Grant: Collaborative Research and Training Experience

Canadians generate approximately 31 million tonnes of waste a year (and only about 30 per cent of that material is recycled). Thus, each Canadian generates approximately 2.7 kg of waste each day. Most part of the wastes which is organic in nature can be transformed into a wide range of biochemicals and their intermediates, such as the enabling platforms that are expected to occupy the central stage in the Canadian Bioeconomy. In this context of waste management, their value-addition in an integrated circular bioeconomy approach is timely and required. Moreover, the residual waste biomass-derived technologies will increase exponentially in the coming years, demanding trained workforce. The proposed NSERC CREATE " Training in Applied Biotechnology for Environmental Sustainability (TABES) " program addresses this demand for the workforce by training HQP in a dynamic professional environment by drawing leading experts from academia, government agencies, municipalities and industries in a dynamic and stimulating inter-disciplinary environment. The proposal is in the industrial stream, and the unique University-Industry alliance will equip the HQP with professional competence and job readiness for the rapidly growing bioeconomy. The trainees will be provided with a mix of theoretical and practical knowledge with exposure to real-world situations and will incorporate unique skills and competence related to interdisciplinary experience (science-engineering interface); psychrophilic microorganism isolation and related processes (very important in the changing climate context); big data analytics and machine learning interface; First Nation engagement and exchange; retrofit advantages and challenges (learnt through pilot plant facilities); and living laboratory off campus experience (enriched through North-South interconnections).