Bow Valley College is proud to once again be recognized as one of Canada’s top 50 research colleges in the annual Research Infosource rankings. The college sits at No. 44 for the fiscal year 2020 in the medium institution category. It also ranks No. 12 in the country for growth over the previous year, with Bow Valley College’s research income increasing by 55 per cent.

“Bow Valley College continues to produce new and innovative research opportunities that address challenges in the Alberta labour market, and a desire to gain new skills quickly,” says Dr. Cheryl Kinzel, Dean of Research and Innovation, Bow Valley College. “We are working closely with industry partners on developing educational technology that benefits our students as well as public and private healthcare providers.”

Alberta Innovates awarded Bow Valley College’s School of Health and Wellness $250,000 for that technology – a virtual reality (VR) assessment tool. The VR experience will improve proficiency and accuracy in patient health assessments, which, in turn, will help improve patient outcomes. The VR tool was designed in partnership with Calgary-based technology company ICOM Productions Ltd.

The Government of Canada’s Future Skills Centre awarded Pivot-Ed, a Bow Valley College venture, a $1.52 million grant to build a learning platform and marketplace for job seekers and employers.  The project titled Bridging the Gap will leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to help individuals demonstrate their job-related competencies, recommend learning for skills gaps, and certify results with micro-credentials.

Bow Valley College is receiving ongoing funding from Employment and Social Development Canada. The $2.5 million will support an adult learning, literacy, and essential skills program. The project will improve reading and document use skills, which will improve success rates in apprenticeship training.

In addition, Bow Valley College’s research income includes $399,808 from the Ministry of Labour to develop a micro-credential course on intercultural conflict resolution with 18 newcomers in rural and 22 newcomers in urban settings.

And we are proud to be the recipient of a $359,636 Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant. The funding will support a Bow Valley College School of Global Access project titled Public Spaces and Everyday Acts of Inclusion.

Bow Valley College employed 16 paid student researchers to assist in its projects during the fiscal year.

“We are elated to receive recognition for high-quality applied research that is making a difference in the lives of our students, businesses and the greater community,” says Dr. Misheck Mwaba, President and CEO of Bow Valley College. “Maintaining our spot on this prestigious list is thanks to our applied research team, faculty, students, and leadership who will no doubt continue to provide inspirational ideas to grow our success.”