Bow Valley College is proud to announce it is recognized as one of Canada’s top 50 research colleges in the annual Research Infosource rankings. Registering at No. 48 for the fiscal year 2022, the college comes in at an impressive 5th spot in the country for growth over the previous year, with research income increasing by an incredible 119.8 per cent.

“Our place on this prestigious list and our growth affirms that our approach to applied research and innovation is on the right track. Our work in this space will help solve real-world challenges and make a difference in the economic landscape and individual lives,” says Tanya McDonald, Special Advisor, Academic and Research, Bow Valley College.

Bow Valley College has an ambitious plan to take on research opportunities encompassing three distinct pillars: social innovation, educational technology, and health and health technology.

In fiscal year 2022, the college’s research focuses on critical life and learning skills, while other projects support research in trauma, workplace safety, diversity, equity and inclusion, and female entrepreneurs. 

The college is building upon this momentum with more inspirational research underway and on the horizon.

“We want to thank our faculty, research partners, paid student researchers and leadership. To be counted amongst our peers when partnership funding is extremely competitive is a significant accomplishment. It demonstrates research support still holds high value, which is encouraging and will, no doubt, stimulate more bright and meaningful ideas,” says Dr. Misheck Mwaba, President and CEO of Bow Valley College.  

A closer look at research conducted at Bow Valley College in 2022

Bow Valley College is conducting a multi-year project of national scope exploring how vicarious trauma impacts instructors of English Language Learners (ELL). A $295,000 grant from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) made this work possible and will see a toolkit developed to mitigate the effects of vicarious trauma.

The Government of Canada’s Office of Literacy and Essential Skills (OLES) provided funding for a $374,000 project to examine essential skills in adult literacy contexts. 

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) provided $585,000 in funding for the college’s Skills for Success Validation Study. The applied research project supports the Government of Canada with the national adoption of its Skills for Success model, which is designed to respond to the emerging needs of students, workers, educators, employers, labour-market programming, and service-delivery organizations.

A safety app is the result of a Government of Alberta-funded $15,000 project meant to enhance workplace safety and equity through newcomer youth-employer collaboration.

In addition, a $15,000 grant from the Government of Alberta to explore ways immigrant women interested in entrepreneurial pursuits can be supported.

A $223,000 project engaged newcomer students in service learning or micro-Work Integrated Learning (WIL) opportunities to develop workplace skills and enhance their intercultural mindset and skill development. This grant was supported by the Government of Alberta’s Alberta Settlement and Integration program.

In research funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), a $120,000 College and Community Social Innovation Fund grant looked at public libraries and how they can better create inclusive and welcoming environments for newcomer youth.

Additional projects include research on outdoor pedagogy in early childhood education, a Mitacs sponsored student internship, and an Enmax sponsored Charge Up pilot project. 

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About Bow Valley College 

Calgary and region’s largest College — with 15,000 full- and part-time students, Bow Valley College helps open doors and minds to in-demand jobs in Calgary, Alberta, and Canada. Our graduates contribute to the digital economy, careers in business, TV & film production, and serve on the frontlines of healthcare and social services. Bow Valley College invests in three applied research pillars: educational technology, social innovation, and health.