchers a chance to practice and demonstrate what they have learned in Part 1 in front of a panel of expert judges. Part 2 takes place in Winnipeg and Brandon in February 2014.  Learn more…
Researchers and Industry Collide at Part 3 to develop research partnerships and learn about and initiate applications for federal funding.  Part 3 takes place in Winnipeg and Brandon in April 2014. Learn more…
For more information, please contact:
Doug Buchanan
VP Commercialization, Innovate Manitoba
douglas.buchanan@umanitoba.ca | (204) 474-9085

Showing off a featured dish at Jane’s Restaurant using Granny’s Finest Poultry Products. (Pictured L-R: Stan Chung, VP Academic & Research, Craig Evans, CEO, Granny’s Poultry and Chef Jeffrey Brandt, Janes Restaurant.)

Red River College’s (RRC’s) Hospitality and Culinary Arts program is partnering with Granny’s Poultry Farmers Cooperative to develop products in a commercial kitchen to be taken to market.
Chefs and Students are developing recipes and testing Granny’s new chicken that is fed flax, alfalfa and ginseng through the Sungrown Feeding Program, labeled as Granny’s Finest. They are assisting in getting the product ready for market through applied research in a state-of-the-art kitchen at RRC’s Paterson GlobalFoods Institute. Throughout development, the products will be featured in Jane’s Restaurant, an urban upscale restaurant located in the culinary school, as well as in many other College kitchens.
“Partnering with an industry-leader like Granny’s Poultry benefits Red River College culinary students and researchers through the opportunity to conduct food technology research in the state-of-the-art institute,” said Stan Chung, vice-president, academic and research, Red River College. “RRC’s new Paterson GlobalFoods Institute offers the expertise and resources to industry partners who see an opportunity to apply their product in a commercial/education setting for market consumption.”
“Having the ability to test, develop and then consume Granny’s product in our local market is advantageous to many stakeholders,” said Craig Evans, CEO of Granny’s Poultry Farmers Cooperative. “We are proud to collaborate with farmers, students, education, government and distributors to provide a product that is truly the finest for consumers”.
“Having the ability to test, develop and then consume Granny’s product in our local market is advantageous to many stakeholders,” said Craig Evans, CEO of Granny’s Poultry Farmers Cooperative. “We are proud to collaborate with farmers, students, education, government and distributors to provide a product that is truly the finest for consumers”.
Commercial kitchen laboratories and state-of-the-art equipment at RRC’s newly opened Paterson GlobalFoods Institute will be used to prepare all four new products. Granny’s newest products will be cooked and tested to ensure moisture retention, texture, and, most importantly, flavours remain consistent.
“The Harper Government is pleased to be part of this exciting state-of-the-art culinary facility,” said the Honourable Michelle Rempel, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification. “The work Red River College is doing at the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute demonstrates the results that can be achieved when government, industry and academia work together to bring a concept from test bench to market.”
Granny’s Finest chicken is available at Miller’s Meats starting November 8th. Some recipes developed by the culinary school are currently available on the menu at Jane’s. Reservations for Jane’s Restaurant can be made at www.janesrestaurant.ca
Winnipeg is becoming a true leader in culinary excellence, with the recent opening of Red River College’s new Paterson GlobalFoods Institute. World-class instruction, cutting-edge technology and partnerships with key industry players prepare RRC students to become the next generation of influencers in the fields of culinary arts, professional baking and patisserie and hospitality and tourism management.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada is supporting this research with a $25,000 grant through its College and Community Innovation Program. Through a 2012 investment from Western Diversification, the federal government supported the addition of research infrastructure for the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute with a $2-million investment.