Students and faculty share research at SPRINT Fund Showcase
The boardroom at NSCC’s Ivany Campus set the stage for a celebration of the first cohort of SPRINT Fund recipients. SPRINT, which stands for Supporting Practical Research and Innovation through NSCC Talent, offers faculty and students microgrants to support practical research projects. Working alongside industry and community partners, NSCC talent is turning their creative ideas into real-world solutions.
Introducing students to the world of research
Launched in 2024, the SPRINT Fund is a pilot program designed to foster collaboration between students, faculty, and Nova Scotia businesses and organizations. The funding provides students with awards of $500 and faculty with up to $5,000 to encourage skill development and promote local innovation. These aren’t hypothetical challenges -students gain real experience working with industry and community to solve some of their current challenges.
The showcase featured students with a variety of expertise, including mechanical engineering, electronics, ocean technology, information technology and industrial engineering. Each student presented a collaborative research project, demonstrating how they translated classroom learning into a real application.
Snapshots from the showcase
Among the projects featured was an avian detection module, created to help a local winery monitor and protect their vineyards from birds that cause crop damage.
“Designing something for industry is a humbling experience,” says Ian Booth, an Electronic Engineering Technology student who worked on the faculty-led project. “It’s a lot harder than a hobby project. I was thankful my partner’s expertise in programming for AI complemented my skillset so well. Having NSCC instructors to guide me through the design phase made everything a lot smoother.”
Jazmine Allan, an Oceans Technology student, shared her experience working with the Centre for Marine Applied Research to develop an anchor recovery system that would reduce the loss of expensive equipment at sea.
“It was really cool to be in the field and see how the system actually works,” she explains. “The SPRINT Fund helped reduce financial strain while I was going to school. It gave me the time I needed to focus on the project without feeling guilty about not working to make money.”
Cross-campus collaboration
Faculty member Ian Manning, who teaches in the Natural Resources Environmental Technology program at Lunenburg Campus, says his project was sparked by a challenge his students tackle each year - growing native plants from seed for restoration work.
“I applied for the SPRINT Fund to bring my idea to life and hired Stephen Papa, a student at Ivany Campus in the CAD Technician - Mechanical program, to help,” Ian explains. “He took the lead on the prototype, and the final product was so much better than I imagined. It’s a powerful example of what’s possible when students and faculty from different programs collaborate.”
For Stephen, the SPRINT Fund and working with Ian's idea made it possible to explore 3D printing for the first time. His project involved designing clamps to repurpose single-use Tim Hortons plastic cups into miniature greenhouse arrays for sprouting seeds in winter.
“The best part was learning to model and design with manufacturing in mind,” he says. “The microgrant helped me buy the filament and a small 3D printer to create my prototypes and I was paid for my time. Without the grant, our project wouldn’t be this far along.”
These were just a few of the standout projects featured at the showcase. Others included an ethically minded camera system to monitor shark behaviour during tagging and a design for an accessible salon chair and workstation that could help more people with disabilities pursue careers as hairstylists. While each project addressed a unique challenge, all were grounded in technical skill and driven by a shared commitment to productivity, innovation and positive change.
Looking to the future
The first-ever SPRINT Fund Showcase demonstrated how small investments in student and faculty research can fuel big ideas, especially when paired with talent, passion and strong support. As the program continues to evolve, it will offer even more opportunities for the NSCC community to make a lasting impact, while helping students build the skills, confidence and networks they need for their future careers.