This text is part of the special section Higher Education
Inaugurated last November, the Office of Environment and Innovation is a catalyst for innovative projects and good environmental practices in the college environment. Collaborative and committed, this structure supports innovation with a view to sustainability.
September 2019: the global climate strike is in full swing. “That’s when our community chose to collectively commit to the environment. As a science house, we had to take note of the climate crisis and act,” says Benoît Vachon, deputy director of environment and innovation at Cégep du Vieux Montréal.
The Earth Strike movement accentuates a trend observed for several years: involved in an active and ambitious environmental approach, the Cégep is preparing to deploy a strategic plan giving an important place to ecology. “Our goal is to go further and faster. We wanted to have a zone for incubating projects, accelerating ideas and talents to be able to reach our objectives more quickly,” says Mr. Vachon. Positions related to innovation and the environment will thus be created from 2020, laying the foundations for an office entirely focused on these issues.
Concrete actions in favor of ecology
A transversal and collaborative entity, the Environment and Innovation Office is involved in various aspects of college life. “Our goal is for the environment and innovation to be found in all sectors. The Office accompanies project leaders by helping them structure their ideas and putting them in contact with the departments concerned. We are trying to create a reflex for the environment in multiple directions and to set up a culture linked to this issue,” explains Benoît Vachon. Many actions have been undertaken, responding both to the major strategic orientations set by the management and to the innovative ideas emanating from the community.
The spearhead of the college’s environmental policy, the objective of carbon neutrality will be achieved this year. After having acted with regard to heating and air conditioning systems and even electricity, the Cégep du Vieux Montréal is looking into modes of transport.
“The idea is to promote active and sustainable modes of transport. CEGEP staff can now benefit from a 25% discount on their public transport subscription. The goal is to change the modal share and to create a movement to reduce our indirect emissions”, emphasizes the deputy director for the environment and innovation.
Initiator of a process tending towards zero waste, the cégep has also embarked on a major greening action: dozens of trees, shrubs and perennials have been planted with the help of students, teachers and school administrators.
A proliferation of projects and experiments
The cégep also emphasizes innovative projects, making sure to place them as much as possible in an environmental perspective. “With the Social Lab, we want to create a path for young researchers to reflect on the transformations of the world and on more human societies, in connection with information technologies, explains Mr. Vachon. The Reflection Corridor is based on the notion of animating spaces: students will live an experience based on words and language, in a place where they can isolate themselves and recharge their batteries. There is also Interactive 360 Video. This childhood education project seeks to capture physical spaces and then virtualize them to create learning situations. »
Supported by the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the prototype for capturing and tracking the sun will lead students to work on a model of a solar flower. “This device, which mobilizes skills in mechanics and energy capture, is fully in line with an environmental approach,” says Mr. Vachon.
The last two projects are the most advanced. The mini-factory is an assembly line made up of eight robotic stations to simulate the construction of a vehicle through automation or part manufacturing techniques. Finally, the Écodesign workshop brings together several CEGEP departments, particularly in the field of design. “This is an initiative that aims to recover, transform and recover plastic materials. It is a question of understanding the stakes linked to this material and of providing solutions to the problems of recycling”, advances the deputy director for the environment and innovation.
The students involved in the Ecodesign workshop have designed many products, which can then be sold through a transactional website. “This pilot project, which is as much about ecology as innovation, allows us to take advantage of the skills we have in-house,” says Benoît Vachon. This is one of our missions: to ensure that learning leads to the acquisition of knowledge and techniques that give meaning to the world in which we live today. »
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