Selkirk College
IN-25: Innovation B

The Selkirk Geospatial Research Centre/Applied Research and Innovation Centre is working to build a forest tech innovation cluster focusing on innovative forest technology practices, primarily within 4 categories: UAS (unmanned aerial systems), Lidar, Visualisation, and Advanced Computing. Projects are funded through a $2 million research grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s College and Community Innovation Program. Objectives of the research program are: - to enhance our local forestry cluster by facilitating the adoption of innovative technologies - to support the transition to a technologically-advanced, globally-competitive cluster through workforce training - to create an industry-college relationship that enables educational delivery that is responsive to rapidly changing workforce needs. The capacity to increase efficiency and improve sustainable practices is fundamental to the cluster's ability to adapt to a changing environment and ongoing uncertainty in global markets. This investment will provide opportunities to optimize processes, decrease costs, enhance efficiency, and increase productivity and competitiveness. The need for enhanced training and skills development within the cluster is also critical. The current pace of technological development means that the workforce requires a range of technology skills, including the capability to use rapidly-evolving hand-held electronic devices alongside traditional approaches. Equipping our students and those employed within the cluster with the necessary skills to master these new technologies is a critical aspect of innovation, technology adoption, and competitiveness.