Algonquin College Applied Research project advances to the finals at the International ICT Innovative Services Awards
Posted on Thursday, November 2nd, 2023
The Human-Centred Design Lab at Algonquin College’s Applied Research has been named one of 10 finalists at the InnoServe Awards for their project, Building Hurricane Resiliency in the Commonwealth of Dominica.
The InnoServe Awards is an annual ICT application competition held for university and college students that promotes academic-industry collaboration by integrating academic training and practical experience. The awards will be held on Nov. 4 in Taipei, Taiwan, with teams worldwide competing for a top prize of US$4,000 per team. Being named a finalist and the only Canadian team highlights the innovative and impactful work being done through the Human-Centred Design Lab.
Led by Algonquin College, the applied research project is being implemented in partnership with Dominica State College (DSC) and their team, with funding from Global Affairs Canada. The goal of the project is to increase economic opportunities for graduates of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in Dominica by focusing on climate-smart construction and carpentry skills for the green economy.
Through a human-centred lens, the goal of this multidisciplinary project is to improve the resilience and agility of the people of Dominica with respect to tropical hurricanes or other unforeseen destructive events and, on a more general level, to support better industry linkages between government, employers, skilled labour and educational institutions. During a 10-day visit, the HCDL team successfully codesigned research methods and instruments with the DSC team and prototyped a public online database of local carpenters to support employment growth and economic development in the region.
The database will be developed in the new year by student interns of the Algonquin College Data Analytics Centre, under the direction of Dr. Theodore Mirtchev and Principal Investigator Adesh Nilesh Shah. A beta version of the database is expected to be ready for testing by April 2023.
“We are thrilled to have our project selected as a finalist at the InnoServe Awards. This recognition underscores the importance of our work to improve the resilience of communities impacted by natural disasters. Our applied research pushes the envelope to create new and innovative solutions,” said Professor Jed Looker, Principal Investigator and coordinator on the project.
The project is part of the Skills to Access Green Economy (SAGE) program, a five-year initiative administered by Colleges and Institutes Canada. Algonquin College’s involvement spans from May 2020 to May 2024.