Goal 9 - Institutional Stewardship Initiatives

Institutional Stewardship Initiatives

The University of Alberta strives to embody the principles of sustainable design in all its planning, design and construction projects, be they new constructions or renovations. The Green Building Dashboard provides details on green building projects across all university campuses. If you are curious about green building design at the University of Alberta, check out the Facilities & Operations Green Building Design Summary.

Adaptation Resilience Training

Each year, the Adaptation Resilience Training program provides 30+ recent graduates from across Alberta with an eight month, paid internship working to prepare Alberta for the impacts of climate change. Past interns have focused on hardening Alberta’s infrastructure, including the power grid, waterworks and city infrastructure.

Innovation Incubators open to all students

The 5,000-square-footStudent Innovation Centre is modeled after business incubators and tech start-up spaces. Drop-in workspaces, project rooms, high-performance computing stations, 3D printers and more encourage students to pursue creative projects outside of the classroom.

eHub is an entrepreneurship-focused co-working space for students from all disciplines to explore how the entrepreneurial mindset can enable them to solve important social or economic problems. eHUB supports student clubs as well as ventures led by students or recent graduates. Members can access start-up funding, resources, networking opportunities and mentorship to help transform early-stage ideas into projects, initiatives and ventures.

The Shack is a makerspace providing access to cutting-edge design and manufacturing technologies. Students can use or borrow equipment such as 3D printers, Arduino and Raspberry Pi circuit boards, laser cutters and milling tools.

The Elko Engineering Garage is a hands-on workspace for physical prototyping. Trainers are on hand daily to help students safely explore new fabrication possibilities. Students can use tools for plastic fabrication, metalworking, woodworking, sewing, laser cutting, 3D printing, circuit board prototyping and more.

Recycling Infrastructure

The University of Alberta uses a variety of strategies and technologies to save resources while recycling waste. The Recycle Transfer Station centralizes collection, reducing fuel consumption for haulers. Materials, including organics, are more effectively sorted and compacted.

Triffo Hall

Triffo Hall was the first University of Alberta building to receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Gold rating in 2009. Renovating a structure from 1915, engineers, architects and building designers made efficient use of materials and resources.   Sustainable design strategies incorporated the reuse of an existing historical structure; maximal use of daylighting, capture and reuse of rainwater; and high performance heating and cooling strategies