Monieson Centre director ends term after learning value of applied research
Queen's University's Monieson Centre director has handed over the reins after five years at the helm having transformed the way the centre helps the community and local organizations to harness their knowledge capital.
Yolande Chan, who stepped down June 30 to be succeeded by School of Business professor Scott Carson, plans to spend her sabbatical year researching her areas of expertise: information technology strategy and knowledge management.
Chan will miss the regular interactions with the partners she came to know over her five-year term. Nonetheless, she says she is satisfied that she affected change in Southern Ontario by transforming the way the centre works with communities and organizations.
"We are now a bridge: we are truly reflecting a partnership or collaborative model with the community and that is the legacy," says Chan.
"When I started, we were probably viewed as the experts, as the surgeons who would go in and do something to the patient and leave," she says. "That model has changed significantly. Now we are sitting down together with the business or community and you tell us what needs to be done and together we find solutions."
One example of the work the centre has begun to do under Chan's direction is a project that sends hundreds of business students into Eastern Ontario communities to help businesses figure out what they need to do to succeed.
The resulting research findings have been so compelling that they have resulted in changes in policy at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, which funds the program and has facilitated the program's expansion to other regions.
"Business owners have told us, if the students hadn't come, their businesses would have folded," Chan says.
Chan has been at the centre of efforts in Southern Ontario to help develop rural communities' creative economies and has worked hand-in-hand with community leaders and business people to help them harness their knowledge capital. Two conferences have been help on creative economy development and two sets of seminars were staged on the subject.
For anyone who knows her, it might be difficult to imagine that Chan didn't initially want the job as the Monieson Centre's director.
A full professor at the Queen's School of Business, Chan felt the same way as many of her colleagues about the applied research conducted by the centre: it wasn't top tier research, the kind that was of interest to academic journals.
An award-winning professor and popular educator, she was happy where she was in 2006, but a call from the business school dean asking her to become the centre's director was hard to turn down.
Needless to say, Chan has become a believer in applied research.
Says Chan: "That type of work can support top tier research and that's what I have been arguing at the centre."
Bombardier creates 20 new jobs in Kingston with facility upgrades
The Bombardier Transportation facility in Millhaven is creating 20 new jobs in Ontario East as part of an upgrade that is being funded by $750,000 from the provincial government.
Kingston and the Islands MPP John Gerretsen recently announced that Bombardier has received Eastern Ontario Development Fund money to support the design of a new state-of-the-art monorail and energy-efficient transit technologies at Millhaven.
"Today's announcement of 20 new jobs will also open up new opportunities for Bombardier in the global mass transit market and is already generating new business for local companies," Gerretsen says.
Bombardier has invested more than $10 million in a monorail test track that will expand its role as the corporation's centre of competence for Mass Transit. It will also establish the facility as a key testing facility for Bombardier Systems Division.
The facility already has two onsite rail test tracks, which it will also use to develop its global monorail development program, which includes contracts in Saudi Arabia and Brazil.
The company is also developing technology to capture and reuse energy generated when a transit vehicle activates its brakes. The project includes building a monorail test track, which is already providing new business for local companies, including Kingston-based Anchor Concrete.
Partnering with local business is a key component of the plan laid out in Ontario's 2011 Budget - Turning the corner, to create and support 10,000 new and existing jobs for Ontario families and strengthen local economies.
Revitalization of CFB Petawawa to bring new work to Ontario East economy
The federal government is planning to spend $830 million to revitalize a Canadian Forces base in Ontario East, the Citizen newspaper reported.
According to the Ottawa newspaper, the money will be used to erect new buildings and infrastructure at CFB Petawawa over the next decade.
It's expected the plan will provide plenty of work for local businesses, contractors, and subcontractors who hope to take part in the revitalization.
The Citizen reported that documents written in February 2010 reveal $284 million will be spent on preparing for the arrival of a new helicopter squadron, which will include Chinook helicopters. Another $350 million will be spent on construction for other units.
Petawawa Mayor Bob Sweet told the Citizen that current construction on the hangar for the new helicopters is already impacting the town's economy.
"The construction trades are going to be very active over the next three or four years, so it's a mini-boom for us," Sweet told the Citizen. "It's quite evident when you see the area."
The Citizen said the first 118 Canadian Forces personnel will arrive in 2012 with a total of 480 personnel to be assigned to the helicopter unit by 2016.
Recycling plant built by Kingston company to divert Ontario plastics waste
Millions of kilograms of used plastics, including foam cushion packaging and soiled food containers, may soon be a thing of the past in Ontario landfills, thanks to a new Kingston, Ontario recycling company.
Switchable Solutions Inc. is building its first plastics recycling plant in Mississauga. The facility will be capable of recycling approximately two million kilograms per year of post-consumer plastic materials. The first spinoff company of GreenCentre Canada, Switchable Solutions is a clean technology company that is promising to revolutionize plastics recycling in North America, as well as oil sands processing in Canada.
Located in Kingston, GreenCentre Canada (www.greencentrecanada.com) is a national Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research. It brings together academic researchers and industry partners in a common goal of developing clean, less energy-intensive alternatives to traditional chemical products and manufacturing processes.
Switchable Solutions' proprietary technology involves a green solvent-based system developed at Queen's University by Dr. Philip Jessop, one of the world's leading green chemistry researchers. Switchable Solutions' unique technology does not require energy-intensive distillation, which is typically required by conventional solvent systems.
Offering an efficient, economical and environmentally friendly approach to plastic recycling and oil sands processing, Switchable Solutions has generated considerable buzz within industry-so much so that it has attracted the support of leading greentech players.
"Our company was launched in April, and already we have powerful slate of industry partners," says Mark Badger, President and CEO of Switchable Solutions. "We're currently in discussions with other potential strategic partners, which are capable of helping us to accelerate our plans."
Peterborough and Kawarthas hosts tour for 22 travel writers
A throng of travel writers recently toured Peterborough and the Kawarthas to learn about the area's natural beauty and vast array of recreational activities as well its rich culture, historic attractions and farm fresh food products.
The 22 travel writers from the Travel Media Association of Canada were hosted by by Peterborough & the Kawarthas Tourism and Elmhirst's Resort through a sponsorship from by the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership.
Many local business people had the chance to talk to the media about their businesses or products.
Fiona Dawson, Director of Tourism for the Greater Peterborough Area Economic Development Corporation, says the even was a "tremendous opportunity" for the area's partners to promote their products and the experiences offered in the region.
"Through the process of introduction, there was one theme that came across loud and clear: that these businesses love Peterborough & the Kawarthas and have chosen to locate their businesses here because of the authentic lifestyle that this area has to offer," Dawson says.
"That's a large part of the message that we communicate with our visitors, both through our marketing efforts, and our efforts with travel media-people love
visiting this destination for the same reason that people love to live and work here. It's fresh, natural and inspiring in a very authentic way," she says.
Peterborough & the Kawarthas Tourism is the official Destination Marketing Organization for the Greater Peterborough Region, operating a year-round Visitor Centre in Peterborough. For more information visit www.thekawarthas.net