Cenovus Energy is donating $300,000 toward Assiniboine Community College’s Prairie Innovation Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and Chemical Engineering Technology program.
This partnership aligns with two of Cenovus’s key social investment focus areas – Future-ready youth and Resilient communities – and will help provide for the development of lab space within the Prairie Innovation Centre to enhance specialized agriculture programs and learning at the college.
“We have a strong connection to the agricultural community in southwestern Manitoba through our Minnedosa Ethanol Plant,” says Keith Chiasson, Cenovus’s Executive Vice-President & Chief Operating Officer. “Our partnership with Assiniboine College will provide people with improved access to education and skills training for their future careers, whether that’s in agriculture or working for companies like Cenovus.”
Cenovus has been a long-time supporter of the college, participating in one of our Program Advisory Committees and providing work placement and employment opportunities to Power Engineering students at the company’s Minnedosa plant. Assiniboine recently expanded its Power Engineering program to include 3rd Class training, and Cenovus was a supporter of that expansion.
“We value our relationship with Cenovus, and this partnership is a great addition to their historical support. We appreciate that they recognize the value of investing in our students and the future of agriculture in the Prairie Innovation Centre,” said President of Assiniboine, Mark Frison. “This facility and its programs will help to ensure students looking for careers in agriculture have opportunities here at home, and that they can enter the work force confidently.”
A vital part of the Prairie Innovation Centre vision is integrating education and connection, providing a venue where producers, industry, researchers, government and students can come together, solve problems and share ideas.
The Prairie Innovation Centre is a one-of-a-kind Canadian college project that will bring together collaborative learning spaces, applied research labs, multipurpose spaces and amenities that will serve both industry and the college community. By creating an enhanced agricultural training capacity, the Centre will enable the agriculture sector to continue to be a strong contributor to the Canadian and Manitoban economies.
