Georgian College researchers are launching a new multi-stage project with TC Energy to identify local trade, service, and people resource providers within Grey, Bruce and Simcoe counties.
The project is run through Georgian’s Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship department, which supports entrepreneurs, business owners, and industry partners throughout Central Ontario.
Dr. Mira Ray, Director of Research and Innovation at the college, said businesses at all stages of growth look to Georgian for innovative solutions that meet their needs, including product design, prototyping, market research, analysis, and e-business solutions.
“We can help our business and industry partners like TC Energy bring their ideas to life by connecting them with faculty, student and staff researchers who have the expertise, skills and knowledge they require,” said Dr. Ray.
TC Energy is a North American energy infrastructure company with an ownership stake in Bruce Nuclear Power in Bruce County. The company is proposing to build and operate a pumped storage facility on the Meaford Tank Range. The project is currently undergoing environmental impact assessments and consultations with local stakeholders and Indigenous communities.
Georgian researchers and students from a variety of programs, including Big Data Analytics, are working to create a cloud-based database that showcases the availability of local services and workforce. TC Energy estimates the creation of 1,000 jobs during the planning and construction phases of the Meaford project and will use this database to hire locally.
Chris Dyck is a professor in the Big Data Analytics program and said industry partners are critical for creating work-integrated learning experiences for students.
“This collaboration offers a unique opportunity for students to apply their skills in a real-world situation and help satisfy an organizational need through solving problems that may otherwise be financially out of reach or too time consuming for in-house teams to handle,” said Dyck.
John Mikkelsen, Director of Project Development at TC Energy, shares Georgian’s enthusiasm for the project.
“TC Energy is excited that Georgian College is developing a tool that will allow us to collect important workforce and supplier research. It’s the first step in identifying opportunities to source goods and services and human resources in and around the community to serve the needs of the project,” said Mikkelsen.
Local businesses in Grey, Bruce and Simcoe counties that are interested in potential future opportunities on the pumped storage project are encouraged to register on the local suppliers’ database at ontariopumpedstorage.com/business-opportunities.
To find out more about Georgian’s Research and Innovation department and to learn about partnership opportunities visit GeorgianCollege.ca/researchinnovation.
source: media release
