| | St. Clair College Research and Innovation Newsletter - September 2024 | | | | | | Message from the Director Dr. Karamjeet Dhillon: "At the heart of research and innovation lies the integration of deep community listening and culturally responsive practices, navigating vibrant landscapes of iterative discovery to make meaningful contributions." | | | | Featured Research Projects | | | | At St. Clair College, we specialize in developing tailored solutions to address industry-specific challenges by harnessing the talent, expertise, facilities, and technologies of our students and faculty. If an organization is facing an industry-related problem that demands an innovative approach, our students and expert researchers are ready to collaborate to create the solutions of tomorrow. | | | | | | Explore the Project Archives of St. Clair College’s Research and Innovation Department to discover a comprehensive collection of past and ongoing research projects. | | | | | | | | St. Clair College STEM Robotics Summer Camp: Empowering Youth Through Technology and Innovation | | | | | | Playing with LEGO has long been a favourite activity for kids and adults alike, but at St. Clair College's STEM Robotics Summer Camp, it's much more than just playtime - it's an opportunity to create, innovate, and learn how to bring LEGO creations to life through technology.
Supported by a $300,000 grant from the Ontario government through the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN), the camp offered equity-deserving youth from community groups in Windsor-Essex a chance to explore LEGO robotics and coding during an immersive five-week program in July and August 2024.
Participants from organizations like the Sandwich Teen Action Group, Women's Enterprise and Skills Training of Windsor, and Black Boys Code were given the opportunity to learn essential skills such as math, coding, and hands-on building.
"The STEM Robotics Summer Camp at St. Clair College is a shining example of how we can empower Ontario's youth by providing them with the skills and opportunities to become leaders in the automotive and mobility sectors of the future," said Raed Kadri, head of the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN). "By supporting initiatives like this, the Ontario government through OVIN, is helping to inspire the next generation of our workforce and ensuring that all young people, regardless of background, have access to the tools and experiences they need to succeed in this rapidly evolving industry." | | | | | | New Webpages on SCC, R&I Website | | | | Two new webpages have been launched on the Research and Innovation Department's website. Click on the Buttons below to access the New Webpages | | | | | | | | | | | | | | LaSalle Smart Waste Management Project | | | | We are pleased to announce a new initiative to enhance waste management in LaSalle's parks. After comprehensive observations, we've identified key challenges such as inconsistent bin designs causing confusion, suboptimal placement reducing accessibility, small openings that can't accommodate larger items like pizza boxes, and a lack of visual aids for non-English speakers. In response, we've developed a data-driven plan that includes standardizing bin designs and colors for easy recognition, optimizing bin locations for better accessibility, designing bins with larger openings, and adding multilingual visual aids to guide proper waste disposal. We're also addressing the specific issue of fish guts disposal by educating the community on environmentally friendly practices and exploring composting options for organic waste. By implementing these solutions, we aim to improve the efficiency of our waste disposal systems and foster a cleaner, more environmentally conscious community in LaSalle. | | | | Diverse Perspectives, On Community Conference by the City of Windsor's Human & Health Services Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee | | | | On Wednesday September 18th and Thursday September 19th one Researcher and one Student Researcher presented their respective projects at the Diverse Perspectives, On Community Conference by the City of Windsor's Human & Health Services Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. | | | | | | | | “My name is Armand Avolio and I am a graduate of the Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies and Social Justice as well as a recent Master’s of Sociology graduate from the University of Windsor. Since joining this research project, myself and dedicated team members have focused on uncovering essential themes from transcribed interviews conducted on youth experiencing homelessness in our community. Most recently, I had the honour of attending the Diverse Perspectives, One Community Conference by the City of Windsor’s Human & Health Services Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. Thanks to fellow organizers at WE-SPARK, I was privileged to showcase some major findings as well as future ambitions and goals that our project has for the upcoming months.”
Armand Avolio (Representing the NSERC CCSIF Youth Homelessness Project) | | | | | | | | "My name is Sarah, and I am in my fourth year of the Concurrent Education program with psychology and Early Childhood Education (ECE). My passion for research started during my ECE placements, where I noticed that some students had little to no food to get them though their day. I believe this is why I was interested in joining as a student researcher for the Collaboratively Addressing Food Insecurity project. My role consists of researching different school food programs happening locally, nationally and globally, working towards creating food literacy resources and investigating the importance of a National School Food Program. This past September, I was invited by WE Spark to speak at a conference for City of Windsor employees. I got to share our plan in implementing a free school lunch program (SLP) for a school within Windsor Essex, while also including a food literacy component. I was able to share with attendees how a SLP will benefit all students through an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion lens. "
Sarah Julius (Representing the NSERC CCSIF Collaboratively Addressing Food Insecurity Project) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The OVIN Summer Camp's objective was to introduce robotics, programming, STEM, and the working principles of electric or self-driving vehicles. The overall goal of the camp was to catch them young and make kids pick up an interest in engineering courses and eventually take a career path in engineering. The engineering sector in Canada is evolving every day and getting better by the second which means a massive increase in job opportunities in various engineering sectors, pushing the kids in this direction means setting them up for a bright future where there would be infinite possibilities to apply their knowledge to better the world.
At the summer camp, we worked on various robotics and coding projects, including multiple sensors ranging from colour sensors to distance sensors and force sensors. We also used motors to make a car that includes all the various sensors to do cool things, for example, making the car stop when it sees red, speed up when it sees green, and slow down when it sees yellow. We also worked on a car that stopped or turned around when it was within 19cm of an obstacle and it was great to experience and see kids learn, achieve and do all these cool projects.
The OVIN summer camp was a huge success, and I could tell from the start because I always had at least a kid that walked up to me and said, " I am so happy to be here" or " I am thinking of being an Engineer now it’s fun".
The most rewarding experience of the camp for me was seeing the kids happy after achieving a build or fixing a problem in their code. | | | | | | | | | | We are excited to spotlight the innovative work of Fetherstill Inc., a Windsor-based company dedicated to enhancing battery performance in extreme temperature conditions. Founded by Mayank Balakrishnan, who relocated to Windsor to pursue this vision, Fetherstill has flourished through strong partnerships with local organizations like St. Clair College, Invest WindsorEssex, and WEtech Alliance. With the support of Mackenzie Habash, Senior Program Manager at Invest WindsorEssex, and Susana Martins, Business Advisor at WEtech Alliance, the company has built a talented team of engineers—including Mario, Rishab, Edwin, Aidan, Owen, and Rodrigo. Since early 2023, they have achieved significant milestones, completing their proof of technology with Battery Module 1.0 and now developing Battery Module 2.0, aptly named "Powerboost", which will deliver 1.75 kWh of power for their test vehicle. Mayank expresses deep gratitude for the collaborative efforts, stating that this partnership aims to create lasting value for the community, city, and country. He believes that the relationship between Fetherstill and these organizations will be remembered as one of the most influential in the city's history. | | | | | | | | The Safety Village Project is a VR app to train children about road safety in place of the safety village track if it's not available for use (e.x. Poor weather conditions). A Virtual Reality game meant to teach road safety and measure how well students do to follow road safety rules. | | | | | | St. Clair College Genesis Experiential Learning and Career Centre | | | | | | Come by during our walk-in hours to speak with one of our Career Services Officers who are Certified Resume Specialists. | | | | | | | | Discover a vibrant community at St. Clair College where students can connect, learn, and grow by joining a diverse range of clubs. Get involved, make lasting friendships, and enrich your college experience by becoming an active member of one or more of our dynamic student clubs! | | | | | | | | Enactus is a global non-profit organization, present in 33 different countries on 2,000+ post-secondary campuses. Through social enterprise, community projects, and strategic projects, each team makes real change and showcases it through a series of competitions at a regional, national, and international level. | | | | | | | | | | Book a Tour or Consultation! Discover the possibilities with a tour or consultation. | | | | | | Contact Us! If you have any inquires please visit our Contact Us Page: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
