ICAMP

North Bay. To any respectable Ontarian, the town is synonymous with snowshoes, snowmobiles and, of course, freezing temperatures. However, what you should be thinking about when someone mentions North Bay is ICAMP. The brain child of Canadore College President George Burton, Director of Corporate, Community & Alumni Partnerships Brad Gavan and Manager of Corporate Relations Charles Gagnon – ICAMP (Innovation Centre for Advanced Manufacturing & Production) will change the way any engineer views that little town north of … well, everything!

This revolutionary idea was born just over a year ago, the way most good ideas are: over dinner. Burton felt that in order to ensure industry and education would thrive in Northern Ontario, it was extremely important to think outside the box when enticing companies to operate in North Bay. With this in mind, his team began tackling the tough questions – what would bring companies to the Bay? And, after they were there, what would make them stay?

The answer was found in the creation of ICAMP. The centre will provide the resources needed for companies to have the ability to research and create new products without any heavy investment in specific technologies. It’s an industrial centre focused on product innovation, with the added bonus of opportunities for Canadore students to learn from leaders of the manufacturing industry.

Currently under construction, the facility is set to open in September of 2013. With SolidWorks 3D CAD software and Objet 3D printing technology as tools, the centre is already prepared for design and rapid prototyping. Plans for incorporating the ICAMP centre into Canadore’s curriculum, Javelin’s excited to keep everyone updated on the progress of ICAMP over the next 6 months.

Architects, contractors and college staff are all feverishly working towards making ICAMP the facility that establishes North Bay as a hub of manufacturing and production activity. There is no other school in Canada that is engineering such an innovative project – that being said, Canadore is one of the only schools worldwide to tackle such a feat. Officially trail blazers, Javelin’s ecstatic to be supporting a school on the cutting edge of technology.

More updates to come! Congratulations ICAMP!