For immediate release: November 2, 2017

Red River College is now the top research College in Western Canada, according to Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges, an annual ranking conducted by Re$earch Infosource Inc. which was released today.

“It’s fantastic to once again be recognized for our overall research efforts and successes in building research and innovation capacity for Manitoba,” said College President Paul Vogt. “Our research programming has never been more important as we work to support the increasingly sophisticated needs of current and future graduates, employers and industry.”

This has been a marquee year for the College, with major infrastructure announcements for both its Exchange District and Notre Dame campuses. Applied research has been the impetus for much of this recent growth.

“We now have so much research-related activity happening at the College – all in response to expressed needs by industry and our community,” said Ray Hoemsen, RRC’s Executive Director of Research Partnerships & Innovation. “Being recognized as the top Research College in Western Canada validates that we are not only playing a key role in economic development; but also that our knowledge, expertise and facilities are highly relevant.”

Top 10 highlights of the past year at RRC:

• Unveiling the new $95-million Innovation Centre, which will bring together students, instructors, researchers, industry, and community members to work on commercialization projects for startups and SMEs. It will also enable social enterprise and Indigenous entrepreneurship.
• Breaking ground on the new Smart Factory and expanding RRC’s Centre for Aerospace Technology and Training (CATT) with a major $10 million investment in 2017 by Western Economic Diversification.
• Officially opening RRC’s ACE Project Space, where students in the Applied Computer Education department now work in an interactive space alongside industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and community organizations to bring new products and services to life.
• Starting construction on MotiveLab™, a climatic chamber with integrated chassis dynamometer test facility that will have an operating temperature capability of between -40°C and +50°C for testing buses and other on- and off-highway vehicles.
• Celebrating the work of Culinary Research & Innovation and industry to develop new products such as Piccola Cucina’s Hemp Macroon, which won the silver medal for best new food product at the Great Manitoba Food Fight 2017.
• Recognizing RRC’s Science of Early Childhood Development as a global leader– training ECE’s across Canada and in dozens of countries around the world, and working in partnership with the World Bank and the Aga Khan University.
• Receiving $1.75 million in federal funding for the Technology Access Centre for Aerospace & Manufacturing (TACAM) to provide applied research, technical service and training needs. RRC is the only College in Western Canada with two NSERC-funded Technology Access Centres – TACAM and the Building Envelope & Technology Access Centre (BETAC), which serves the building construction sector and strives to improve the energy efficiency of new and existing commercial buildings.
• Winning a prestigious Synergy Award for Innovation in 2016 (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council or NSERC). The award recognized the College’s pioneering work with Manitoba Hydro on sustainable building and transportation technology.
• Welcoming more than 600 visitors to the College’s successful first-ever Applied Research & Innovation Day. The second annual event will be held on April 5, 2018 to showcase the research capabilities of the College, its students and industry partners.
• Winning a Manitoba Excellence in Sustainability Award for the category “Innovation and Research for Sustainability” in 2016.