Building Scalable and Integrated Pathways to Industry 4.0 for Regional SMEs

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Serving from the traditional unceded territories of the Lekwungen and WSANEC peoples for 50 years, Camosun College has been at the forefront of student training for Greater Victoria (GV), British Columbia (BC), and beyond. Camosun Innovates (CI), incorporating BC's first Technology Access Centre (TAC), has been the centre of applied research and technical development at Camosun College since 2010. In that time, CI has grown to become a regional leader in applied research and innovation, providing services for industries ranging from manufacturing and agriculture to sports and the arts. CI supports student training and industry partnerships in design thinking and ideation, composites construction and techniques, plastics forming/joining/molding, reverse engineering, 3d printing and scanning, prototyping and proof of concept, and all aspects of advanced manufacturing broadly defined. With our Materials Integration Research and Creativity Lab (MIRACL), Extended Realities Research and Innovation Studio (xRRAIS), and newly formed Centre for Applied Research and Training in Threshold Innovation (CARTTI) focusing on automation, mechatronics, and the industrial internet of things (IIoT), we are well placed to move students and SMEs towards and intro Industry 4.0. All of this points to the overall objectives of Camosun's applied research program, and the core commitments we have to business, community, culture, innovation, learning, and research. At its most basic, Camosun's applied research agenda seeks to improve learning for students, meet the needs of business and industry, address the inequities within communities and cultures, reduce ecological footprints, and make life better for as many Canadians as possible. This grant will train more students and change curriculum to make future learners more ready for the jobs of tomorrow, while aalso serving to diversify and expand the pool of students engaged in training for high0-demand jobs. It will focus on key areas identified by local business sectors as most important, including: enhancing technical, mechanical, electrical, and biochemical resolutions to business difficulties; expanding the applications of materials integration to environmental challenges; increasing our abilities to bring digital solutions to analog problems; and improving our impact among under-represented populations ranging from the disability community and new Canadians to women, First Nations, and LGBTQ2+ peoples.