Acamdemia may have once worked in intellectual isolation. These days, western Canada's post-secondary schools are showing what can be achieved through learning and research deeply integrated with the interests of business and society.
HIGH IMPACT
The Centre for Transportation Studies (CTS) at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business recently hosted an international conference that serves as a good example of the work business, government and academia are doing together.
“It’s very important to both produce and transmit knowledge,” says CTS director Dr. David Gillen.
Through CTS, Dr. Gillen organized the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Research Consortium, an international conference designed to explore the economic and theoretical foundations of Canada’s Asia-Pacific Gateway Initiative.
With the federal government poised to spend $1 billion in the lower mainland to increase Canada’s competitiveness as an Asia-Pacific Gateway, Dr. Gillen felt the pre-conference roundtables and the May 2007 conference itself were critical in creating a body of research that would form a basis for future spending decisions.
“As you go forward with investment, it becomes an important research issue to find the most value-added investments,” says Dr. Gillen, adding that Prime Minister Steven Harper’s presence at the conference reaffirms the need for this manner of dialogue and collaboration.
Information resulting from the conference is being summarized in a document that will “help government in terms of long-term policy generation,” says Dr. Gillen. As well, a book is planned to increase visibility of and access to these highly relevant Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Research Consortium findings.
At the University of Manitoba, similar partnerships are proving fruitful. Dr. Jay Doering, dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and professor of Civil Engineering, has been involved in the expansion of the Red River Floodway.
“There is a lot of expertise within the university community, and it is useful for government and industry to tap into that because it is state-of-the-art and generally quite affordable,” says Dr. Doering.
His laboratory was used to help assess the safety/risks associated with the floodway inlet control structure. A physical model study of the redesigned floodway outlet control structure, which cost about $100,000, ended up saving the Manitoba Floodway Authority a lot of grief.
“The model study identified a couple of design issues that would have been very costly to rectify had the original design been built without testing,” says Dr. Doering. “The Manitoba Floodway Authority has referred to this study as one of the best returns on its investments.”
Dr. Doering also points out the benefits to students of a university working with both the public and private sectors. “Students get exposure to real world problems and can develop employment networks,” he says.
And that is definitely the case at the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Aerospace Technology Campus (ATC), located at the Vancouver International Airport.
BCIT has a 50-year history of aerospace training at the airport, and is now building a 300,000-square-foot campus, including a 40,000-square-foot hangar to accommodate large jets used for maintenance training.
Not only have BCIT’s aerospace instructors all worked in industry, but the associate dean, Mike Tomko, started out as a pilot 25 years ago and was vice president of Engineering at Harmony Air prior to his work at ATC. “My sense is more from an industry side of things, which has given me an edge on the new technology,” says Mr. Tomko. “As a polytechnic institution, we offer hands-on instruction that increases student comprehension levels and their employment opportunities.”
ATC partners with the Government of British Columbia and the Government of Canada – through Western Economic Diversification Canada. As well, partnerships with aerospace companies such as Avcorp, Bombardier, Raytheon, WestJet and Honeywell Aerospace Electronic Systems have given students access to today’s most advanced aerospace technology.
Mr. Tomko says that by working together, and educating students on equipment donated by industry, BCIT and its partner aerospace companies can “train students for the job beyond.”
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