Today, Red River College welcomed more than 600 visitors to the first-ever Applied Research & Innovation Day, which celebrated our students’ achievements in applied research and innovation, while also recognizing RRC’s innovative research partnerships.

As part of the event, the College hosted a Student Quick-Pitch Competition where the top four student research projects — as selected by a group of 26 judges at a showcase held earlier in the day — had an opportunity to present their projects to some 200 guests from the College and industry.

“The work demonstrated by our students this year is remarkable, and highlights just how relevant applied learning and research is to preparing our graduates for careers here in Manitoba,” said RRC President Paul Vogt. “Leveraging our in-house expertise not only exposes our students to leading-edge research, but it also helps businesses innovate to create new jobs and career opportunities for our students.”

The students were judged by a panel of experts: Martin Cash (business reporter, Winnipeg Free Press), Jeff Ryzner (president, North Forge), Freyja Arnason (manager of funding programs, Research Manitoba) and Tracey Maconachie (president, Life Sciences Association of Manitoba).

This year’s winners are:

1st Place – Dust Stop Municipal Blend, Product Innovation
(Teaghan Wellman, John Palson)
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
(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 (shown above) – The Mediewiwin Lodge, Indigenous Cultural Tourism
(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.

As part of Applied Research & Innovation Day, the College offered tours of its research facilities and hosted a variety of research forums in the afternoon, including the annual Paul Charette – Manitoba Applied Research Chair in Sustainable Construction Forum, which provided a showcase for even more student research focused on the province’s construction industry.

The College wishes to thank all the staff and volunteers who helped make this year’s event a success, with special mention to our sponsors: Research Manitoba, North Forge, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.