classroom than they would with two years of only theoretical training.” The relationship with Saskatchewan industry runs deep in other ways, as well. This past spring, Sask Polytech received its largest ever corporate donation in the form of a $15M gift from Nutrien, the world’s largest producer of potash, its second largest producer of fertilizer, and whose current employee count includes nearly 300 Sask Polytech graduates. The funds will go to construct the new Joseph A. Remai Saskatoon Campus, which is designed to be a 21st century learning environment to help supply the next trained workforce for current and emerging industries. It is also hoped that the new campus will set the stage for an Innovation Corridor that brings together businesses, entrepreneurs, students, and other learning institutions to create a centre of excellence in applied learning and research. Another partner of Sask Polytech is Prairie Clean Energy, a local company founded in 2020 to develop environmentally sustainable solutions for agricultural waste. Today, it has evolved into a comprehensive aggregation and processing business, producing pellets from previously unused flax straw for energy customers worldwide, while also offering a new income source for Canadian farmers. “Prairie Clean Energy received a $1.1M grant from MICA (Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator) for research into how to use locally produced agricultural waste in the form of flax straw to generate low carbon bioheat to reduce greenhouse emissions in the mining sector,” Suru recounts.“We’re going to set up a demonstration site with them in Moose Jaw that will include a biomass boiler system that will heat an equipment storage and teaching space for the Agriculture and Food Production program. Research will be done to learn how biomass boilers can be used to heat buildings in the mining industry.” Another project, with funding from the International Minerals Innovation Institute (IMII), was the creation of a virtual mine lab for the Mining Engineering Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Joseph A. Remai Saskatoon Campus sod turning 72 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 10
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