Grant: Technology Access Centre

The Camosun Technology Access Centre (CTAC) has operated within Camosun College in Victoria BC for 10+ years with an applied research focus on advanced manufacturing and a mandate to support the various economies of Greater Victoria, Vancouver Island, and British Columbia. CTAC provides research and development services to companies and organizations on the threshold of innovation, focusing primarily on five key areas (automation and mechatronics, biochemical processes, composites and materials integration, digital technologies, and ability enhancement.) Because manufacturing touches so many areas (art and hospitality, food and beverage service, marine and aerospace, and much more), we confidently work within and between the blue, brown, clean, culture, digital, green, and tourist economies. CTAC brings together capacities difficult to reproduce in the private sector due to the variety of skills and abilities we proffer and the breadth of equipment available, with skilled trades professionals, technologists, and instructors working together to solve problems in a technology-agnostic fashion that allows us to serve up to 150 clients per year. CTAC has no interest in promoting specific research solutions, focusing instead on whatever is most effective for our partners. CTAC is led by a strong team of dedicated professionals whose experience spans many fields of research and areas of expertise, chosen to support innovation/research services for our partners and for their experience working with students and serving as mentors. We see all our employees as teachers, and all our students are prospective mentors of future workers. For 10+ years, CTAC has trained students in the rigors of AR, more recently focused on activities, outcomes, and underpinnings of our intentional approach to developing relevant skills. New employees, students, and trainees come from diverse backgrounds and various disciplines, and for many we offer their first experience of AR and the seemingly limitless activities this type of inquiry provides. CTAC has established itself as a sought-after partner in the development of innovation for the public good. This past success, the ongoing attention garnered for previous work, and the fact that we are busier than ever position us for a successful future which will enhance expertise and expand outreach, engage more stakeholders and involve more partners, while addressing the most pressing of needs in key local economic sectors.