CSPC 2021

Organized by: Saskatchewan Polytechnic 

Technology and social innovation are needed for a progressive economic post-COVID recovery.  Integrated models of collaboration within various sectors are key to deliver innovative results for economic growth.   The college and polytechnic sector are the nexus of such collaboration with industry and community as well as higher education and government.  Ecosystem hubs evolve regionally around colleges/polytechnics and inform the development of an industry driven innovation network for Canada. This sector builds together partners from industry, community, higher education, and government in order to turn ideas into successful products, processes or services in the marketplace.  Collectively, college and polytechnic activities span the whole innovation chain.  Specifically, this sector can support start-ups, entrepreneurship, SMEs and multi-nationals.  As part of “building back” post-COVID, the college/polytechnic sector is well positioned to serve the start-up sector. In addition, the nature of the applied research and innovative deliverables, along with open intellectual property policies, cater directly to industry progression. These strategies of integrated collaboration for applied research, development and innovation strive to meet the challenges of economic recovery in a post-pandemic world.  Examples from across the country and various sectors that interconnect with the college and polytechnic sector will be discussed.