"Collaborations... Connecting Business to Campus: Maximize Your Business' Proximity to UNBC and CNC " Speaker Series Luncheon

"Collaborations...Connecting Business to Campus: Maximize Your Business' Proximity to UNBC and CNC"
A Speaker Series Luncheon

Find out what YOUR business can gain by partnering with UNBC and CNC!
"Collaborations" is a new initiative of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce, the University of Northern British Columbia, and the College of New Caledonia. The goal is to help local businesses tap into the expertise of post-secondary institutions. Not only can this kind of partnership help you connect with the best and brightest minds, it can also be a way for your organization to solve problems. Transfer innovation from the academic world, into your business!

Among the many benefits, "Collaborations" can help you:

Attract future employees
Provide students with hands-on learning experiences
Find solutions to operational challenges
Research and design new products or services
Stay on the cutting edge in your field
Create positive ties with post-secondary institutions

Involving local, up-and-coming talent can be a highly strategic move. Connect with people who want to make a difference in your business! At "Collaborations," our guest speakers will explain how these partnerships work. Find out more in the breakout sessions that follow the luncheon. February 9, we will host a networking event at the Hubspace. Meet the team from CNC and UNBC, and speak to them about a possible collaboration that might fit into your organization. Breakout sessions/tables will also provide you with information on how to fund your collaboration. Space is very limited; register NOW to reserve your spot!

Dr. Alex Aravind

Dr. Alex Aravind is currently a Professor in the Computer Science Program. Alex has published a book on Operating Systems by Pearson Education and more than 50 peer reviewed research articles in international journals and conference proceedings. One of his algorithms has been recognized as one of the major research results in the concurrent programming field in the last 30 years. Alex has won several awards: UNBC Teaching Excellence Award (2012); Outstanding Leadership Award (FutureTech, 2012); UNBC Research Excellence Award (2013); UNBC Mentorship Excellence Award (2015); Robert W. Tait Annual Lecture Award for Teaching Excellence (2016); Best Paper Awards (ICDEM 2010, ICPC 2012, NANOARCH 2015). He has also successfully completed several industrial projects through NSERC Engage grants.

Julia McLachlan

Julia McLachlan was born and raised in Prince George and after working in Alberta for 5 years, was happy to return home to PG with her husband and children. Julia is a Program Coordinator in Continuing Education at the College of New Caledonia. She has been working in public relations and management roles for over 10 years, including opening a new office and working as Northern Region Operations Manager for a home healthcare business, and managing the recruitment department of an Alberta post-secondary institution. Julia earned her BA from UNBC in 2004, has a PR diploma from UVIC and in 2014 graduated from Athabasca University with her MBA. Julia is an active volunteer in the community, an active member of the Downtown Rotary Club and a Director on the PG Hospice Society Board. Recipient of the PG Chamber's Top 40 Under 40 in 2016, Julia is skilled at finding custom solutions for businesses and has a passion for marketing and customer service.

Kyla Kershaw

Kyla Kershaw is the Facilitated Programs Manager with Employment Action, a non-profit employment assistance organization serving Prince George and Northern BC for more than 25 years. As a Career Management Professional with an Organizational Development specialization, and Certified Life Skills Coach, Kyla manages Ministry funded programming for essential skills, employability, and life skills, as well as creating customized Private Sector Programs and Projects. Kyla has designed and implemented curriculum to promote community capacity building and successful outcomes for individuals facing serious life stabilization issues, and those with multiple barriers to employment and community inclusion. Kyla has also had the opportunity to provide Professional Development training and workshops to frontline service professionals around enhancing corporate culture, teambuilding, and serving clients in challenging and hostile situations. Kyla has lived and worked in Prince George for nearly 30 years and enjoys collaborating with partners and teams to contribute to a positive, cooperative service culture for individuals and organizations in Prince George and BC's northern regions.

Sean Simmons

Sean Simmons is Founder and President of Goldstream Publishing Inc., based in Prince George. A core focus of the company is software development and we have been working with UNBC to develop automated software systems for our digital platforms AnglersAtlas.com and MyMoose.ca. These automated systems have been applied to new satellite based data collection systems for lakes across Canada, a mobile app to collect field observations of moose from hunters, and a natural language processing algorithm to aggregate YouTube content related to sportfishing.

Steve Chase

Steve is a Program Coordinator with Community and Continuing Education at the College of New Caledonia, where he is responsible for Contract and Custom Training. After completing a BSc and a BEd at UNBC, Steve began his career in education with School District 57. Though his work supporting the development and delivery of courses and programs at CNC, as well as his experience as a classroom teacher and workshop facilitator, Steve has become a well-respected educator who seeks to orchestrate opportunities for learners to be curious, to make connections, and to engage in creative work.

For example, Smithers engineering firm Wildernest Systems Inc. partnered with CNC's School of Trades and Technology. Together, they developed a brand-new modular building system. Quickly and easily, it can be used to set up temporary structures in remote work camps. With funding and support from two federal agencies, the team successfully designed and tested a first-generation prototype. They continue to work together to bring the building system to market. And at UNBC, students developed intuitive software that encourages the public to participate in finding solutions to social problems. Dr. Alex Aravind's research team partnered with Goldstream Publishing Inc. to develop software to track moose populations in Northern British Columbia providing important data for biologists.

The guest speakers will describe various partnerships which provide outstanding examples of how "Collaborations" can further develop our community. Post-secondary institutions can help your business bring innovation to market, while at the same time, enriching students' education through applied projects. There are a myriad of ways to collaborate!

Luncheon Sponsors:

*Photo credit: UNBC

Date and Time

Thursday Feb 9, 2017
11:30 AM - 2:00 PM PST

Thursday, February 9th

11:30am - Doors Open / Networking
12:00am - Lunch
12:20pm - Keynote Address
1:00pm - Break Out Sessions / Tables

Location

The Hubspace
1299 3rd Ave, Prince George BC

Fees/Admission

Chamber Members: $26
Future Members: $36

*Remember to bring your business card to enter the door prize draw! There are some GREAT door prizes to be won!!