| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 53.30 |
| Liaison | Emma Shipalesky |
| Submission Date | June 19, 2015 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Neil
Fassina Provost & VP Academic Provost and Vice-President Academic |
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Is the institution utilizing the campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in the following areas?:
| Yes or No | |
| Air & Climate | Yes |
| Buildings | No |
| Dining Services/Food | Yes |
| Energy | Yes |
| Grounds | No |
| Purchasing | No |
| Transportation | Yes |
| Waste | Yes |
| Water | Yes |
| Coordination, Planning & Governance | Yes |
| Diversity & Affordability | No |
| Health, Wellbeing & Work | Yes |
| Investment | Yes |
| Public Engagement | Yes |
| Other | Yes |
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Air & Climate and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Students in the Auto Services program are taught the proper way to setup and diagnose vehicle issues to make sure emission standards are met. Students in the Auto Body program use water borne paints in order to minimize VOC's in the atmosphere.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Buildings and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Dining Services/Food and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Biological Sciences students are able to volunteer to maintain vermicomposts. Post-consumer food scraps are collected from Biological Sciences staff offices, frozen to eliminate pathogens, weighed, and then ground using a grinder donated by the Culinary Arts program. Students feed this ground organic material, which averages 400 pounds per week, to the worms for composting.
Old unread editions of the NAIT Students' Association paper, the Nugget, are donated and shred to use as bedding in the vermicompost. The Cabinetmaker program also donates maple wood shavings which works very well as bedding for the worms.
The compost that is generated is turned into compost tea and used to fertilize plants grown in the Biological Sciences simulated greenhouses for research and teaching purposes.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Energy and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Students in the Alternative Energy program completed a project detailing possible energy and economic savings if retrofitting Campus parking structures with LED lights.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Grounds and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Purchasing and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Transportation and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
In the Alternative Energy program Capstone, students designed a large/visible Net Zero Transportation system for campus. The objective was to find sufficient renewable energy resources to support a zero carbon transportation system for six vehicles. The plans proposed by the students are seeking funding to implement.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Waste and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Students in the Alternative Energy program take waste grease from campus kitchens and create biodiesel to model waste-to-liquid fuels transformations. This fuel is used in lab setting for teaching purposes. Students also take waste food scraps from campus kitchens and create biogas to model waste-to-heat transformations, which is then used in lab setting for teaching purposes as well.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Water and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
The Geological Technology program has an inventory of wells around the campus that the students use to collect and analyze data associated with groundwater quality and availability.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Coordination, Planning & Governance and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
In ALTE2254 - Energy Management, students learn the basic principles of energy management as it relates to energy system planning, energy policy development, pre and post deployment system auditing, energy savings and cost reduction strategies for communities and businesses. They use this knowledge to create Energy Management plans.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Diversity & Affordability and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Health, Wellbeing & Work and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
To facilitate students' hands-on learning, the NAIT Dental Clinic provides dental services to students, staff and the general public at a minimal cost. Services include:
- teeth cleaning (ages 4-21)
- X-rays
- full upper and lower dentures
- single dentures
- partial dentures
Staff members also have the opportunity to get free personal training sessions by volunteering as clients for NAIT's Personal Fitness Trainer students. These students volunteer as part of their first practicum.
In the Respiratory Therapy program, students and faculty are involved in a research project comparing computer simulations to mannequin-based simulations for teaching healthcare competencies. If the computer simulations are found to be as good or better, there is the potential to significantly reduce costs for healthcare simulations, both in manpower and equipment. This would consequently reduce environmental impacts given the reduced demand for mannequins and other simulation materials.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Investment and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
In the Alternative Energy program capstone, students evaluated life cycle assessment of various lighting and heating technologies to support ecological decisions when buying materials. These students conducted applied research to support a consulting company Carbon Busters.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Public Engagement and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
Staff and students in the Alternative Energy program host elementary students for tours in the Alternative Energy lab, which can include hands on training for visiting students. The program also hosts EcoSolar Home Tours on campus, which exist to broaden Edmontonians understanding of renewable energy. These tours encompass many types of alternative energy systems (not solely solar as the name implies). When these tours come to NAIT, participants are able to see exactly how certain systems work and can see all components in one place.
Alternative Energy staff host numerous (40+) tours of the Alternative Energy lab to the public, including politicians, media representatives, academics, students in other programs, etc.
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory in Other areas and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
For a low administrative fee, employees can bring pets to the Animal Health Clinic on Main Campus where students, under the supervision of a licensed Animal Health Technologist or veterinarian, perform select services at various times of the year.
Watch the all user messages for notifications of services such as:
- vaccinations
- spaying and neutering (maximum weight of the animal will be specified in the message)
- teeth cleaning (cats and dogs under 5 years of age)
NAIT’s Animal Health Clinic is inspected and approved by the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association and all X-ray and anesthetic equipment is inspected regularly to meet veterinary facility standards.
Animal Health Technology and Veterinary Medical Assistant students get additional experience in their fields by working at NAIT’s Canadian Animal Blood Bank clinic. The blood bank collects and provides blood products for dogs that need transfusions as part of their care.
Blood donor clinics are held at NAIT one evening a week, with the day varying to meet dog owners’ schedules
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The website URL where information about the institution’s campus as a living laboratory program or projects is available:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.