The University of Northern BC is gearing up to submit projects to be considered by the newly created Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund.
It’s a $2 billion initiative announced by the federal government to encourage sustainable infrastructure projects at Canadian post-secondary institutions.
UNBC’s interim Vice President of Research Geoff Payne says they have a lot of options.
“It’s one of those things…‘Wow, we could do this, this, this and this!’ But we really want to make sure we’re putting the right ones forward to and then making sure that we have the right, matching infrastructure behind that to meet the specific details of the call from the federal government.”
Payne says the tight timeline for applications has put the pressure on and the specific criteria for eligibility will narrow the university’s choices
“It’s almost like it’s too much of a good thing…it’s just so exciting. But the timeline is extremely short. The applications have to be in in May and the projects that we put forward have to be completed in 2 years.”
Payne says the focus on sustainability is right up the university’s alley.
“This really aligns well with the strategic mission of the university and in particular my portfolio in terms of research and innovation but we’ve got to make sure that the projects we’re putting forward can be completed in that time frame to meet that specific requirement for the call.”
He says the university has a long list of possible projects to consider but didn’t want to name any names just yet. There’s also a match funding component to the investment program that Payne says will need to be taken into account before any applications are submitted.