Sask Polytech receives top ranking in several categories on Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges list – DiscoverMooseJaw.com

Saskatchewan Polytechnic was ranked #1 in Re$earch InfoSource Inc.’s latest list of the 50 Best Research Schools for the number of research projects completed. Sask Polytech completed 350 research projects in 2020-21.

Sask Polytech also took second place in terms of the number of research partnerships with 208 collaborations. In addition, Sask Polytech received second place for Industry Research Income as a Percentage of Total Research Income and NSERC Research Income as a Percentage of Total Research Income.

“These are impressive institutional milestones for Sask Polytech’s applied research team,” said Dr. Susan Blum, Associate Vice President, Applied Research and Innovation. “Our team has worked incredibly hard over the past year to increase the number of applied research projects completed from 245 to 350. More projects lead to more successful partnerships with industry and communities. Applied research is important because it helps identify and solve real-world problems and leads to the development of innovative new products and services. This creates new and exciting opportunities for educators and students.”

In a press release, Saskatchewan Polytechnic lists notable projects of 2020-21:

Working closely with Cowess’s First Nation on a joint initiative, the applied research project Remote Sensing of Residential School Cemeteries. In partnership with Cowesse’s First Nation, Sask Polytech used remote sensing technologies, specifically unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with imaging sensors, along with traditional ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to locate unidentified and unmarked burial sites.

Sask Polytech’s Digital Integration Center of Excellence (DICE) has developed a prototype that uses a system similar to GPS technology to identify the positions of people and equipment in an underground mine to within 30 cm of their actual location. This technology enables companies to work more efficiently by improving mine safety, process optimization and automation.

The Farmer and Rancher Mental Health (FARMh) Initiative, a patient-centered research project, was created to explore the key features of a farm-friendly mental health support system for farmers and ranchers in Saskatchewan. This project continues to be funded and supports our farming community.

Sask Polytech also worked on a project to better understand and protect the sturgeon lake. An applied research team studied the spawning cycles and demographic generation of the North Saskatchewan River sturgeon lake without using invasive sampling techniques. This project collected data to influence fish species management and better approach to habitat conservation.

Re$earch InfoSource is a Canada-based research, consulting and publishing firm specializing in policy, research, business intelligence and analysis of science, technology, innovation and Canada’s R&D ecosystem.