On Friday, January 24, 2014 over 40 academic and government representatives joined the SOWC at the University of Waterloo for a collaborative research forum to explore research interests, ideas for collaboration, and priorities for engaging the private sector through the SOWC platform.
Short sessions about each “node” or theme area within SOWC provided attendees with details about platform progress, capacity and interests.
The half-day workshop engaged researchers associated with SOWC across its 8 partner Universities including Node Leaders, Facility Managers, researchers associated with Theme Operating Committees and any researchers acquiring equipment through SOWC. The engagement was intended to help shape the use and development of the platform facilities, and develop opportunities for collaboration.
The forum also provided a high-level overview of SOWC’s role in creating an active and robust water sector in Ontario including providing potential users with access to demonstration capacity and facilitating partnerships with post-secondary researchers.