UNBC Part Of BC Supercluster

Feb 15, 2018 | 2:37 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — It’s another feather in UNBC’s cap. It is part of a “supercluster” that will get access to $950 million in federal funding, which will be matched by industry. Specifically, UNBC is part of the “Digital Technology Supercluster,” one of five across the country focusing on different research.

“Industry has needs in terms of access to university students, that talent, research and development,” says Geoff Payne, UNBC’s Interim Vice President of Research. “This was a real impetus for industry to say ‘We really want to work with post-secondary to really drive these projects.’”  

Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster Initiative includes founding partners Telus, Microsoft, Teck, Canfor, Shoppers Drug Mart, Providence Health Care and Research Universities’ Council of British Columbia members including UNBC, Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, and the University of British Columbia, along with Emily Carr University and the B.C. Institute of Technology.

UNBC is gaining a global reputation, receiving accolades for garnering unprecedented research funding for a smaller university. This is another milestone for UNBC.

“For UNBC, I think it continues to put UNBC on the map in terms of a research-intensive university. It really strives to showcase the opportunities for students who want to come here, for faculty who want to come here,” says Payne. “And, working with industry really ensures the economic development driver for British Columbia continues.”

An example of the research that UNBC will work on with its partners would be in the area of geo-spatial mapping.

 

Click here to report an error or typo in this article