Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) officially broke ground on the expansion of its Centre for Innovation in Manufacturing – Technology Access Centre (CIM-TAC) today. Scheduled for completion in fall 2026, the expansion will increase the facility’s size from 15,000 to 25,000 square feet.
The Hon. Adriana LaGrange, minister of health, and Jason Stephan, MLA for Red Deer-South, joined RDP’s board of governors, president Stuart Cullum and members of the applied research team for the groundbreaking event.
The CIM-TAC serves as an innovation ecosystem, offering companies access to cutting-edge prototyping and manufacturing capacity, along with a multi-disciplinary team of researchers, staff and students who help transform innovative concepts into market-ready products.
“This is an exciting day for Red Deer Polytechnic,” says Stuart Cullum, President of RDP.
“The expansion of the CIM-TAC is pivotal to increasing productivity and economic growth in our region by providing more capacity for applied research, as well as education, training and work-integrated learning opportunities for our students.”
Once complete, the expanded centre is expected to offer work-integrated learning experiences for approximately 450 post-secondary students annually, while also providing workshops and training opportunities to another 2,000 students by 2030.
Additionally, more than 500 junior and senior high school students will benefit from dual-credit programming at the facility.
The CIM-TAC expansion will enhance RDP’s ability to support a broad range of sectors – including energy innovation, transportation, aviation and agriculture – through advanced manufacturing solutions.
The centre will also grow its capacity in medical device development and health care innovation, contributing to improved outcomes for both patients and providers.
New classrooms, collaborative spaces and advanced equipment will be key features of the expanded facility, further strengthening RDP’s role as a leader in advanced manufacturing applied research and innovation.
The Government of Alberta supported the expansion project with a $12.9 million investment.
More information about research and innovation at RDP, including the CIM-TAC, is available at: rdpolytech.ca/innovation.
With information from Red Deer Polytechnic.
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