OLDS — Olds College of Agriculture & Technology is one of Canada’s top 10 research colleges, according to Research Infosource Inc.
The company annually ranks the top 50 colleges or universities in various categories.
The continued growth of the Smart Ag Ecosystem and applied research activities on the Olds College Smart Farm launched the College into the top 10 this year.
In addition to being ranked number 10 overall, Olds College was listed as number three in the country for College Research Income Growth and number seven for College Research Intensity (dollar per researcher).
In the small tier college category, Olds College made the top 10 for number of research partnerships, completed research projects, paid student researchers and industry research income.
Olds College ranked in the top 10 for research income from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and in the top 15 for research income from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
Research Infosource Inc. also featured a three-year spotlight on granting council research income performance from 2019 to 2021 which highlights Olds College’s continued research success.
The college collaborates with industry, academics and government to support applied research, innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship.
“It is a great honour to see Olds College of Agriculture & Technology recognized as one of Canada’s top 10 research colleges,” Olds College president Ben Cecil said in a news release.
“The work we do at the college is immensely rewarding. Being the largest educational facility in the country with 3,600 acres allows us to continue working towards our social purpose of transforming agriculture for a better world.”
Cecil said the college has “many experts in their respective fields exploring leading-edge solutions to some of the challenges the agriculture sector is facing.”
“We are so happy to be listed in the top 10 of all research colleges in the country,” Joy Agnew, the college’s associate vice-president of applied research said in the release.
Agnew said the college’s Smart Ag Ecosystem endeavours to spur progress and innovation needed to grow Canada’s ag industry through applied research.
In addition, she said, the Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) — together with its Smart Farm and Field Crop Development Centre focuses on “practical, industry-driven applied research that is implementable by the agriculture industry.”
“Reaching the top 10 truly shows that our applied research activities at Olds College are strengthening the ag and ag tech industries in Canada,” Agnew added.
The college’s primary research areas of focus include field crop production, livestock production, environmental stewardship in agriculture, barley and triticale variety development, and smart agriculture technologies and practices.
The Olds College Smart Farm is at the heart of the Smart Ag Ecosystem at the College and has grown to include 3,600 acres of farmland, infrastructure, and staff who are experienced in agricultural technology research and development.
