Grant: CCI Mobilize Grants

The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) is a board-governed polytechnic in Calgary, Alberta. SAIT's Applied Research and Innovation Services (ARIS), ranked 5th in Research Infosource Inc.’s Top 50 Research Colleges in Canada, collaborates with post-secondary, R&D organizations, industry, Indigenous communities, not-for-profit partners, and all levels of government to address innovation gaps/needs and provide skill-oriented training opportunities for students, addressing Canada's greatest challenges due to climate change through its expert innovation centres. These centres provide evidenced-based solutions grounded in science and technology to impact Alberta's energy transition efforts and Canada's climate change goals. The Mobilize funding will allow ARIS to implement 3 key objectives: 1) Student Training for Applied Research (STAR) Program - expose students and HQP to research and hands-on training experiences that will help them meet the growing demand for innovation and growth in clean energy in the region. The formalized STAR program will ensure inclusive and responsive student opportunities in line with ARIS community of partners' needs, contributing to Canada's green economy and job growth during the energy transition, 2) Strengthen Partner Networks - clean energy transition is expected to create 10.3M new jobs globally by 2030, with modernizing energy, green buildings/infrastructure, manufacturing and construction materials being the focus. To strengthen partner networks, ARIS will focus on strategic thinking, innovation, collaboration, effective communication, stakeholder engagement and knowledge dissemination. Funding will facilitate development, implementation, evaluation and revision of dissemination strategies for research visibility and future collaborations, and 3) Optimize research facilitation processes - supporting objectives 1 & 2, Mobilize funding is required to optimize processes that support growth in innovation for the innovation centres. The key to optimizing operational processes to support growth in innovation is to simplify and streamline existing processes, and increase agility and productivity. As ARIS applied research focuses on Alberta's and Canada’s efforts to transition to cleaner energy solutions, streamlined internal processes and procedures are required to increase involvement and support for community solutions.