Grant: College and Community Innovation Program

Like many other rural regions in Canada, the Kootenay region in southeast BC has a history of natural resourcereliance and these foundational industries remain today. However, as a result of economic restructuring and anincreasingly globalized economy, natural resource industries must seek new ways to remain competitive. Theproposed program builds on over 15 years of industry-driven research and workforce development support andis aimed at supporting the advanced manufacturing needs of companies in southeast British Columba. Theprogram will focus initially on the opportunities within the wood and metals manufacturing cluster in theregion, with the long term goal of expanding its reach to include emerging sectors (e.g. health relatedprototyping) and industry partners from across Western Canada. The research agenda will focus on largeformat additive manufacturing, integrated large format additive and subtractive manufacturing, wood andmetals bi-product utilization, and digital fabrication-focused technology transfer. Research, industry trainingand educational programming will be delivered in partnership with the Kootenay Association for Science andTechnology's Centre for Metallurgical Industrial Development Acceleration and Studies (MIDAS) which waslaunched in 2015 with funding from Western Economic Diversification. The MIDAS facility is a 6,500 sq. ft.MIT-certified Fab Lab that houses leading-edge digital fabrication equipment including 3D scanning, 3Dprinting, CNC milling equipment, wood and metal woodworking and electronics, and a suite of relatedengineering, CNC and software applications. It is anticipated the research and workforce development agendawill help industry partners to optimize business processes, decrease costs, enhance efficiency, and increaseproductivity and competitiveness. Through links to educational programming and experiential learning, theprogram will also promote development of highly qualified personnel entering the workforce with in-demandskills upon graduation.