For students and faculty working in
George Brown's Centre for Construction and Engineering Technologies (CCET), May was a transformative month.
In the last three weeks, the federal government has awarded George Brown more than $4 million to fund the Green Homes retrofit project, an initiative that connect students enrolled in the CCET program with private sector partners.
The first pot of money came May 10 when
Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada's (NSERC) College and Community Innovation (CCI) program announced it would contribute $2.3 million to the Green Homes retrofit project.
The other $2 million came only a week later, when Gary Goodyear, Canada's Minster for Science and Technology, announced that the
Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) would commit $2 million towards state-of-the art infrastructure for the new program.
As Robert Luke, head of applied research at George Brown College, explains, the two pots of money represent separate but equally important components to creating a program that will ensure that "the graduates have the skills they need to get the jobs today. And get the job done tomorrow."
The NSERC money will help connect the students and faculty to industry professionals, while the CFI money will be used to support the construction of the facilities that will enable that collaboration.
Students in the CCET program will work together with teachers and industry professionals "to try and develop energy efficient and retrofit tools and strategies for existing buildings. And to ensure that new buildings are built environmentally sustainable right from the outset," says Luke.
The twin goal of retrofitting and sustainable construction require a unique combination of technical skills and soft skills.
"[The students] come to us because we can teach. We have an excellent technical skills program but innovation skills are the wrapper," says Luke. The innovation or soft skills "include everything from communication, to team work, to entrepreneurship and project management."
Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Robert Luke, Head of Applied Research, George Brown College