Category: Project Resources

Clean Energy Initiative

Posted on by kieran

The Clean Energy Initiative is a collaborative project led by econext – in partnership with College of the North Atlantic, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Trades NL – to prepare Newfoundland and Labrador’s workforce to support and succeed within the province’s emerging clean energy industry.

The Clean Energy Initiative is guided by a steering committee which includes broad representation from governments, post-secondary institutions, trades, Indigenous groups, and industry.

The project has five components which are being pursued in tandem.

Identifying Workforce Capacity Gaps

econext is undertaking comprehensive research to identify the jobs and skills that will be required in Newfoundland and Labrador to support wind energy, hydrogen, and other clean fuel projects, as well as electricity grid investments. This analysis will compare the projected workforce needs over the next 10-15 years, in terms of both quantity and qualifications, with the current resources available in the region. The results from this analysis will support industry’s workforce attraction and retention strategies including upskilling and training initiatives.

Meeting Short-Term Workforce Needs Through Attraction and Retention

Building on the findings from the workforce capacity analysis, econext is developing a comprehensive attraction and retention strategy to ensure that the workforce is available (and ready) to support clean energy developments in NL.

Help Meet Short-Term Workforce Needs Through Upskilling

In collaboration with partners, econext is defining and developing targeted upskilling programs based on the workforce capacity analysis to prepare the local workforce for emerging opportunities in the clean energy sector.

Develop Hydrogen-focused Post-Secondary Curriculum and Courses

Based on the results from the workforce capacity analysis, econext is working with post-secondary education partners to explore enhancements or additions to program curriculum to ensure that NL’s workforce is equipped to meet future demands.

Create Greater Awareness of Job Opportunities and Requirements

Leveraging insights from these initiatives, econext will lead an education and awareness campaign to encourage the workforce to participate in Newfoundland and Labrador’s clean energy industry.

econext ideathon | September 20-22, 2024 | MUN St. John’s Campus

Posted on by Alex Rumbolt

econext Clean Growth Ideathon

Embrace the Future of Clean Growth! econext is thrilled to announce it’s third ideathon, paving the way for innovative solutions that will drive sustainable progress in Newfoundland and Labrador. This time, we are bringing the ideathon back to the MUN St. John’s Campus! The weekend-long event, open to all MUN students, will be taking place in-person September 20-22, 2024.

Check out our photo album from this event.

Challenge: Utilizing Newfoundland and Labrador’s organic waste to create clean energy opportunities.

What is an ideathon?

Ideathons are competitive events in which students work together in teams over a short timeframe to come up with solutions to a set challenge. Our ideathons are a space to develop innovative solutions for clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The specific challenge, relating to clean growth, will be released at the beginning of the weekend where we will provide you with all the necessary information needed to participate.

Teams will consist of 3-5 students.

Click here for the opening ceremonies slideshow.

Click here for the prompt presentation.

Click here for the judging rubric. 

Learn more about our previous ideathons here: September 2023 | March 2024

Who can participate?

This is a multi-disciplinary event and we welcome any student from Memorial University to participate. If you are interested in clean growth, we encourage you to join us! Please note that this event takes place at St. John’s campus, and transportation and accommodations will NOT be provided.

When and where?

The ideathon will take place at the Core Science Facility at Memorial University’s St. John’s Campus over a 48-hour period from September 20-22, 2024. Locations and times are available in the schedule below.

We encourage students to stay on campus while working to take part in workshops and activities and to benefit from mentors.

Why should you participate?

  • We will be awarding cash prizes to the top three teams: $3,000 for 1st Place, $2,000 for 2nd Place, and $1,000 for 3rd Place! PLUS more non-tangible prizes.
  • Network with people in the industry as well as your peers
  • Workshop opportunities
  • Learn about the clean growth industry
  • Team building
  • You will be provided with free meals, snacks, and swag
  • Group activities
  • Have some fun!

How to register?

Registration is individual, but you will be required to work on teams of 3-5 students. Submission of teams will take place on the evening of Friday September 20. If you have already established a team, you will be required to submit your teams then. If you haven’t already established a team, there will be opportunity throughout the evening to network to form teams. We will assist in matching individuals to teams as needed.

Registration has now closed.  Click here to view the registration page.

What is the schedule?

Our ideathon is a weekend-long event, beginning on Friday, September 20 at 5pm and ending on Sunday, September 22 at 5pm.

(Schedule is subject to potential changes)

 

View the mentor’s schedule here.

Click here for a highlight of our judges.

Our Partners

1st PLACE PRIZE

OPENING CEREMONIES

MEAL SPONSOR

MEAL SPONSOR

Have questions?

Reach out to Alex Rumbolt at alex@econext.ca or Chelsea Linfield at chelsea@econext.ca

Stay tuned for more information! We will be updating this page in the coming weeks as the ideathon approaches.

 

The econext Ideathon was made possible through partnership with the Business + Higher Education Roundtable, and with support from the Government of Canada.

Circular Economy in NL Agriculture – Sheep Farming

Posted on by kieran

econext, in collaboration with the Sheep Producers of Newfoundland and Labrador (SPANL), facilitated a workshop February 9, 2024, in Clarenville. In addition to the SPANL board and econext staff members, representatives from Heritage NL, NL Craft Council, NL Federation of Co-Operatives, Go Western Tourism, and the Department of Fisheries Forestry and Agriculture attended. The workshops focused on the barriers to utilizing wool in the province, which otherwise was being landfilled or burnt, and explored opportunities. Three opportunities have arisen from this workshop which continue to be pursued:

  • First, a producer has identified an existing technology which will allow it to produce fertilizer pellets with their discarded wool, and is actively seeking to finance this initiative.
  • Second, sheep farmers have been connected with an entrepreneur looking to establish a micromill which has the potential to use the wasted wool resource.
  • Third, a social media group has been established and events are being held with the intent to connect sheep farmers with the craft community to use the wasted wool resource.

econext feels that the lessons learned from this pilot initiative have the potential to be applied in other aspects of agriculture in NL.

Accelerating Value from Waste Innovation in Newfoundland and Labrador

Posted on by kieran

Newfoundland and Labrador has a small population spread across vast areas of land. Its communities and industries are often found in rural and sometimes even remote areas. These circumstances make the provision of waste management services challenging. Processes and technologies that are proven elsewhere often are uneconomic in the NL context due to smaller scales of activity and volumes of waste.

Organics represent roughly a third of the province’s waste. While much of this material is sent to landfills, in many cases that organic waste has value. This project ran from 2022-24 and focused on exploring new uses for industrial organic waste streams, with objectives to: improve environmental outcomes via reduced landfilling; increase productivity for businesses by reducing their wastes; and create new business opportunities in NL where new value from waste can be achieved.

The project aimed to accelerate value from waste innovation in NL through strategic research, firm-level interventions, and sector-level initiatives.

Organics Waste to Value Forum

Efforts to develop effective waste-to-value initiatives and enterprises for organics in NL have struggled to gain traction or become sustainable. Given the growing interest among multiple groups in pursuing these opportunities, econext partnered with The Harris Centre to engage in a cross-sectoral dialogue on the opportunities, challenges, strategies and policy implications for advancing the development of organic “waste-to-value” approaches and enterprises in the province. The forum was held on April 22, 2022 and informed in part by the research identified above. Other event partners included the NL Forestry Industry Association (NLFIA), the NL Aquaculture Industry Association (NAIA), the NL Federation of Agriculture (NLFA), the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation (CCFI), and the Association of Seafood Producers.

Firm-Level Interventions

Informed by the strategic research and forum, through the life of the project econext worked directly with over 20 SMEs and organizations in NL to help them identify value from waste opportunities, refine ideas and concepts, and develop project proposals to attract partners and funding. Some of the projects which econext helped to shape have advanced from concept to implementation, resulting in real waste management challenges being solved through local innovation.

Strategic Research

Research was undertaken to identify industrial organic waste research, development, and innovation opportunities in forestry, aquaculture, fisheries, and agriculture on an Atlantic Canadian basis.

Pilot Initiatives

Through the life of the project, econext experimented with different approaches to support and stimulate value from waste initiatives in NL. These included:

Discussion Paper – Biomass Energy Potential in Newfoundland and Labrador

Posted on by kieran

Forthcoming.

Clean Energy Innovation Industry Advisory Committee

Posted on by kieran

In 2023 econext formed Newfoundland and Labrador’s Clean Energy Innovation Industry Advisory Committee (IAC). The IAC is made up of representatives from utilities, clean energy developers, industry associations, and research institutions.

The purpose of the IAC is to identify and prioritize innovation opportunities based on real world challenges and opportunities facing the province’s clean energy industry.

The results of this work feed into all of econext‘s efforts to advance clean growth research, development, and innovation in NL – from engaging students in the organization of ideathons to matching needs with local research capabilities.

Where there is mutual interest in the pursuit of innovation, econext facilitates partnerships through the development of collaborative projects and initiatives.

Startup Interventions

Posted on by kieran

econext plays an important role in defining opportunities for green innovation within Newfoundland and Labrador’s industries and communicating that to innovators – or those that are willing to work to develop new solutions.

One important group of innovators in this regard is the startup community.

What environmental challenges are industries facing that require the development of a new technology, process, or service? What new opportunities are emerging that startups can supplement and help drive success for?

Through its close industry relationships, econext helps define challenges and opportunities that – if addressed – can help accelerate clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador. In turn, it takes this intel and partners with incubators, accelerators, etc. to seed these ideas and make innovators aware of the potential startup applications.

Past Initiatives

While econext accomplishes the above mostly through direct engagement with stakeholders, it has helped to seed ideas through public forums and open events.

Workforce Development in Newfoundland and Labrador’s Blue/Green Economy

Posted on by kieran

This 2023-24 project, in partnership with the Marine Institute and the Town of Holyrood, was a pilot to explore workforce development within the context of smaller communities and with a focus on the increasing importance of ‘green’ skills and training in traditional areas of strength (in this case: oceans).

The space between the blue and green economies was chosen as a subject matter due to Newfoundland and Labrador’s expertise in the development of technologies and provision of services in this space and the exciting employment opportunities within it. The Town of Holyrood was chosen because of the recent opening of The Launch and the exciting opportunities which this provided.

This project had six distinct components, described below.

Training Needs Assessments

10 SMEs and the Marine Institute were engaged in a training needs assessment to identify skills gaps related to environmental (green) aspects of the blue economy. The objective of the assessment was to inform the future development of micro-learning and upskilling programming related to ocean cleantech and the convergence of the blue and green economies in NL. The results of the training needs assessment also informed the development of the Town of Holyrood’s community workforce development plan (see below).

Upskilling Course Development

Based on the results of training needs assessment, the Marine Institute developed a series of upskilling courses to address identified skills gaps and priorities. 5 subjects chosen for program development, from the perspective of oceans-based technologies and services, including:

  • The Decarbonization of Shipping
  • Introduction to Marine Renewable Energy
  • Introduction to Underwater Surveying
  • Introduction to Cyber Security
  • Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
  • Project Management in the Blue/Green Economy

Technology Demonstration and Deployment

The Launch played host to a series of 10 demonstration and deployment activities throughout the Fall of 2023 showcasing the technologies and services of local SMEs. This included the participation of some of the province’s leading developers of ocean technologies. Interested job-seekers were provided with transportation to and from Holyrood, where they had an opportunity to not only see what jobs in the blue/green economy looked like up close, but also to interact directly with SMEs and their staff. This presented an excellent opportunity for job seekers to meet potential future employers, and for SMEs to meet potential future employees. The exercises also provided early test-cases for various types of demonstration and deployment activities at The Launch which had only officially opened a few months prior. The engagement with job seekers had a particular focus on the participation of new Canadians, and was highly successful in this regard through a partnership with the ANC resulting in an 80% participate rate from under-represented groups.

Work Integrated Learning Internships

Following the demonstration and deployment exercises, 7 participating SMEs offered 3-month internships in the Winter of 2024 to job seekers who had attended in the events. econext was pleased to discover that, in some cases, these short internships led to full-time permanent employment opportunities for participants.

Community Workforce Development Initiative

Based on the training needs assessment, existing town assets (such as The Launch), local demographics, and economic development priorities, a consultant was hired to work with the Town of Holyrood in the development of a community-focused workforce development plan. The objective of the plan was to maximize the training and professional development opportunities that the Marine Institute’s presence in the town could provide, and explore pathways for the local population to participate in the growing green/blue economy. The plan included extensive engagement within the community via workshops and online surveys.

Communications Campaign

Recognizing that only so many job seekers could attend the demonstration and deployment exercises in person, a dedicated effort was undertaken to capture these activities on video. Footage acquired was supplemented by site visits to businesses and interviews with key staff to speak to their technologies and/or services and the jobs that are entailed in their development and delivery. The result was the highly successful Tides of Opportunity campaign, which was delivered in partnership with Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, OceansAdvance, the Marine Institute, Memorial University, and Angler Solutions. This campaign allowed for the project’s activities to reach a broader audience of job seekers and also served as powerful communications assets for participating SMEs, The Launch, the Town of Holyrood, and NL’s ocean sector at large. The campaign resulted in over 1.2 million impressions and 460,000 users reached during a 6-week period. The footage obtained through this initiative has been made available to all partners and participants.

Research Matching

Posted on by kieran

econext works to match challenges and opportunities in the private sector at the firm-level with research capabilities that exist within Newfoundland and Labrador’s research institutions.

This is achieved through continuous engagement 1-on-1 within econext‘s membership, but also through dedicated events to introduce individuals to the concept of co-innovation and expose both businesses and researchers alike to green economy challenges and opportunities in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Past Initiatives

Ideathons

Posted on by kieran

econext‘s Ideathons provide an opportunity for students to gain real-world experience by tackling challenges and opportunities hand-picked by industry leaders that are present in Newfoundland and Labrador’s green economy.

How do Ideathons Work

Ideathon prompts are informed by econext members and industry leaders. These challenges/opportunities are presented to students, who then proceed to build teams amongst themselves to in a competition to present the best solution. Throughout the event, students participate in workshops hosted by subject matter experts on relevant aspects of the challenge and industry mentors are onsite or available to answer questions and help students brainstorm. At the end of the event, teams pitch their solutions to a panel of judges who pick the Ideathon winners and award the grand prizes. econext ensures that prompts selected have multi-disciplinary applications, ensuring that students from a variety of backgrounds and programs can participate.

The Benefits

Ideathons present students with an opportunity to apply their education in real world scenarios, meet with industry experts, and engage with event sponsors and potential future employers. From an industry perspective, awareness of specific challenges and/or opportunities is created within a community of individuals who will soon enter the workforce, while providing invidual companies with the opportunity to meet with potential future employees.

Past Events

Are you interested in partnering with econext on a future Ideathon? Please contact Alex Rumbolt at alex@econext.ca.