Program Item Details
TITLE: Jim Smith, Board Chair, Olds College Centre for Innovation
SUBJECT: #100 Olds College Centre for Innovation
SYNOPSIS: ..
AUDIO: Download Audio (mp3 format)
TRANSCRIPT:
Intro: Olds businessman Jim Smith chairs the OCCI’s Board of Directors. In a short period of time, the Board has pulled together an impressive list of clients and partners.
Jim Smith
JS: We have been fortunate in having attracted quite an array of funders and partners. And I guess we all look at them as partners. We have organizations like AVAC, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Western Economic Diversification. We have a number of industry partners such as McCains, some private donors, one of whom was recognized here today. And I’m sorry, I’m concerned about missing some by omission. We have quite a long list of people who have been very supportive of the Center. And I know that I have missed a few.
CC: WITH SO MUCH COMPETITION FOR RESEARCH DOLLARS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING THAT WOULD ATTRACT RESEARCH HERE?
JS: Well I think this comes back to the foundation we talked about earlier. We have a strong track record of working with industry and connecting with the learning. And we feel that we do a good job at applied research. We don’t do as much of the pure research that, for example, our colleagues at the universities might. But we see us as being a piece in the overall picture and we do a lot of collaboration with other research organizations who have expertise in areas that is complementary to ours.
CC: THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
JS: You’re most welcome and thanks for your interest in Olds College and the Olds College Centre for innovation.
Jim Smith is the Chair of the OCCI Board Of Directors.
I also spoke with Rick Tofani of OCCI, Jay Lee of Penn Biotech Inc, and Dr. Chris Lupton of Texas A&M University.
Starts at 22:44
FEATURED LINK: Visit the OCCI website