The Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute closed its doors in Portage la Prairie last year, but the ready source of agricultural research, innovation and equipment development hasn’t left Manitoba.
Brandon’s Assiniboine Community College, now in the midst of a major expansion of ag and ag-related programming, has brought PAMI to its main campus.
Charley Sprenger, a project lead with PAMI, is bringing her expertise to ACC, the college said July 6. She made her debut there last fall.
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The college has tied the co-location and deepening partnership with PAMI with its planned ag hub, dubbed the Prairie Innovation Centre for Sustainable Agriculture.
The college plans to increase its related student spaces to 800 (up from around 300), expand course offerings (with an eye to the new technical skills in demand from agribusiness employers) and add capacity for applied research.
Outside partnerships have been a theme related to the expansion. Local processors have weighed in on course curricula as the college noted the need for outside collaboration on research.
The addition of PAMI’s Sprenger has “created opportunities to enhance the hands-on learning experiences of the students and help them to come up with practical solutions to real-world problems facing the agricultural and mining sectors,” the college said in its July 6 release.
“I am lucky to be able to work so closely with the faculty and students at the college, to help forge a path for the future of agriculture in our province and country using the latest technology and resources available,” Sprenger said.
Her role so far has been guest-lecturer and an additional voice in the college’s research projects, but ACC expects that role to expand once the new facility is up and running.
“Assiniboine strives to be a go-to problem solver for ag-related practical challenges, and the Prairie Innovation Centre will provide a space for industry and academia to seize new training opportunities,” said Tim Hore, dean of ACC’s Russ Edwards School of Agriculture and Environment.
“We’re thrilled to be well established in this work with many existing partnerships, and this partnership with PAMI is a great example.”
For its part, PAMI also welcomed the collaboration. Lorne Grieger, director of technical sales, described the college as “a strong advocate for innovation, research, applied academics and industry.
“Charley is an important team member whose positivity and dedication to STEM excellence is only outshone by her exemplary research and leadership abilities,” he said.
PAMI, established in 1975, consolidated its services at its headquarters in Humboldt, Sask., after moving out of Portage la Prairie due to revenue issues.
