A new partnership between the BCIT Smart Microgrid Applied Research Team (SMART) and the School of Business + Media brought together energy researchers and student teams to tackle three important issues facing BC’s energy sector.
Canada’s energy landscape is undergoing a rapid transformation, and multi-disciplinary applied research is playing a critical role in driving real-world innovation. “SMART works with industry to provide innovative solutions to energy challenges” says Dr. Vidya Vankayala, Director of SMART. “As energy systems evolve, the integration of business analytics, economics, operations, and data science is essential. That’s why this collaboration with School of Business + Media students is so valuable.”
SMART worked with three student teams from the Graduate Certificate in Business Analytics (GBCA) and Operations and Management Engineering (OME) programs, each taking on an energy-related applied research project.
Wildfire damage prediction models
The Graduate Certificate Business Analytics (GCBA) team worked with SMART to create predictive models for wildfire risk, an increasingly urgent concern as wildfires are becoming more frequent and more damaging. The team tackled vast amounts of data available on wildfire occurrences, fuel types, and weather parameters that contribute to wildfires in BC and Alberta. Their work led to a new predictive model for wildfire risk and potential property damage that will assist in justifying the costs of investment in wildfire prevention.
“We had the opportunity to learn about this important risk to our infrastructure and get familiar with the technical and weather data related to the analysis. We developed useful skills in predictive modelling, geo spatial systems, and large data analysis” says team member Dien Vo.
Understanding BC’s energy imports and exports
In another project, GCBA students analyzed BC’s energy portfolio to understand net energy imports and exports. With this understanding, the students were able to build predictive models to assess how energy might move across BC, Alberta, and the United States (US) under a variety of scenarios, such as growth in demand or the application of new tariffs. Their analysis and predictions will help in understanding what steps BC needs to take to get the most benefit out of our clean energy.
“Over the four months of the project, we learned a lot of new topics and dug deep into energy economics and data,” says student team member Sakshi Mehan. “We finished the project with a feeling of success, accomplishment and a valuable skill set we can apply in our future.”
Giving back to the grid
Students from the Operations & Management program (OME) partnered with SMART and a local energy company to evaluate and improve site selection for emerging vehicle-to-grid projects. Vehicle to grid technology allows electric vehicles to send power back to the electrical grid from their batteries, acting as a distributed energy storage system. The students’ professional-quality work on this project demonstrated practical, job-ready skills that align closely with the needs of BC’s business and energy sectors.
The value of applied research
By engaging BCIT students in applied research projects, companies gain access to fresh perspectives, specialized skills, and solutions to their real-world challenges. The results can lead to faster problem-solving, innovative approaches, and creates a pipeline of future talent. For students, hands-on applied research projects that tackle real-world industry challenges sharpen their critical thinking, build advanced technical skills, and connect them to their future workplaces.
BCIT School of Business + Media faculty member Linda Butterfield, who coordinates student applied research projects for Graduate Certificate in Business Analytics (GBCA) and Operations and Management Engineering (OME) programs, notes applied research as a key differentiator of the BCIT learning model. “These projects provided students with meaningful, hands-on learning while delivering value to industry,” she says. “It’s a win-win that embodies BCIT’s mandate for applied research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.”
Looking forward
As BC’s energy challenges continue to grow in complexity, BCIT is committed to building partnerships that integrate technical, business, and data expertise through applied research. New and emerging challenges in Canada’s energy sector need innovation bringing economics, data analysis and management engineering together to drive cohesive, practical and quick outcomes. SMART and the School of Business + Media are working together to build an ongoing collaboration to address this industry need.
Engage a BCIT student team to tackle your company’s challenges
In 2024, over 1,500 BCIT students collaborated on 400 applied research projects with industry partners that contribute significant real-world impact. If your organization has a challenge that could benefit from student applied research, connect with the School of Business + Media, or the relevant BCIT School, to explore opportunities for collaboration and have BCIT students work on solutions to your needs.
About SMART
For more than a decade, BCIT Smart Microgrid Applied Research Team (SMART) has converged expertise in the information technology, communications engineering, and energy management fields to develop prototypes and solutions for complex applied research programs. SMART helps stimulate BCʼs economy through collaborative projects with other academic institutions, industry, and the government.
About the School of Business + Media programs
The Graduate Certificate in Business Analytics (GBCA) provides graduates with the skills to transform large and complex data sets into valuable information. Operations and Management Engineering (OME) brings together both business operations best practices and industrial engineering techniques to design, control, and optimize business processes across a wide range of industries.