AEROSPACE INNOVATION HUB ADDS TO TEAM ADVANCING CALGARY'S GROWING INDUSTRY
In collaboration with U of C, AIH aims to position city as global leader in sector
Omar Saleh's parents moved from their native Egypt to Kuwait where he was born and grew up. At the age of 18 he attended the University of Waterloo as an international student, earning his degree in chemical engineering.
Saleh soon fell in love with this country and moved to Calgary in 2013 to work for CNRL as a process, then project engineer. He decided he needed an MBA, and from 2021 to 2022 was in the first graduating class of Reuben College in Oxford, in the heart of its city centre. During that time, he also joined Qdot Technology, a startup business there that successfully addressed one of the primary obstacles in the electrification of aviation: heat management.
But Saleh was always bent on returning to Calgary, and when he heard of the plan to establish the Aerospace Innovation Hub (AIH) here, he was attracted to join the initial team of four and has been appointed associate director.
Aerospace Innovation Hub, led by Innovate Calgary, is a collaboration with the University of Calgary, joining with its themed hubs including Life Sciences Innovation Hub, the Energy Transition Centre and the Social Innovation Hub.
The AIH is set to offer a comprehensive range of resources, including funding, prototyping equipment and business support, to development and scaling of innovative technologies for our burgeoning aerospace sector. “It is a network,” says U of C president and vice-chancellor Ed Mccauley, “ensuring researchers, innovators and startup founders have seamless access to the resources, space and expertise they require, precisely when they want it.”
Westjet also serves as a founding partner, the anchor airline company that will provide insights and supports.
Funding is provided by an investment of $3.9 million over four years from Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (OCIF) added to the initial financial backing of more than $2.5 million from Prairies Economic Development Fund (Prairescan) that was announced last year.
Alberta's rapidly growing aerospace industry will be served by around 7,500 square feet of space provided by the Calgary Airport Authority and lab space at the university — a significant step toward positioning the city as a global leader in aerospace innovation.
The impact AIH expects to make in the growth of our aerospace industry on the economy and well-being of Calgary and Alberta is expected to be enormous. We already have many advantages, including a skilled workforce, a great location with abundant land and air space, a growing R&D presence, and a well-established aerospace ecosystem that is already a major contributing sector.
Fostering new aerospace technologies will also be a key employment driver.
Both SAIT and MRU have aviation programs — SAIT in technology and structures, and MRU offers a diploma in aviation and a bachelor of aviation management — and graduates will hopefully find satisfying work here.
But Kim Van Vliet, director of AIH and founder and CEO of Wave and Convergx, is passionate about our aerospace industry being of global significance in the areas of defence, security and space. Her job with AIH is primarily to build memberships and relationships with new partners.
She is well equipped and experienced to talk to global leaders due to her lengthy commitment within the industry. Van Vliet has long been involved with NATO as a Canadian delegate to the NATO Industrial Advisory Group (NIAG) on its science and technology team, and is deputy chair of NIAG-ACT (North American HQ for NATO) facilitating relationships between NATO and industry.
NATO recently committed through its initiative DIANA to be a technology accelerator with the University of Alberta and SAIT for researchers and startups.
Van Vliet is a great ambassador of this city and province in aerospace matters, and will ensure AIH gets national and international attention.
NOTES
Many of us still refer to it as the Canoxy Building, but it has been put on the market as its current title of 635 8th Ave. S.W. The 25-storey, 271,846-squarefoot office tower, built in 1983, is being sold by current owner Cadillac Fairview through the exclusive representation of RBC Capital Markets Real Estate Group. Ideally located one block west of Eighth Avenue Place, it boasts two Plus-15 pedway connections. It is an outstanding opportunity to acquire a high-quality office building that offers significant upside in income and value as Calgary's office market rebounds.