Computing Technology and Economic Adaptation for Natural Resource Firms

塞尔柯克学院的自然资源公司的计算技术和经济适应提案的重点是试验和装备自然资源公司的计算技术工具，以增强创新，竞争力和生产力。支持的部门包括：林业和相关木制品、采矿/冶金、专业服务和公用事业。这种做法在一定程度上反映了我国农村地区的性质。它还反映了塞尔柯克学院在过去十年中投资的特定专业领域，并建立在现有的行业关系基础上。自然资源部门面临着巨大的环境和经济挑战。这些行业具有国际竞争力和不稳定性，不列颠哥伦比亚省南部内陆地区的偏远造成了物流问题，经济正在发展到需要技术驱动的商业方法；2019年，全国林业的资本回报率（一项衡量生产效率的指标）从2018年的11.5%降至4.4%。气候变化对自然资源部门的影响尤为严重，包括高温和野火的频率和强度、不稳定的积雪、水道变暖，以及——尤其是——公众对前瞻性自然环境管理的关注和担忧。该ARTP是一个及时的机会，可以利用技术进步、增强的大学专业知识和本地资源部门技术吸收的高峰，并将强大的数据分析和先进的计算元素纳入现有的行业关系。该方案的支助将确保林业和地理信息系统伙伴公司的研究项目继续下去，并使目前的研究成果能够应用于有类似需要的新部门，包括渔业和采矿/冶金。根据该ARTP，学院将强调调整后的多学科方法，为我们急需的先进计算系增加必要的带宽，并将学院在数字技术、数据分析、数据可视化、机器学习和人工智能方面的专业知识纳入资源部门项目。正如研究计划中详述的那样，我们将着眼于更有效地实现现有公司目标的前沿方法，在我们共同的战斗中利用技术和数据来理解和减缓气候变化，甚至帮助一家非常传统的公司利用剩余资源探索令人惊讶的新业务流。

The focus of Selkirk College's Computing Technology and Economic Adaptation for Natural Resource Firms proposal is to trial and equip natural resource companies with computing technology tools for enhanced innovation, competitiveness and productivity. Sectors supported include: forestry and associated wood products, mining/metallurgy, professional services, and utilities. In part, this approach reflects the nature of our rural region. It also reflects specific areas of expertise invested in by Selkirk College over the past decade and builds on existing industry relationships. Natural resource sectors face enormous challenges, both environmentally and economically. These sectors are internationally competitive and volatile, the remoteness of B.C's southern interior region creates problems in logistics and the economy is evolving to require technology-driven business approaches; nationally in 2019, forestry's return on capital employed, a measure of production efficiency, fell to 4.4%, down from 11.5% in 2018. Climate change impacts natural resource sectors disproportionately, including via frequency and intensity of heat and wildfires, erratic snowpack, warming of waterways and - not least - heightened public attention and concern about forward-looking management of our natural environment. This ARTP is a timely opportunity to leverage technological progress, enhanced college expertise and a spike in local resource sector technology uptake - and incorporate a strong data analytics and advanced computing element into existing industry relationships. ARTP support will ensure research project continuity for partner firms in forestry and GIS, and enable the application of current research successes to new sectors with similar needs including fisheries and mining/metallurgy. Under this ARTP, the college will emphasize an adjusted, multi-disciplinary approach, adding necessary bandwidth to our in-demand advanced computing department and incorporating college expertise in digital technologies, data analysis, data visualization, machine learning and artificial intelligence into resource sector projects. As detailed in the Research Plan, we will look at cutting edge ways to achieve existing company goals more efficiently, harness technology and data in our common battle to understand and mitigate climate change, and even assist a very traditional company to explore a surprising new business stream using surplus resources.